Are baptized Protestants, who were never Cathoic, under automatic excommunication?

[pnewton]

Here is the passage I found earlier on who can be excommunicated:

Can. 1364 §1. Without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 194, §1, n. 2, an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication; in addition, a cleric can be punished with the penalties mentioned in ⇒ can. 1336, §1, nn. 1, 2, and 3.

I will keep looking and see if there is another list that might include protestants.

EDITTED:

Okay, here is another section that I think would exclude protestants:

Can. 1321 §1. No one is punished unless the external violation of a law or precept, committed by the person, is gravely imputable by reason of malice or** negligence**.
§2. A penalty established by a law or precept binds the person who has deliberately violated the law or precept; however, a person who violated a law or precept by omitting necessary diligence is not punished unless the law or precept provides otherwise.

EDITTED one more time for another:

Can. 1323 The following are not subject to a penalty when they have violated a law or precept:
1/ a person who has not yet completed the sixteenth year of age;
2/ a person who without negligence was ignorant that he or she violated a law or precept; inadvertence and error are equivalent to ignorance;

 

[vern_humphrey]

Then, if they an individual Protestant is not considered a heretic, then the section I read in the 1983 CCL on who can be excommunicated should not apply, and they can no longer be excommunicated.

The distinction is between “be” and “are.”

Protestants are denied communion in the Catholic Church. There is no issued of them being excommunicated – that is, a formal act depriving them of communion because they are not entitled to communion in the first place.

If you will, it’s like a British criminal being exiled to Australia, versus someone born in Australia. They’re both in the same place, but one of them committed an offense and got sent there. The other has been there naturally all his life.

Where’s a canon lawyer when you need one?

Canon lawyers are the rarest creatures in the world – because they are (are you ready for this?) honest lawyers!!

 

[Michael_Francis]

Thanks to all who contributed to the discussion.
This thread is now closed.