Doesn’t everyone hate when a non-[insert religion] tells members of that religion that they know it (or something about it) better than them? Especially when that something is related to canon law, which should really be left to canon lawyers (or at least Catholics familiar with it), who have degrees in its study (odd when some think it is rather black and white…).
Theosis,
Given that more than half of the people who were making fun of me and telling me what an anti-Catholic bigot I was to even address the issue had NEVER HEARD of it, I hope you will excuse me if I don’t take your criticism of my own research into this very seriously.
Especially since I did not attempt to get into the intricacies of who is, or is not, suffering under this sort of excommunication. That is indeed a matter for the lawyers. However, the law is pretty clear on its face; THESE acts result in THAT consequence. The assumption is that those who committed those acts qualify for the consequences.
In some states, a criminal who assaults someone over 60 is going to get more jail time than someone who clobbers a 40 year old. That’s the law. One does not need to have a doctorate in law to understand that there IS a difference in the way the law treats one assault vs. another; the assumption is that a: the assault was committed, b; the attacker knew what he was doing, and c; the question isn’t about guilt, but what penalty is assigned to what act.
In canon law, too, one does not need to have a degree in theology and canon law…and to understand all the intricacies of what makes an assault on the Pope an 'assault on the Pope," or to understand all the details about when a person is guilty of a specific act. The description of the consequences assume that all that was decided; a guilty person committed this act…ok, THESE are the consequences.It is IRRELEVENT whether a latae sententiae excommunication applies if a woman isn’t aware that getting an abortion would result in it. It is irrelevant whether a Catholic excommunication is the same as, or different from, a Mormon one. The point is simple; you guys call it ‘excommunication,’ and it is the consequence of certain acts–acts that have already been determined to have taken place.
In other words, this isn’t about whether or not the woman had an abortion or procured one for someone else. It’s not about whether she’s mentally responsible, or if he was aware that having an abortion would result in instant excommunication. Assessing consequences (latae sententiae excommunication) comes after it has been decided that yep, she procured and abortion and yep, she knew it was wrong and yep, she knew what the consequences were going to be.
It’s not about whether that woman who climbed the fence to go after the Pope was nuttier than a walnut orchard; it’s about what happens to those who know exactly what they are doing, what happens as a result, and who do it anyway. That is a GIVEN.
You don’t need to be a canon lawyer to get that, Theosis. Specific consequences for a specific act.