Abortion Question

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sami1066

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Around 10 years ago My then Partner Had an Abortion,
I took the stance of it was her decision and let her go through with it. She was A protestant but as a Catholic this has plagued me for 10 years, what is the penalty of this? Under Canon Law am I excommunicated automatically? I have confessed this in confession. I would never do that again.
 
sami1066 said:
Around 10 years ago My then Partner Had an Abortion,
I took the stance of it was her decision and let her go through with it. She was A protestant but as a Catholic this has plagued me for 10 years, what is the penalty of this? Under Canon Law am I excommunicated automatically? I have confessed this in confession. I would never do that again.
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The excommunication set forth in Canon 1398 applies only to “[a] person who procures a completed abortion.” Merely saying “That’s okay, go ahead, I support your decision, that’s a good idea” does not constitute procurement of an abortion. If however you actively urged it in the face of hesitation, paid for it, etc., then the case might be different. Since you have already confessed this, I would note (1) if the confessor did not see fit to mention that you might have incurred excommunication, then there is no reason to think you did, and (2) most confessors have the authority to lift excommunications arising under Canon 1398, so it would presumably have been lifted at that time had it been in effect.
 
I totally agree with the previous posters. I would like to add that I belong to a Pro-life group and something we see frequently are people who were involved in an abortion, specially women who have had abortions, who eventually repented and confessed their sin being plagued by the abortion or having guilty feelings for many many years after. I would highly recommend you to join a Pro-life group. Pro-life groups do offer a lot of support to people in your situation and I’ve seen that becoming a speaker and talk about your feelings and your process of repentment, does help them a lot. Also, get a spiritual guide. Look for a priest that you feel comfortable and speak with the priest about the issue so they can help you. My prayers are with you.
 
Thankyou all dearly.

I was stupid in my teens im 31 now, it happened while i was studying at university, in hind sight it has taught me chastity is the best prevention. So if i had incurred excommunication it would have been lifted by the confessor?

I appreciate your prayers and commend your knowledge of canon law.
 
sami1066 said:
I was stupid in my teens im 31 now, it happened while i was studying at university, in hind sight it has taught me chastity is the best prevention. So if i had incurred excommunication it would have been lifted by the confessor?
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Most likely it would have been lifted by the confessor. Less likely, he would have told you what else to do. He would not let an excommunicated person go without dealing with it.
 
So Ive been to confession again to get it off my chest and after some good advice from my Priest and all of your comments I feel a lot better!

God bless
 
sami1066 said:
So Ive been to confession again to get it off my chest and after some good advice from my Priest and all of your comments I feel a lot better!
God bless
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I am pleased to learn this. 👍

Thank God for the Sacrament of Confession.
 
sami1066 said:
Around 10 years ago My then Partner Had an Abortion,
I took the stance of it was her decision and let her go through with it. She was A protestant but as a Catholic this has plagued me for 10 years…
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I have friends who are in the exact same position - and they also suffer terribly. I’ll offer the same suggestion that I give to my friends - name the child, pray to the child to tell them about your day, to tell them how you might miss them now.

God Bless…
 
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