Eucharist Sacrilege

[wsoxfan7]

Hello everyone! I am a first time user with a serious question that has been bugging me. I was reading on the Catholic News Agency about a boy who committed sacrilege against the Eucharist (Link Found Here: catholicnewsagency.com/news/community-to-celebrate-act-of-reparation-for-sacrilege-against-eucharist/). I know that if one were to commit sacrilege against the Eucharist he or she is automatically excommunicated. I was wondering if this excommunication would still apply to young people who have not reached the age of reason yet. I have also seen and heard about several children in my own parish who have not treated the Eucharist with complete reverence. I was also told that priests, at least in the U.S., can forgive excommunications in the Sacrament of Penance. If so, would the possible automatic excommunication of a minor be lifted in the Sacrament of Penance?

 Any help would be much appreciated. 
                                                   
                                                   Thanks!

 

[Vico]

Hello everyone! I am a first time user with a serious question that has been bugging me. I was reading on the Catholic News Agency about a boy who committed sacrilege against the Eucharist (Link Found Here: catholicnewsagency.com/news/community-to-celebrate-act-of-reparation-for-sacrilege-against-eucharist/). I know that if one were to commit sacrilege against the Eucharist he or she is automatically excommunicated. I was wondering if this excommunication would still apply to young people who have not reached the age of reason yet. I have also seen and heard about several children in my own parish who have not treated the Eucharist with complete reverence. I was also told that priests, at least in the U.S., can forgive excommunications in the Sacrament of Penance. If so, would the possible automatic excommunication of a minor be lifted in the Sacrament of Penance?

 Any help would be much appreciated. 
                                                   
                                                   Thanks!

Latin Canon Law

Can. 1323 No one is liable to a penalty who, when violating a law or precept:
Can. 1323 1° has not completed the sixteenth year of age;
Can. 1323 2° was, without fault, ignorant of violating the law or precept; inadvertence and error are equivalent to ignorance;

catholicdoors.com/faq/qu80.htm

 

[wsoxfan7]

Thank you for the help! I had a gut feeling that a five year old would be excommunicated for something that he or she had no knowledge of.

 

[TimothyH]

Sacrilege has to be intentional. You have to intend to profane the Eucharist. The article doesn’t say anything about why the boy did it.

The article is very poorly written and really isn’t newsworthy outside of the local parish. The article doesn’t even give us the boys age for crying out loud, and calls him both a young man and a boy!

Slapping a child in the US would get the priest arrested.

-Tim-

 

[Isca]

In the UK, we might refer to a teenager under 18 as a ‘boy’. I think from reading the article he was not a child, but a teenager? Anyway, slapping someone is wrong, however strongly you feel offended. He’d also be arrested in England for that!

 

[ProVobis]

In the UK, we might refer to a teenager under 18 as a ‘boy’. I think from reading the article he was not a child, but a teenager? Anyway, slapping someone is wrong, however strongly you feel offended. He’d also be arrested in England for that!

When I lived in the UK in the 50’s, they whip that stick across the palm of your hands in front of the class for as little as having an inkblot on your paper. I could imagine what they would have done for any kind of Eucharistic sacrilege.

 

[lifesoldier]

Anyway, slapping someone is wrong, however strongly you feel offended. He’d also be arrested in England for that!

Don’t you know that Catholic Church has a history of slaping and punching?
St. Nicholas punced Arian priest.
St. Pious X. punched heretics.
Some saints, if I am not mistaken, participated in inquisition.
There is probably plenty of things that I didn’t mention and for which I don’t know about.
SORRY FOR BAD ENGLISH!

 

[thistle]

Don’t you know that Catholic Church has a history of slaping and punching?
St. Nicholas punced Arian priest.
St. Pious X. punched heretics.
Some saints, if I am not mistaken, participated in inquisition.
There is probably plenty of things that I didn’t mention and for which I don’t know about.
SORRY FOR BAD ENGLISH!

That is nonsense.
An individual slapping someone is NOT the Church slapping someone!!
The Church cannot slap anyone and nor does the Church teach that anyone should be slapped.