Excommunicated and Charity
Posted by Apostate on 09/07/19
Q: Under excommunication, all religious rites and sanctuary are denied. Does the charity of Gild, the writing of journals to Vellichor, and the care of the Mercies pertain as well as they are Faith maintained? What of disciples or Godsworn who continue to give aid and charity to the excommunicated (this excludes any authorized to guide the excommunicated's penance)?
A: Excommunication is commonly used by the Faith to publically declare that a leader or other public figure is in error in the eyes of the Faith, continues to err after being warned, and then must be chastened so they might amend their error before returning to the Faith. In practical terms, the excommunicated is barred from setting foot on holy ground while they have yet to repent, however the Faith is free to interact with them in any way aside from that, and is often encouraged to do so, so they might help encourage them to repent from their error.
This does mean, however, they are barred from entering any hospital run by the Mercies of Lagoma and Knights of Solace, and are dependent on mercies being willing to leave to offer them aid. There is no condemnation of mercies doing so, as it's still a reflection of their relationship with Gild, and the same holds true for healing Abandoned (which, conversely, does have some societal condemnation, but is NOT considered explicitly treasonous, like trade with them is). The excommunicated that have been not made outlaw has no legal issue with interaction in any way, though members of the Faith do need to be careful in their interactions, as any support that would signal agreement with the heretical could find themselves similarly barred from the Faith, and for that reason most members of the Faith receive explicit permission from their seniors before interaction with the excommunicated that were punished for blasphemy.
A: Excommunication is commonly used by the Faith to publically declare that a leader or other public figure is in error in the eyes of the Faith, continues to err after being warned, and then must be chastened so they might amend their error before returning to the Faith. In practical terms, the excommunicated is barred from setting foot on holy ground while they have yet to repent, however the Faith is free to interact with them in any way aside from that, and is often encouraged to do so, so they might help encourage them to repent from their error.
This does mean, however, they are barred from entering any hospital run by the Mercies of Lagoma and Knights of Solace, and are dependent on mercies being willing to leave to offer them aid. There is no condemnation of mercies doing so, as it's still a reflection of their relationship with Gild, and the same holds true for healing Abandoned (which, conversely, does have some societal condemnation, but is NOT considered explicitly treasonous, like trade with them is). The excommunicated that have been not made outlaw has no legal issue with interaction in any way, though members of the Faith do need to be careful in their interactions, as any support that would signal agreement with the heretical could find themselves similarly barred from the Faith, and for that reason most members of the Faith receive explicit permission from their seniors before interaction with the excommunicated that were punished for blasphemy.