Someone recently asked me why Hitler had not been excommunicated. I remember having this conversation when we were producing our documentary A Hand of Peace, which tells the story of Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. Despite the fact that Pius XII privately aided many Jews, the Church’s public stance appeared friendly toward Nazi Germany. You see, Hitler was a Catholic (apparently) and a national leader. Wouldn’t a public excommunication have sent a clear message that the Church did not support his actions? At the time I remember thinking that excommunication was not merely punishment for sinners – if that were the case, we would all need excommunication. So, what exactly is it and who is it for? Before we go deeply into excommunication, let me first say that excommunication is but one example of penalties or punishments that the Church may impose on the faithful who commit offenses (Code of Canon Law [CIC] #1311). Excommunication is very rare and reserved for very specific cases. Laicization, or being “dismissed from the clerical state,” is a more common penalty (think of a priest who is not celibate or a deacon who impersonates a priest at Mass or Confession). Other penalties may include a transfer to a different office or an order to reside in a particular place or territory (CIC #1336). Excommunication falls under the type of “penal sanctions” called “censures” or “medicinal penalties”. These are designed to secure the correction of the offender and reintegrate them back into the life of the Church (CIC #1312, 1331-1333). Excommunication is the most severe of these penalties (CIC # 1463), which is why it is rare and not that easy to incur.  The word “excommunication” literally means "exclusion from Communion." “Communion” in this case somewhat refers to the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but more importantly to the way the Sacrament unites the Catholic community. We know that non-Catholics and people who are “outside” of the Church are excluded from Communion. When we place ourselves outside of the Church, whether by action or belief, we, in effect, excommunicate ourselves. This means that we are barred not only from the Sacraments but also from the fellowship of the Catholic community. So, very simply, Hitler would have already been excommunicated: he neither received the Sacraments nor participated in the Catholic community. But being excommunicated is more than just being a lapsed Catholic. Excommunication is a penalty that excludes a baptized person from participating in the sacramental life of the Church. It is used in cases of serious sin or disobedience to Church law. When someone freely behaves in a way that excludes him or her from communion with the Church, they are automatically excommunicating themselves. This is what canon law calls a latae sententiae excommunication: in Latin it means “a judgment already passed.” (Latae sententiae does not only refer to excommunications but to any penalty of the Church that is incurred automatically on committing an offense without the intervention of a judge or a Superior – CIC #1314.) Let me make a side clarification: excommunication is not the same as being in the state of mortal sin and therefore not being able to receive Communion. All excommunicable offenses are mortal sin but not all mortal sin is an excommunicable offense. Most mortal sins, and even some excommunicable offenses, can be absolved by a priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but some excommunicable offenses have to be absolved only by the pope or someone he designates. Behaviours that can lead to an automatic excommunication have to be considered very serious ecclesiastical crimes by the Church, primarily apostasy (publicly renouncing the Faith), heresy (denying Catholic Teaching or believing and/or teaching false Doctrine), and schism (rejecting papal authority) (CIC #1364). In essence, these are crimes against the very communion of the Church, especially if committed by a bishop, a priest, a theologian, or another Church or civil leader, who can influence others to follow along. Other behaviours such as the sacrilegious treatment of consecrated Hosts or Wine (CIC #1367), illicit episcopal ordinations (CIC. #1382), impersonating a priest during the Sacraments (CIC #1378), and violating the seal of Confession (CIC # 1388) are also causes for a latae sententiae excommunication. Of course, the action or behaviour has to be committed freely and with full knowledge. If a person commits an ecclesiastical crime through ignorance or coercion, technically, they are not at fault – and so a person’s ability to incur an automatic excommunication is limited. (Canon Lawyers joke that because freedom and full knowledge and consent of one’s actions and the Church’s Teachings is required in order to incur excommunication, the only people who can actually get excommunicated are Canon Lawyers!) Canon Lawyers also say that if you don’t know you are excommunicated, you likely are not.  