Mobsters and Mormons

Mobsters and Mormons

On Sunday June 22nd, the same night Kate Kelly founder of Ordain Women was to be judged and possibly dismissed from the LDS Church, CNN released an article about excommunication happening in the Catholic Church. The differences between how the two cases have been handled are quite stark when comparing the reactions of leadership in both religions.

Kate Kelly, the founder of OrdainWomen.org, has been a vocal advocate for gender equality issues within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Kelly has been accused of the crime of “apostasy” for her continued advocation of women being ordained to the all-male priesthood. Though this violates no clear doctrine within the church according to Church Public Relations spokesperson Ally Isom in a radio interview last week, Kelly’s membership has been placed on probation.

Doug Fabrizio: Where does it say that in Mormon doctrine that women can’t receive the priesthood? You say its doctrine, where is that?…Where in the Mormon Scriptures? The Doctrine and Covenants, or the Book of Mormon, or any of the scriptures does it say that a woman is to be excluded from the priesthood?…Where does it say in Mormon doctrine that woman cannot hold the priesthood?

Ally Isom: It doesn’t.

While most excommunication trials held within the LDS faith are tried by their local leaders, Kelly has been denied that privilege. Though she has sent four separate requests to have her church membership records moved to her current location in Provo, Utah, her former bishop in Virginia has refused to transfer the records, thus making it impossible for her to attend her own trial.

During this process it has been strongly implied that top church leaders, known as the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles, have been instructing local lay leaders as to how they should proceed in matters of discipline. One of these leaders, Elder M. Russell Ballard, recently traveled to Washington D.C. to train local leaders as an officiating member of the faith. This same area also happens to be where Kate Kelly formerly attended her church meetings in Virginia. It has been speculated by many that Elder Ballard met with her local leaders on the issue of Kelly and her activism. The assumption that he has directed local leaders to pursue and expel her has become a national news sensation, though accusations have been vehemently denied by the LDS church.

In contrast to the ways in which the LDS Church has chosen to handle the situation, Pope Francis has been handling excommunication charges within the Catholic Church very differently. The Pope recently traveled to the city of Calabria in southern Italy, were the Mafia has long held control over much of the area there. The local crime syndicate, known as the Ndrangheta, is responsible for hundreds of deplorable crimes, including the recent murder of a three year-old boy and his grandfather. They are also one of the largest producers of illegal substances, making roughly 56 billion euros a year in the drug trade.

While speaking to the local citizens of Calabria on Saturday, Pope Francis issued his excommunication sentences to members of the crime organization directly:

“Those who in their life have gone along the evil ways, as in the case of the Mafia, they are not with God, they are excommunicated.”

Though the two situations are very different, it would seem the Catholic Church is currently excommunicating people who have truly violated the laws of God. Given the choice between murderers and women politely asking to be admitted to listen to church authorities, is it really that hard to choose who to excommunicate? Furthermore, the Pope has chosen to actively be a participant in the process of overseeing his people. Why have the General Authorities of the LDS faith deferred responsibility for explaining Church practices and policies to their PR department? Shouldn’t they, like the Pope, be at the forefront of decisions regarding the salvation of their members? The questions that Kate Kelly and others like her have posed regarding women’s ordination in the Church have a simple answer, one that the leadership of the LDS faith could easily supply with a simple prayer and the courage and fortitude of the Catholic church’s Pope Francis.