Excommunication Question

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In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read ~~ "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

Does this automatically need the attention of the bishop or can the parish pastor discern the steps needed for reconciliation? How can this be resolved with the anonymity of the seal of confession?

In other words, what are the normative ways for an excommunication to be lifted and can a person still receive absolution within the Sacrament of Reconciliation or does she have to make an appointment with the Bishop?
 
teachccd said:
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read ~~ "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

Does this automatically need the attention of the bishop or can the parish pastor discern the steps needed for reconciliation? How can this be resolved with the anonymity of the seal of confession?

In other words, what are the normative ways for an excommunication to be lifted and can a person still receive absolution within the Sacrament of Reconciliation or does she have to make an appointment with the Bishop?
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I haven’t delved into this section of Canon Law yet but I believe only a Bishop may absolve from excommunication due to abortion.
 
Often the priest will have the delegated authority to deal with the excommunication directly within the confessional. If not, the priest will take down the information from the confessional and contact the bishop himself.
 
I’ve heard both of the above replies and that is what prompted the question. It seems that each case would need to be dealt with on an individual basis. So does the woman just walk in the confessional and go from there? I have also heard that a censure can only be lifted by the bishop. It is also to be understood that an excommunication prohibits one from all of the sacraments. So how would she enter the confessional? I’m a bit :confused:… teachccd
 
From here:

In any case, 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.

Also see here.
 
I saw on EWTN, that If given prior approval to do so by their bishops, priests today are able to absolve women and men of the sin of abortion at the time it is confessed.
 
teachccd said:
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read ~~ "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

Does this automatically need the attention of the bishop or can the parish pastor discern the steps needed for reconciliation? How can this be resolved with the anonymity of the seal of confession?

In other words, what are the normative ways for an excommunication to be lifted and can a person still receive absolution within the Sacrament of Reconciliation or does she have to make an appointment with the Bishop?
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In the United States, because of the widespread nature of abortion, this faculty of remitting the excommunication is given by every bishop to their priests.
 
AJV said:
In the United States, because of the widespread nature of abortion, this faculty of remitting the excommunication is given by every bishop to their priests.
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Sometimes the priests in a diocese only have the ability to remit the first excommunication due to abortion, and must still refer the matter back to the bishop for someone who has had/performed multiple abortions.
 
Thank you to eveyone here who took the time to reply. It cleared things up and gave me a better understanding. God bless… teachccd
 
Just_Lurking said:
From here:

In any case, 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.

Also see here.
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Great Info! Thank you!!
 
Just_Lurking said:
From here:

In any case, 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.

Also see here.
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Thanks for posting this Just Lurking.

One thing I noticed that confuses me is that the confessor appears to learn of this grave sin within the sacrament and by “privately and secretly…” communicating with his bishop, appears to break the confessional seal. Am I interpreting this wrong or can anyone shed light on this?
 
thistle said:
That is not correct. Such authority has been delegated to the priests.
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This is not correct as well. The Bishop may delegate the authority, but its not ordinary for a priest to have this authority. So not all priests have the authority to lift excommunication as a result of abortion. Although as the other poster said, in countries where abortion is widespread, more priests may have been granted this authority. But still don’t expect that every priest would have it.
 
ConstantineTG said:
This is not correct as well. The Bishop may delegate the authority, but its not ordinary for a priest to have this authority. So not all priests have the authority to lift excommunication as a result of abortion. Although as the other poster said, in countries where abortion is widespread, more priests may have been granted this authority. But still don’t expect that every priest would have it.
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Having spoken to a number of priests in several countries they tell me it is very common for priests to have this authoity delegated to them.
 
thistle said:
Having spoken to a number of priests in several countries they tell me it is very common for priests to have this authoity delegated to them.
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What I’m saying that its not ordinary for them, not common. Ordinary means they have this power as a priest as part of being a priest. Common would mean that even though the Bishop would have to do something extra to hand down the authority for the priest. Even if all Bishops in the world do that, its common but still not ordinary. A case in point is confirmation. Only a Bishop can confirm. But he can grant his authority to priests. Often the case is that the Bishop does give priests his authority to confirm and this is common, but its still not ordinary for priests to confirm.
 
Even if the priest does not have the delegated authority needed to remit the penalty, he can still do it, as long as the penalty is not declared (and the penalty for abortion is hardly ever, if ever, declared):

"Can. 1357 §1. Without prejudice to the prescripts of cann. 508 and 976, a confessor can remit in the internal sacramental forum an undeclared latae sententiae censure of excommunication or interdict if it is burdensome for the penitent to remain in the state of grave sin during the time necessary for the competent superior to make provision.

§2. In granting the remission, the confessor is to impose on the penitent, under the penalty of reincidence, the obligation of making recourse within a month to the competent superior or to a priest endowed with the faculty and the obligation of obeying his mandates; in the meantime he is to impose a suitable penance and, insofar as it is demanded, reparation of any scandal and damage; however, recourse can also be made through the confessor, without mention of the name.

§3. …(not relevant)…"

There is the question of having recourse but that seems to be a confirmation of the remission granted by the confessor. So, the confessor is the one who remits the penalty, even though there is the required, subsequent recourse to the proper authority.

Dan
 
I got more than I even know was out there! Thanks to all of you!!
 
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