Can a priest excommunicate?

[claforet]

Can a Catholic Priest excommunicate a parishioner? I thought only a Bishop or the Pope could. Anyone know?

 

[LilyM]

Put it this way - no one really ‘excommunicates’ anyone else in Catholicism. A person excommunicates themselves (puts themselves out of communion with the Church) by their actions. All anyone else can do is ‘declare’ publicly that that person is excommunicated. It’s a subtle difference.

And some sins, for example abortion, bring automatic excommunication upon the sinner without ANYONE having to declare it. So a priest who tells you that you are excommunicated by reason of your mortal sin of having had an abortion is correct, and entitled to say so, but they’re not actually excommunicating you.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Can a Catholic Priest excommunicate a parishioner?

No.

There are two types of excommunication: ferendae sententiae and latae sententiae. A *latae sententiae *excommunication is “automatic” - it occurs when the individual does something proscribed by Canon Law (provided there are no impediments). A priest may “find” that a person has committed such an offense, and is therefore *de facto *excommunicate, but the priest does not actually excommunicate him.

A *ferendae sententiae *excommunication must be pronounced by a valid authority. This is an aspect of Catholic jurisprudence, and is normally handled in a Catholic tribunal (with judges appointed by the Bishop), although the Bishop himself (or a Pope) may try the case directly. This involves a trial, with the accused entitled to council. It is very similar to a trial under United States judicial procedures. If the verdict is prononced against the accused, then s/he is (at that point) excommunicate. A Catholic priest does not have unilateral authority to pronounce *ferendae sententiae *excommunication.