Hopefully this cut and paste is better

Me: Was Fr. Feeney excommunicated?

Chat: Yes, Father Leonard Feeney, an American Jesuit priest, was indeed excommunicated. Feeney was a controversial figure in the mid-20th century due to his strict interpretation of Catholic doctrine, particularly concerning the doctrine of "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" (Outside the Church there is no salvation).

Feeney taught that salvation was only possible for those who were formal members of the Catholic Church, explicitly rejecting the possibility of salvation for those outside the visible boundaries of the Church, including non-Catholics and non-Christians.

Feeney's views led to a conflict with Church authorities, as they were deemed incompatible with the Church's teachings on salvation, which allow for the possibility of salvation for those who, through no fault of their own, do not explicitly belong to the Catholic Church.

After a series of warnings and attempts at reconciliation, Father Feeney was formally excommunicated by the Holy See in 1953 due to his refusal to retract his teachings on salvation. However, it's worth noting that the excommunication was lifted posthumously in 1972, years after Feeney's death in 1978, following the intervention of Cardinal Humberto Medeiros of Boston and further clarification of Catholic doctrine on salvation by the Second Vatican Council.

ME: If Fr. Feeney died in 1978 and the excommunication was lifted in 1972, then how is this after his death?

CHAT: You are correct, and I appreciate the clarification. I misspoke in my previous response. Father Leonard Feeney was indeed excommunicated in 1953, and the excommunication was lifted in 1972, six years before his death in 1978. Thank you for pointing out the error.

Me: What heresy did Fr. Feeney recant in 1972?

CHAT: Father Leonard Feeney's reconciliation with the Catholic Church in 1972 did not involve recanting a specific heresy, as his teachings were not formally declared heretical by the Church. Instead, his reconciliation centered around his adherence to a strict interpretation of the doctrine "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" (Outside the Church there is no salvation) and his refusal to accept the Church's nuanced understanding of this doctrine.

Feeney's teachings emphasized the necessity of formal membership in the Catholic Church for salvation, which conflicted with the Church's broader understanding that God's saving grace is not limited to visible membership in the Church but extends to all who seek truth and goodness, even if they are not formally part of the Church.

The reconciliation process likely involved Feeney expressing his acceptance of the Church's broader teaching on salvation and acknowledging that his previous stance was overly rigid and exclusionary. As a result, the excommunication imposed on Feeney was lifted, allowing him to be reconciled with the Church before his death in 1978.

At least Chat GPT recognized that fact that Fr. Feeney did not recant any specific heresy.  Of course not. Fr. Feeney did not deny anything defined, so he necessarily had nothing to recant.