Automatic Excommunication for Abortion

… though not necessarily for murder.

This is one of those “I’m not really surprised” stories about the Roman Catholic Church. I was reading an article about how a nine-year old girl had an abortion after being raped by her father. A sensible act on an already traumatised child. However, the Catholic Church decided that it was necessary to excomunicate everyone involved (appart from the nine-year-old, who is too young to be automatically excomunicated).

To be excommunicated, is to be “removed from the body of Christ”. In a Roman Catholic society, this means that they will be treated as pariahs. Precisely what this little girl needs in her time of need. She’s been raped by her father, and now her friends, and perhaps family, won’t even talk to her. Of course, this state is only intended to last until such time as recompense has been made, that is, confession sought, and the pennance done. It may not have been the case for this nine-year-old, but it can esily be seen how a girl in a desperate situation could find themselfs without the comfort or support of their society, or their Church.

I thought that I would do a little digging into this, to see where it comes from. It comes straight out of the Catholic Canon Law:

Can. 1398 A person who actually procures an abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

Source

So, no room for thinking, or helping there then. Further, Murder does not seem to involve excommunication, unless you happen to murder one of the officials of the Catholic Church.

Can. 1397 One who commits murder, or who by force or by fraud abducts, imprisons, mutilates or gravely wounds a person, is to be punished, according to the gravity of the offence, with the deprivations and prohibitions mentioned in can. 1336.

With Canon 1336 reading:

Can. 1336 ß1 Expiatory penalties can affect the offender either forever or for a determinate or an indeterminate period. Apart from others which the law may perhaps establish, these penalties are as follows:

1ƒ a prohibition against residence, or an order to reside, in a certain place or territory;

2ƒ deprivation of power, office, function, right, privilege, faculty, favor, title or insignia, even of a merely honorary nature;

3ƒ a prohibition on the exercise of those things enumerated in n. 2, or a prohibition on their exercise inside or outside a certain place; such a prohibition is never under pain of nullity;

4ƒ a penal transfer to another office;

5ƒ dismissal from the clerical state.

Source

Notice the lack of excommunication. I suppose it doesn’t really surprise anyone, and probably makes sense when you consider that it would involve excommunicating people on crusades and the like. Apparently, however, the hard-line, and lack of press-savvy is to do with the new Pope’s strong adherance to Canon Law. The Catholic Church taking that walk down delusion lane where they think they still have pull globally. They don’t. Just in small, poor, places where people really need the support of the church, and those that must have an abortion could really do with the care and support of their community.

Still glad I’m Anglican (though I doubt we’re much better, just better at not saying it so loudly).

~BX