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| Excommunication is considered automatic for some sins within the Catholic church, but can also be a formal affair, generally reserved for renegade clerygymen and such. | Excommunication is considered automatic for some sins within the Catholic church, but can also be a formal affair, generally reserved for renegade clerygymen and such. | ||
| The word literally means "out of ]"; the outward sign of this loss of community involves barring the person from participating in Communion, i.e., receiving the ], and as a consequence losing their status as members of the church. One continues to be considered Catholic, but a Catholic who is damned to Hell. In ], a person may also be barred from receiving the Eucharist. In this context however, this merely changes the member's classification in the parish from 'faithful' to 'penitent'. Excommunication is often intended to be only temporary, a "medicinal" procedure intended to provoke repentance. | The word literally means "out of ]"; the outward sign of this loss of community involves barring the person from participating in Communion, i.e., receiving the ], and as a consequence losing their status as members of the church. One continues to be considered Catholic, but a Catholic who is damned to Hell. In ], a person may also be barred from receiving the Eucharist. In this context however, this merely changes the member's classification in the parish from 'faithful' to 'penitent'. Excommunication is often intended to be only temporary, a "medicinal" procedure intended to provoke repentance. Excommunication can only be revoked by the Pope or the Bishop of the offender's home Diocese, except when the offender is in danger of death. | ||
| There are four sins for which laymen are automatically excommunicated: | |||
| *physically attacking the pope | |||
| *desecrating a consecrated host | |||
| *helping a woman procure an abortion | |||
| *joining an apostasic, heretical, schismic or anti-clerical organization | |||
| ''See also:'' ] | ''See also:'' ] | ||
Revision as of 01:21, 14 May 2003
Generally associated with the Roman Catholic church, excommunication is religious censure intended to deprive one of membership of a religious community and, in the Catholic context, preclude the excommunicated from salvation. Excommunication is considered automatic for some sins within the Catholic church, but can also be a formal affair, generally reserved for renegade clerygymen and such.
The word literally means "out of communion"; the outward sign of this loss of community involves barring the person from participating in Communion, i.e., receiving the Eucharist, and as a consequence losing their status as members of the church. One continues to be considered Catholic, but a Catholic who is damned to Hell. In Eastern Orthodoxy, a person may also be barred from receiving the Eucharist. In this context however, this merely changes the member's classification in the parish from 'faithful' to 'penitent'. Excommunication is often intended to be only temporary, a "medicinal" procedure intended to provoke repentance. Excommunication can only be revoked by the Pope or the Bishop of the offender's home Diocese, except when the offender is in danger of death.
There are four sins for which laymen are automatically excommunicated:
- physically attacking the pope
- desecrating a consecrated host
- helping a woman procure an abortion
- joining an apostasic, heretical, schismic or anti-clerical organization
See also: Shunning