Does this mean I am excummunicated

[RachelsAlumni]

Excommunication means you can no longer participate in any Sacrament whatsoever; that’s why you have to go and see the Bishop, so that he can reinstate you to the Sacraments. After that, then you go to Confession (usually with the Bishop), and then you are back into full communion with the Church.

It is not necessary to go to the Bishop. Any priest can hear the confession of someone who has received a latae sententiae excommunication from a procured abortion.

…whether one has been excommunicated or not, the sin of abortion must be confessed as the taking of innocent human life (5th Commandment). If the penitent did not know about this law at the time of the abortion then he or she was NOT excommunicated. If the person knew about the law but there were extenuating circumstances (such as mentioned above concerning c. 1323) then these factors should be mentioned to the confessor. He will say whether he has the faculty from the bishop to absolve from this excommunication or whether he even needs to. If he does not, he will privately and secretly obtain absolution from the bishop or send the person to a confessor who has that power. Colin B. Donovan, STL

Please don’t perpetuate the myth that abortion is an unforgiveable sin. All those who have had abortions should come home to Christ and the Church through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Church is anxiously awaiting the return of all sinners back home just as the father of the Prodigal Son was watching and waiting for his son to return.

The Church is here to heal those who are separated & wounded by sin, not condemn them. In fact, excommunication is considered “a medicinal rather than a vindictive penalty, being intended, not so much to punish the culprit, as to correct him and bring him back to the path of righteousness.”

 

[Leopard]

…And it is even less easy to come home from excommunication, because you have to make an appointment with the Bishop and go through several steps.

My understanding is that priests through the Sacrament of Reconciliation are generally authorized to lift the latae sententiae excommunication self-imposed on Catholics who procure or assist with an abortion.

As the previous poster has pointed out, though, there are certain sins and/or canonical penalties whose remission are reserved to the Ordinary or the Holy Father. As a penitent probably would not know what these might be, it would make sense for him first to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation, then if there are matters that must be refered to the Ordinary or the Holy See, the confessor can advise and assist the penitent in doing so.

 

[po18guy]

So a close friend of mine is getting an abortion. Does this mean I need to make an appointment with my Bishop?

I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned through my own fault…in what I have done and in what I have failed to do…
You are just a Sacrament away from forgiveness.
I would still intervene if there’s time…

Christ’s peace.

 

[catharina]

You can come home from mortal sin more easily than you can come home from excommunication.

All sin, including venial sin, is bad.

If you die with venial sin on your soul, you will also go to Hell.

~WRONG - and can’t imagine what you’re thinking.~

But it is so easy to come home from venial sin that it is extremely unlikely that any Catholic would die with venial sin on his/her soul - one single drop of holy water washes it away.

It is less easy to come home from mortal sin, because you have to go to a priest in the Confessional.

And it is even less easy to come home from excommunication, because you have to make an appointment with the Bishop and go through several steps.

 

[teachccd]

Healing the wounds of sin. Not sin itself - not even venial sin. All sin, of every kind, must be washed away before death. But sin leaves behind wounds, and these wounds must be healed before we can go to Heaven.

Thank our merciful Lord that our Church does not teach that!! You are correct as far as purgatory relinquishing us of the temporal punishments of our Mortal sins already confessed, but you are very incorrect as to venial sins. Venial sin can be a very minor offense and hardly equates to eternal damnation. Venial sins DO NOT separate us from God in the sense that we lose sanctifying grace. If our soul remains with the sanctifying grace that we received at our baptism we will be in heaven even if via purgatory.

WOW! I thought that I was scrupulous! I would be rocking in a chair praying a continuous Rosary if the Church taught that…God Bless…teachccd

 

[po18guy]

All sin, including venial sin, is bad.

If you die with venial sin on your soul, you will also go to Hell.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I have come to understand that, along with contrition, reception of the Eucharist cleanses venial sin.

Venial sin does not carry the penalty of eternal separation from God.

Christ’s peace.

 

[rwoehmke]

If you die with venial sin on your soul, you will also go to Hell.

That is news to me. Where did this notion spring from? No matter how many venial sins one commits the sum total never adds up to a mortal sin, the only kind of sin that I know of that, if unrepented, can land one’s boodie in hell. Isn’t purgatory effective in removing unrepented venial sins?

 

[jmcrae]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I have come to understand that, along with contrition, reception of the Eucharist cleanses venial sin.

This is true. Venial sin is cleansed very easily - the possibility of dying with it on your soul is next to zero, since even a half-sincere cry of “Jesus!” during the process of death will wash it away.

Venial sin does not carry the penalty of eternal separation from God.

So it seems, from the Catechism quotes given from Joe.

But, is the reason because it is next to impossible to die with venial sin on your soul, or because it is actually possible to die with sin on your soul that is not “big enough” to separate you from God? I was under the impression that even the most microscopic of sins gets between us and God, and causes at least some separation, and obviously, “separation” = “hell.”

 

[po18guy]

I was under the impression that even the most microscopic of sins gets between us and God, and causes at least some separation, and obviously, “separation” = “hell.”

This leads to the necessary purging of remaining sin. At death, the “particular judgment” determines where your soul will spend eternity. See this link to the definition: newadvent.org/cathen/08550a.htm

Christ’s peace.

 

[Newbie2]

Anyone have any links to canon law that spell out what will get one excommunicated?

 

[BlaineTog]

Since she is a close friend, you had an obligation to at least try to talk her out of it. Breaking that obligation was a sin, but not on the order of excommunication.

But yes, you should have spoken up. She was probably telling you about it because she wanted you to talk her out of it.

Not necessarily, not at all. One would think you’d tell your close friends you were getting an abortion even if you were staunchly pro-choice.