Excommunication Latæ Sententiæ

If you have never listened to any talks by Fr. John Corapi, then you absolutely must.  He indeed is a prophetic voice for our age, telling the truth as black and white.  He does have a booming voice and can come across as a bit harsh, but if you are seeking the truth, then what he says can be quite refreshing.

The series I'm currently listening to is titled Come Home to the Catholic Church.  I won't go into much detail about it besides that at one point he calls out Pro-Choice "Catholic" Politicians.  He says, you can not be Catholic and Pro-Choice.  It simply is not a possibility in our universe.  Then he goes on to say that those who knowingly promote the murder of the most innocent of humanity are EXCOMMUNICATED by the very virtue of their willful act of promoting abortion. Yes, that is right, they are EXCOMMUNICATED. Oh, that big scary word. Let me say it again, EXCOMMUNICATED!

Now let me conduct some clarification, before we go much further.  Excommunication is too often misunderstood as a vindictive punishment cast down by the big mean Church upon those who are simply trying to serve God in their own way instead of how the Church orders them to. Oh, don't the partial truths of Satan always sound so good?!  The Church is our mother and when Excommunication is declared it is with medicinal and spiritual intent, meaning "not so much to punish the culprit, as to correct him and bring him back to the path of righteousness."¹ Our mother has our best interest in mind.  And we don't need our mother to tell us we did something bad in order to have actually done it.  Committing a grave mortal sin by the nature of the act separates us from Christ's body (excommunication latæ sententiæ).  Should we recognize the sin for what it is, confess it, and repent (story of the Prodigal Son) we would find Christ and His Church waiting with open arms welcoming us back.  However, if we don't recognize our sin, our mother may need to warn us of the punishment we face or declare what we have done to offend Christ (excommunication ferendæ sententiæ) in hope that we may still turn back to him.  You see God's love shows forth even in the most severe of punishments handed out by the Church.

When our "Catholic" political leaders declare themselves moral theologians and excuse and promote the murder of innocent children in the womb, it is their very efforts to advance abortion that achieves them excommunication. That is the truth. They are excommunicated. Period. Whether or not the Church has declared them such publicly or not. And so we must pray for their return to the truth and the Church.

"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." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2272)

Now that you know the truth, you must share it with other so that they may be set free from the lies of the evil one.

Note: The Catholic Church's full teaching on excommunication is much broader than what has been distilled above. For an in depth study on excommunication please visit: ¹http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm