Excommunication for abortion but not for sexual abuse

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I need an answer quickly. Basically, why is it that abortion incurs latae sententiae excommunication, but sexual abuse such as rape does not?

I don’t understand this myself. Both are mortal sins, and both separate a person from the Church. But why is one excommunicable but the other not?

I understand there is one argument for excomm and that is that it is a penalty for an offense to show the gravity of that offense, such as attempted women’s ordination. People might not take that seriously so it is excommunicable. But with abortion and sex abuse, both are mortal and serious sins and everybody can easily know that, so why the different approach?

Why is abortion excommunicable but rape not?

This story is relevant to the discussion: examiner.com/atheism-in-los-angeles/doctor-who-performed-abortion-on-9-year-old-rape-victim-excommunicated
 
bobolink said:
I need an answer quickly. Basically, why is it that abortion incurs latae sententiae excommunication, but sexual abuse such as rape does not?

I don’t understand this myself. Both are mortal sins, and both separate a person from the Church. But why is one excommunicable but the other not?

I understand there is one argument for excomm and that is that it is a penalty for offesnes to show the gravity of those offense, such as attempted women’s ordination. People might not take that seriously so it is excommunicable. But with abortion and sex abuse, both are serious sins and everybody can easily know that.

Why is abortion excommunicable but rape not?

This story is relevant to the discussion: examiner.com/atheism-in-los-angeles/doctor-who-performed-abortion-on-9-year-old-rape-victim-excommunicated
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Because a lot of people think abortion is okay. I don’t think you’ll find anyone that will disagree with you when you say sexual assult is wrong. Whereas abortion, you’ll have maybe half agree with you and half won’t.

Excommunication is not meant as a standard punishment for sins. Its mean for major violations of Canon Law, or in this case reinforce an actsinful even though it is generally accepted in society.
 
bobolink said:
I need an answer quickly. Basically, why is it that abortion incurs latae sententiae excommunication, but sexual abuse such as rape does not?

I don’t understand this myself. Both are mortal sins, and both separate a person from the Church. But why is one excommunicable but the other not?

I understand there is one argument for excomm and that is that it is a penalty for offesnes to show the gravity of those offense, such as attempted women’s ordination. People might not take that seriously so it is excommunicable. But with abortion and sex abuse, both are serious sins and everybody can easily know that.

Why is abortion excommunicable but rape not?

This story is relevant to the discussion: examiner.com/atheism-in-los-angeles/doctor-who-performed-abortion-on-9-year-old-rape-victim-excommunicated
Click to expand...
Excommunication is not a punishment. It is a statement that the individual in question is not a Catholic based upon his/her actions. Abortion undermines the very essence of life. The canon says that any party to an abortion incurs an implicit excommunication.

Those who have committed a mortal sin (such as rape) have also chosen to separate themselves from the Church. That is why they must go to confession before receiving Holy Communion.

Someone who has been implicitly excommunicated may also seek re-entry into the church by going to confession. The difference here is that a priest must consult with his bishop prior to giving absolution (also from canon law).
 
But why is rape or sexual abuse of a minor not an excommunicable offense?
 
bobolink said:
But why is rape or sexual abuse of a minor not an excommunicable offense?
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Murder is not as well. As I said, there is no question sexual assult or abuse of minors is wrong. One who commits it knowingly knows he has separated himself from God and His Church. Many who go to abortion nowadays think its okay to do so. As I mentioned, excommunication is meant to reinforce Church teaching because a lot of people think it is okay when in reality it is not. You don’t need to remind people that sexual assult is a sin.
 
bobolink said:
But why is rape or sexual abuse of a minor not an excommunicable offense?
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It is a mortal sin, which separates the person from the Church. They may not receive Holy Communion. In essence, that person is not in communion with the church until he/she has gone to confession. One does not have to have a formal declaration to no longer be in communion with the Church.
 
bobolink said:
But why is rape or sexual abuse of a minor not an excommunicable offense?
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For the most part, sinful acts that are also condemned by the civil society (I.e. Crimes)
do not carry an excommunication because everybody but the perpetrator believes them to be wrong. Excommunication allows the Church to maintain that, even when the civil society has proclaimed certain acts to be ok, they remain wrong.

ICXC NIKA
 
bobolink said:
I need an answer quickly. Basically, why is it that abortion incurs latae sententiae excommunication, but sexual abuse such as rape does not?

I don’t understand this myself. Both are mortal sins, and both separate a person from the Church. But why is one excommunicable but the other not?

I understand there is one argument for excomm and that is that it is a penalty for an offense to show the gravity of that offense, such as attempted women’s ordination. People might not take that seriously so it is excommunicable. But with abortion and sex abuse, both are mortal and serious sins and everybody can easily know that, so why the different approach?

Why is abortion excommunicable but rape not?

This story is relevant to the discussion: examiner.com/atheism-in-los-angeles/doctor-who-performed-abortion-on-9-year-old-rape-victim-excommunicated
Click to expand...
In addition to the reasons cited above, there are sometimes legitimately gray areas in accusations of abuse and rape (questions of consent, whether the party was aware of the victim’s age, etc.), but abortion is comparatively straightforward.

Abortion is unique amongst moral ills in incurring automatic excommunication, as a result (if I understand correctly), of JPII trying to raise the alarm about it. It isn’t as if we’re lax on sex abuse, but that we’re doubly-firm on abortion.
 
prstoessel said:
Excommunication is not a punishment. It is a statement that the individual in question is not a Catholic based upon his/her actions.
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This is not accurate. Excommunication is a canonical punishment for specific delicts.

The person is still a Catholic, excommunications bars one from the sacraments. It does not make a person “not” Catholic.
prstoessel said:
. The canon says that any party to an abortion incurs an implicit excommunication.
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No, it doesn’t state that:

Can. 1398 A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

This canon applies to accomplices:

Can. 1329 §1. If ferendae sententiae penalties are established for the principal perpetrator, those who conspire together to commit a delict and are not expressly named in a law or precept are subject to the same penalties or to others of the same or lesser gravity.

§2. Accomplices who are not named in a law or precept incur a latae sententiae penalty attached to a delict if without their assistance the delict would not have been committed, and the penalty is of such a nature that it can affect them; otherwise, they can be punished by ferendae sententiae penalties.
 
bobolink said:
But why is rape or sexual abuse of a minor not an excommunicable offense?
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It is punishable by Law, whereas Abortion is (largely) legal, so canonical actions are taken instead, and I think you forget that Clerical Abuse is punishable by Canon Law by other actions, such as abuse of the confessional and other actions, excommunication is just a public decree that (even though the action maybe legal) the action is innately sinful.
 
1ke said:
This is not accurate. Excommunication is a canonical punishment for specific delicts.

The person is still a Catholic, excommunications bars one from the sacraments. It does not make a person “not” Catholic.

No, it doesn’t state that:

Can. 1398 A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

This canon applies to accomplices:

Can. 1329 §1. If ferendae sententiae penalties are established for the principal perpetrator, those who conspire together to commit a delict and are not expressly named in a law or precept are subject to the same penalties or to others of the same or lesser gravity.

§2. Accomplices who are not named in a law or precept incur a latae sententiae penalty attached to a delict if without their assistance the delict would not have been committed, and the penalty is of such a nature that it can affect them; otherwise, they can be punished by ferendae sententiae penalties.
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Regarding the implicit excommunication. I did mean to say automatic excommunication. I stand corrected.

While an excommunication may be used to censure or impose discipline, as a formal declaration it is not a punishment, but a proclamation of a pre-existing condition in which the individual’s actions are contrary to Catholic doctrine.

Enough splitting hairs… the bottom line is that being a party to an abortion or raping someone puts the individual outside of the Catholic Church. Specifically, the sacraments.

It is in that context that I said the person is no longer Catholic. Sure, they are Catholic (in name only), but they are not to come to the sacraments until they change their ways.
 
bobolink said:
But why is rape or sexual abuse of a minor not an excommunicable offense?
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Because no one is ever going to question the heinous nature of those offenses. No one is going to look at a rapist and say “well, if he did it, it must be ok”. No one is going around advocating the legalization of child rape (other than NAMBLA but no one takes them seriously). Abortion is often rationalized and carries the risk of giving scandal.

Abortion always results in the death of an innocent human too. There is no other sin, not even murder, that you could say that about. It carries a special cannonical penalty due to its especially evil nature.
 
Silyosha said:
Can a person ever be “un excommunicated”?
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Yes. Most excommunications can be done away by bishops. In cases such as abortion where its more widespread and more people are excommunicated by committing it, bishops may deligate his priests to act on his behalf to lift excommunications.

Some excommunications are reserved to the Pope alone to lift. Everything is defined in Canon Law or another authoritative Church document.

The only Sacrament an excommunicated person may avail of is the Sacrament of Reconcilliation. Sometimes that is enough to lift the excommunication, other times you’d need a letter to the Bishop or Pope and there would be further invetigation before a formal lifting of excommunication.
 
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