What is a Latae Sententiae Excommunication?
Yesterday a Vatican official said that John Kerry and pro-abortion politicians incur ecxommunication latae sententiae. I wondered exactly what this was and how one becomes excommunicated in this fashion. I wanted to share what I learned so far here in my blog. I am still learning about this and I hope I can learn more. This is what I have found:
The Latin literally means something like "a broad judgment." Ecclesiastically it means those who incur excommunication automatically without the need of a judgment of a Church official or Church body. In other words, according to current Catholic canon law, there are some acts that automatically excommunicate you from the Catholic Church. You don’t have to go before a bishop, or before a synod, you simply, through your own choice, choose to act contrary to the Church, and thus are separated from the Church. The other type of excommunication, ferendae sententiae is a judgment imposed by a Church Superior. The acts that incur latae sententiae excommunication are:
Apostasy- Willfully rejecting the truth, e.g. becoming an atheist.
Heresy- Holding beliefs contrary to Church Teaching, e.g. Arians.
Schism- Separating from the Church, e.g. the Latin Mass SSPX
Desecration of the Eucharist- Desecrating the Body and Blood
Physical force against the Pontiff- Assaulting the Pope
One who procures an abortion & accomplices- Patient, doctor, politicians(?).
Priest who absolves his own partner in adultery
Priest who directly violates the confessional sacramental seal
Both parties who consecrate a bishop without a pontifical mandate
There are mitigating circumstances that can lessen these sins, that are outlined in Canon law (1322ff). Those excluded from excommunication are those who:
Have not turned 17
Were, without fault, ignorant of violating the law
Acted under physical force, or under a chance occurrence that could not be foreseen or avoided
Acted under compulsion of grave fear
Lacked the use of reason
A latae sententiae excommuncation is not permanent, and may be lifted if a person goes to the sacrament of reconciliation. In fact all excommunication is seen as medicinal in value, to bring the person back into the fold. Keep in mind that a senior official has to absolve the sins in order to lift the excommunication (or a priest acting on his behalf), so consult your local priest about your situation.
Should you worry about excommunicating yourself? Only numbers 1-6 relate to laypeople. Most people know pretty clearly if they assault the Pope. As far as desecrating the Eucharist, most Catholics are ok, and do not normally desecrate the Eucharist intentionally, such as by throwing away the host. Abortion is more complicated. The debate now is as to whether pro-choice politicians are accomplices in the act of abortion. This issue will be debated heavily in the upcoming years within the Catholic Church. Apostasy, Heresy, and Schism are more complicated too, as many Catholics publicly, intentionally, and willfully teach against the Church. If you willfully submit to the Church’s teaching you should be safe on all of these. Even if you slip up, or unintentionally hold to a heretical belief, if your intentions are to hold to Church Teaching and be corrected when necessary (and follow the correction), I wouldn’t lose sleep over whether you are excommunicated. Canon 1323:2 states that a person is not liable to penalty if he or she "was, without fault, ignorant of violating the law or precept; inadvertence and error are equivalent to ignorance." However, continuing in heresy and the other sins once you know the Church’s Teaching is another matter entirely.
Should we judge who is excommunicated and who is not? I don’t think so. We are not present in the confessional with others, and we cannot judge the heart like God can. We do not know who has been absolved and who has not, nor do we know the mitigating circumstances surrounding a person’s situation. Nor can we refuse another person communion; only a priest, bishop, or the individual himself may do this. Thus I think we should leave this matter to the Church hierarchy and to the consciences of the individuals involved. However, I think admonition and teaching are certainly helpful if someone is clearly in or near a state of latae sententiae excommunication.
Some Links:
Discussion on Excommunication
Excommunication.Net
Canon Law on Excommunication
"Excommunication" from Wikipedia
Note: If I have erred or omitted anything important to this discussion, please add a comment, as I am learning about this topic
