What if someone forgot about automatic excommunication?

[2014taylorj]

What would happen to a person who was automatically excommunicated, and then for whatever reason forgot. This person, then decides to go to reconciliation and make a good confession, but not remembering that they had been automatically excommunicated. Would the penalty be lifted? Could they get into a state of grace?

 

[kapp19]

It would be quite difficult to make a good examination of conscience and forget that one has been excommunicated.

If one really has forgotten, I do not see why the sacrament would be invalid. However, immediately upon remembering, one should go rectify the situation.

However - it is quite difficult to incur the penalty… there is a long list of caveats… so if you have some specific situation in mind, it would be important to know about that as well.

 

[2014taylorj]

I was just thinking about this as a hypothetical scenario

 

[Stephen_says]

Well you don’t have to confess “I’ve been excommunicated”, But if you make a good confession, the priest should be able to point out certain things you confess that would incite excommunication. But if you physically assaulted the pope and legitimately forgot to confess it, then you should bring it up at your next confession.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Automatic excommunion is a penalty for very serious, deliberate sins. This is not the sort of sin that someone just forgets.

 

[2014taylorj]

Take Apostasy for instance. It is entirely possible that a person may briefly and deliberately chose to not be Catholic and become an atheist (and potentially know that they will be excommunicated). One might forget that they had this brief departure from the faith.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Take Apostasy for instance. It is entirely possible that a person may briefly and deliberately chose to not be Catholic and become an atheist (and potentially know that they will be excommunicated). One might forget that they had this brief departure from the faith.

Let’s be reasonable. If it was that brief that they genuinely forgot, then it likely didn’t rise to the level of “Apostasy”.

 

[edward_george1]

OP, given your posting history, you seem to struggle from scrupulosity and you shouldn’t ask these kinds of questions online.

Edit:
You have previously said you struggle with OCD, and this has caused you to ask questions before about excommunication. Please seek help offline. Internet forums will only exacerbate your condition.

-Fr ACEGC