Q. If people are excommunicated from the Catholic Church, is there any way they can become un-excommunicated? I am wondering because my aunt was excommunicated from the Church back in the ’70s because she got divorced after she learned her husband was a high priest in a satanic church. I was shocked when I found out years ago that is why she started going to another church.

A. Excommunication is a statement about someone’s relationship with the faith community now. It is not an instruction to God about who should be admitted or refused entrance into heaven. Speaking about Martin Luther, Pope Francis has pointed out that excommunication ends at a person’s death.

God knows the heart of each person, living or deceased. Judgments about salvation are based on that divine knowledge, not on human judgments.