Can a Non-Catholic Christian be excommunicated latae sententiae?

[theodosius]

Greetings, all! This is my first post here in Catholic Answers, so my apologies if I am posting this question in the wrong place.

I was wondering if it is possible for a Non-Catholic Christian to incur the sentence of excommunication latae sententiae?

I am new to the Catholic faith and have just begun the RCIA program in my parish, after some time of careful soul searching. I came to Christianity several years ago (through the study of philosophy and scholasticism, interestingly enough). At the time, I had difficulty accepting the papal supremacy, and so was baptized into the Anglo-Catholic faith. However, after more education (including reading a great deal of St John Henry Newman and the Church Fathers), I finally came to the realization that the Roman Catholic Church was the true Universal Church of Christ, and decided to begin moving toward reconciliation to Rome and reception into the Church. This included exploring the Roman Catholic Church and attending Mass weekly, which I have been doing for the past six months or so.

Now, the reason I ask this question about excommunication latae sententiae, is because I have some anxiety that, through past actions, as a baptized Christian, I have incurred such a penalty.

First, during my time as an Anglo-Catholic, I was very vocally opposed to the Papacy, being woefully uneducated and in error (something that I deeply regret to this day). I fear that this may have made me a formal heretic and not just a material one.

Second, some time ago, I had a “dark night of the soul” as it was, concerning my faith. The details are not important, but I felt challenged in my beliefs and spiritually exhausted and discouraged. I strongly considered leaving the Christian faith entirely, so much so that I even missed a Mass on Sunday and stayed home to get my thoughts in order. I never vocalized this to anyone, and these strong thoughts of apostasy were soon resolved by careful thought, prayer, and study after a few dark days, but I continue to feel guilt over my weakness and doubt to this day.

So, my question is, having not yet been received into the Catholic Church, but being a baptized Christian, were either of these properly acts of apostasy or schism, and, if so, have I brought upon myself the sentence of excommunication latae sententiae? I still have quite some time to go before confessing and being received into the Catholic Church this spring, and I have this terrible anxiety and fear that I’ll be unable to do so because I’ve incurred excommunication.

Your help and advice, brothers and sisters in Christ, will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Weserthy]

No. Non-Catholics are not subject to Canon Law and therefore cannot be excommunicated. There are several other reasons why the penalty wouldn’t have applied to you, but this is the simplest answer.

 

[DIERM]

Non-Catholics are not in communion, therefore ex-communication would be a moot point.

 

[Jen7]

No way! Be at peace! You can’t be kicked out of communion with (ex-communion) from something you weren’t yet in communion yet in the first place.

If the anxiety persists, please get help!

And welcome - how exciting to have you as you’re on the cusp of coming into the Church fully!!

 

[1ke]

I was wondering if it is possible for a Non-Catholic Christian to incur the sentence of excommunication latae sententiae?

No.

A non Catholic is not subject to canon law, and cannot be excluded from communion (which is what excommunication does) because they are not in communion with the Church in the first place.

I fear that this may have made me a formal heretic

Nope. That isn’t possible as you were not a Catholic.

having not yet been received into the Catholic Church, but being a baptized Christian, were either of these properly acts of apostasy or schism,

No.

and, if so, have I brought upon myself the sentence of excommunication latae sententiae?

No.

 

[acanonlawyer]

So as to provide a little more precision to the topic, I will say that the Catholic Church’s penal law does not apply to non-Catholics.

Dan

 

[HeDa]

It is very common for people to study themselves into the Catholic Church. Others become Catholic because they marry someone who is a Catholic and they found the faith to be true.

What I found most helpful when I was becoming Catholic, were the individual meetings I had with one of the priests, where I could talk about what was preventing me from becoming Catholic and what I needed help with to grow as a human being. I still value those meetings very, very highly and still meet the priest when needed.

The priests, deacons, brothers and sisters are there to help us reach eternal life. Make an appointment with one of them and talk about the things that bother you. RICA is good for teaching the faith but individual matters is a different thing.

 

[dochawk]

No more than the Masons or Elks could kick me out . . . I’m just not a member, so . . . .

and excommunication follows the same logic for someone not in communion.