When a sin is notorious, that is, fully public, as is, for example, the case when a politician or journalist publishes his or her heretical ideas for all to see, then a confession does not itself remove what would be a legitimate penalty in the public forum.

In the case of such manifest grave sin, a confessor would be obliged to require the penitent to do what he or she could to remove the scandal, simply as a requirement of true contrition. The confessor must tell the penitent, that if they wish to receive the sacrament of confession validly and then receive communion, they are obliged to remove the scandal. In some cases, the confessor would also be obliged to delay absolution until the scandal was removed. However, the confessor would be acting in this way solely in the private forum. It would not be his role as confessor to impose a sanction in the public forum.

On the other hand, legitimate penalties imposed in the external forum due to manifest grave sin, whether heresy or something else, are so imposed, because of the public nature of the sin. The penalty is imposed as a matter of canon law, such as an excommunication, or as a sanction necessary for the common good in accordance with canon law, such as withholding communion.

So reads the following excerpt from Cardinal Ratzinger’s memo linked to above:

Apart from an individual’s judgment about his worthiness to present himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, the minister of Holy Communion may find himself in the situation where he must refuse to distribute Holy Communion to someone, such as in cases of a declared excommunication, a declared interdict, or an obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin (cf. can. 915).

Therefore, it should be evident that it is legitimate for a minister of Holy Communion to withhold the Sacrament from one obstinately persisting in manifest grave sin, until he or she publically repudiates the sin. This is especially true when the offender makes a public profession of heresy.

I think the directive here is more concrete, although I agree that the writing has been on the wall for a long time.
It may not open more hearts, but let us never stop praying for our priests and religious that they, above all, will speak the word of Christ on Earth, and not the word of ‘whatever seems right to me’.

I do look forward to reading the whole Exhortation and I know that it will edify many but, on the other hand, will it open the hearts already closed?