Again, excommunication is far more serious than simply being a lapsed Catholic. I can think of a few people I know who, after growing up in the Catholic Church, have come to a point where for whatever reason they cannot reconcile their personal beliefs with those of the Church, and so they simply stop going to Mass and the Sacraments. They may inform a few people while they are ranting about the Church, but they don’t usually make a public proclamation. This is not what we are talking about. We are talking about serious sins against the Communion of the Church. This is another reason why excommunications are not common among lay people. Sanctions in the Catholic Church are usually imposed against clerics and religious. There is a second, even rarer category of penalties that describes the ones that are not automatic, but are imposed by the judgment of a court or the decree of a Superior. These are cases where Canon Law does not prescribe excommunication as an automatic penalty (as in the cases listed above). These penalties are referred to in Canon Law as ferendae sententiae, literally meaning, “of a judgment having to be brought.” In these cases, there is an official investigation or a trial either by the diocesan tribunal, or in the case of a bishop or other potentially schismatic leader, by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The investigating body may then impose the penalty of excommunication. This would be a ferendae sententiae excommunication. In these cases, once an investigation or trial is deemed necessary, the guilty person is informed and given a chance to defend themselves. Again, the goal of an excommunication is medicinal: to encourage repentance and reconciliation. Through this process, the Church seeks justice and mercy. Finally, the excommunication may be temporary or permanent, depending on the person’s response to it. If someone sincerely repents and seeks reconciliation with the Church, they can be absolved of excommunication through the sacrament of confession, if private, and if the excommunication is public, it can then be formally lifted, but only by the diocesan bishop or by the pope. (Although Canon Law allows for the Confessor to advocate on behalf of the penitent in order to have the excommunication lifted. There are also provisions made in the case of danger of death. See Canons 1354-1363.) In summary, if someone commits an offense that incurs an automatic excommunication, they would know it. If they don’t know it, they are likely not culpable. If they do know it, but persist in their actions in clear violation of Church law, they remain excommunicated latae sententiae. These cases may still involve some sort of an investigation, tribunal or an “extra-judicial administrative process” which would clarify and formally declare the excommunication. Either way, the offender, however, may change their minds and, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), repent of their behaviour and the excommunication can be lifted. If someone commits an offense in ignorance, they are not excommunicated.  If someone commits an offense out of ignorance that leads to the need of an investigation or a trial (think of a Seminary Professor who inadvertently, yet publicly and persistently, teaches something contrary to Catholic Doctrine), the hope is that in the course of the process, the person will repent and change their behaviour. If they persist, that is when the trial would proceed and depending on the person’s response, they may be punished with a ferendae sententiae excommunication. Depending on the situation, as well as excommunication or instead of, they may also be punished with some other penalty. There have been many people who, over the centuries, have been excommunicated – mostly for heresy or schism. The most famous of these are likely Martin Luther and Henry VIII. Elizabeth I and Napoleon were also excommunicated, although Napoleon’s was lifted before his death. There also have been saints who have been excommunicated, most notably, Joan of Arc, Leo I, Athanasius and Mary MacKillop in Australia in 1871. All of these, obviously, were also lifted. In recent years Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II for illicit episcopal ordinations under the Society of St. Pius X (the five men he ordained were also excommunicated). These excommunications were lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, although the men remained suspended from ministry in the Catholic Church. Marcel Lefebvre had already died. One of the other bishops, Richard Williamson (who had been expelled from the Society of St. Pius X), was subsequently excommunicated again for another illicit ordination. To go back to Hitler, I cannot be certain why he was not publicly excommunicated. My sense is that he did not commit a sin specifically against the unity of the Church nor did he commit any of the offenses listed in Canon Law which automatically incur a latae sententiae. We do know, however, that the Church publicly condemned Nazism. It is no secret that many Catholics, especially priests were also sent to Concentration Camps. In closing, it is important to note again that excommunication is a last resort – not as a punishment but as a medicinal measure aimed at helping the individual realize the gravity of their actions and seek reconciliation with God and the Church community. Ultimately that’s what matters. For us, there’s hope.  Send me your questions. I love to hear from you!

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Every week, Deacon Pedro takes a particular topic apart, not so much to explore or explain the subject to its fullness, but rather to provide insights that will deepen our understanding of the subject. And don’t worry, at the end of the day he always puts the pieces back together. There are no limits to deacon-structing: Write to him and ask any questions about the faith or Church teaching: [email protected]