I Thought Priests Had The Authority To Forgive All Sins

[PJM]

=The Wizard;13243610]The pope said he would grant all Catholic priests temporary authority to “absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it.” Can someone explain what this mean?

The Mortal Sin of Abortion in addition to being always and every time gravely sinful ALSO has WITH IT an automatic excommunication attached to it. And heretofore; only the Pope could override and reinstae such people into the Good Graces of Jesus Christ.

Fr#om Our Catholic Catechism
**2272 **Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “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. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society

Hope this helps?

God Bless you,

Patrick

 

[Elizium23]

And heretofore; only the Pope could override and reinstae such people into the Good Graces of Jesus Christ.

Wrong; heretofore, all bishops and all priests they had duly delegated with the proper faculties had the ability to lift the excommunication. This included almost all priests in dioceses of the US and Canada. It was not widespread in other parts of the world. So this is not going to change the reality on the ground in most of North America, but it is a game-changer for, e.g., Europe.

 

[JimG]

It is noteworthy that on his blog (see my post #19) Canonist Ed Peters seems to argue that the sin of abortion and the canonical ‘crime’ of abortion are not necessarily coterminous. He says that he along with most other canon lawyers “hold sin to be distinguishable from crime, and that this crime is rarely, if ever, committed by women.”

Thus most women, I presume, in his view, who are guilty of the sin of abortion are not guilty of the crime of abortion and any penalties associated with the canonical crime would not apply.

 

[Brendan]

It is noteworthy that on his blog (see my post #19) Canonist Ed Peters seems to argue that the sin of abortion and the canonical ‘crime’ of abortion are not necessarily coterminous. He says that he along with most other canon lawyers “hold sin to be distinguishable from crime, and that this crime is rarely, if ever, committed by women.”.

It isn’t just Dr. Peters, just about every priest knows that.

For example, the ‘automatic’ excommunication does not affect a person under 16 years of age, but the sin certainly can. A priest with normal faculties could absolve that.

Any priest who has regular faculties, could absolve from the sin of abortion. But if they determined that the canonical penalty of excommunication applied to the woman (or doctor, or boyfriend) they could not removed that without permission from their bishop.

 

[Elizium23]

Any priest who has regular faculties, could absolve from the sin of abortion. But if they determined that the canonical penalty of excommunication applied to the woman (or doctor, or boyfriend) they could not removed that without permission from their bishop.

Or with prior faculties granted routinely by many bishops in the US and Canada to all priests in their dioceses.

 

[Vico]

Latin Catholics:

Apostasy, heresy, schism (CIC 1364.1), violating the sacred species (CIC 1367), physically attacking the pope (CIC 1370:1), sacramentally absolving an accomplice in a sexual sin (CIC 1378.1), consecrating a bishop without authorization (CIC 1382), directly violating the seal of confession (CIC 1388.1), and abortion (CIC 1398.

Eastern Catholics (reserved sins):CCEO

Canon 727
In some cases, in order to provide for the welfare of souls, the faculty of absolving from sins can be appropriately restricted and reserved to a determined authority; these reservations cannot be done without the consent of the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church or the council of hierarchs or the Apostolic See.

Canon 728
§1. Absolution from the following sins is reserved to the Apostolic See:

1° direct violation of the sacramental seal;
2° absolution of an accomplice in a sin against chastity;
§2. It is reserved to the eparchial bishop to absolve from the sin of procuring a completed abortion.

Canon 729
Any reservation of the absolution from sin lacks all force:
(1) if a sick person who cannot leave the house or a spouse confess in order to celebrate marriage;
(2) if in the prudent judgmentof the confessor, the faculty cannot be requested from the competent authority without grave inconvenience to the penitent orwithout danger of violation of the sacramental seal;
(3) outsidethe territorial boundaries in which the authority who makes the reservation exercises power.

Canon 730
Absolution of an accomplice in a sin against chastity in invalid except in danger of death.

Canon 731
One who confesses a false denunciation of an innocent confessor to ecclesiastical authority concerning the crime of solicitation to sin against chastity is not to be absolved unless that person formally retracts the denunciation and is prepared to repair damages if there are any.

​

 

[PJM]

=The Wizard;13245897]On a similar note, does murder carry a “penalty” of automatic excommunication?

NO!

I expct that this remains a CIVIL matter as there are so MANY complexities and variable conditions and motives involved.

God Bless you,

Patrick