Excommunication

[RuthByzCat3]

I read on another thread that a heretic is to be punished with a major excommunication. This makes me wonder:

1. What is a major excommunication?
2. If the heretic repents and confesses before being excommunicated (I’m assuming a major excommunication is different from an immediate excommunication), are they still subject to excommunication?
3. If one is in heresy, is admonished, at first ignores the admonishment, and very, very soon returns to orthodoxy, are they still considered a heretic (having trouble understanding the “obstinate” part)?
4. Who can lift the excommunication?

Thanks!

 

[Aramis]

I read on another thread that a heretic is to be punished with a major excommunication. This makes me wonder:

1. What is a major excommunication?
2. If the heretic repents and confesses before being excommunicated (I’m assuming a major excommunication is different from an immediate excommunication), are they still subject to excommunication?
3. If one is in heresy, is admonished, at first ignores the admonishment, and very, very soon returns to orthodoxy, are they still considered a heretic (having trouble understanding the “obstinate” part)?
4. Who can lift the excommunication?

Thanks!

Last I checked, Major Excommunication means formal, written excommunication barring all the sacraments, by a Bishop, and requiring a bishop’s permission to lift it. It’s not the term currently used in the CCEO…

Who can lift it depends entirely upon who issued it and what for.

For a heretic, from the intratext english edition notes that the excommunication is latae sentencae; that is, by the law itself, existing due to the heresy even before the bishop notes it exists… It’s up to the bishop to decide if other penalties are applied, and nowhere is excommunication defined other than by who issues it and who may lift it.

A manifest public heretic will almost always get a private admonition informing them that they excommunicated themselves by their heresy; if they persist in teaching it after that, a formal excommunication reserved to the bishop is usually issued. That reservation means that only a bishop may give permission to return to the sacraments (including absolution).

They can confess to any priest, but that priest has to contact the bishop to get permission to absolve the individual.

Formal excommunication now is actually pretty rare.

 

[mardukm]

It might also be useful to make a distinction between Minor and Major Excommunication.

A Minor excommunication refers to prohibition from the Sacraments of the Church (aside from Penance, naturally) ALONE.

A Major excommunication carries with it other penalties, decided by the bishop, aside from prohibition from the Sacraments.

Such a distinction really no longer exists. “Major excommunication” in common parlance today is simply equivalent to “excommunication.”

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[RuthByzCat3]

Oh. I had read on another thread that in our Code, we did not have latae sentencae excommunications…

 

[mardukm]

Dear sister Ruth,

Oh. I had read on another thread that in our Code, we did not have latae sentencae excommunications…

I don’t think our Code uses the term latae sententiae. Maybe that is the intention of what you had read? The force of a latae sententiae excommunication depends in part on the Christian’s sense of personal responsibility for his/her spirituality. The purpose of excommunication (deprivation of the Sacraments), according to the Fathers, is to instill in the Christian the sense of the gravity of his/her sin, which is a necessary part of the spiritual growth of a Christian. At least, this is an important aspect of Oriental spirituality.

To be honest, I’m not sure if Easterns have the same outlook on penance, or the necessity of personal penance. I’ve had different responses from Easterns on the matter.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[RuthByzCat3]

Thank you both!

I was afraid that I had excommunicated myself during a period of extreme foolishness when I was very young (well, younger, as I’m only 16 to start ).

However, I went to confession today, found out that I did not do so, and now I’m just waiting on another post of mine to be answered before

1. Establishing what I had forgotten this morning.
2. Deleting this account and returning with a more masculine username (apparently putting your gender in your signature doesn’t work).