Canon 1398
Encyclopedia
Canon 1398 is a rule of canon law
which declares that a person who procures a completed abortion
incurs a latae sententiae
(automatic) excommunication.
, shown in the very early Didache
. It was punished by a ten-year exclusion from the sacraments.
imposed primarily not as punishment for the deed done, but for the purpose of breaking contumacy and reintegrating the offender in the community.
An excommunicated person is not cut off from the Church, but is barred from receiving the Eucharist
and the other sacrament
s, and from taking a ministerial part in the liturgy
(reading, bringing the offerings, etc.), while still being bound by obligations such as attending Mass
.
Nobody is subject to any ecclesiastical censure except for an external violation by that person of a law or precept that is gravely imputable by reason of malice or negligence, but imputability is presumed unless the contrary is clear. Accordingly, no censure applies if the violator is not yet 16 years old, or is unaware (unless because of negligence) of violating a law, or who acted due to physical force or chance occurrence.
While no excommunication can be inflicted in those circumstances, automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication does not apply in certain other cases, of which the Code of Canon Law lists ten, including the cases of those who, although over 16 years of age, are still minors, or who act out of grave fear (unless the action is intrinsically evil). A penalty or penance can still be imposed in such cases.
A declaration of repentance
, followed by absolution given by a priest empowered to lift the censure, ends an excommunication such as that imposed by canon 1398.
In accordance with the principle of double effect, excommunication is not incurred in the rare cases of indirect abortion
, such as when, in an ectopic pregnancy
, the fallopian tube is removed, or in cases of ovarian cancer. In these cases the procedure is aimed only at preserving the woman's life, and the death of the foetus, although foreseen, is not willed either as an end or as a means for obtaining the intended effect.
Canon 1398 imposes automatic excommunication on those who procure an abortion. Canon 915
, which some claim applies to Catholic legislators who make abortion legal, does not impose excommunication, but instead imposes on the minister of Holy Communion the obligation to refuse the sacrament to those who "obstinately persevere in manifest grave sin".
, of the Pontifical Academy for Life
, has declared that the canonical laws on abortion would also apply to anyone who takes the abortion pill, following the decision by Italy’s drugs regulation agency to authorise its use.
, as head of the Pontifical Council for the Family
, had argued that canon 1398 should also be interpreted in a sense that applies to embryonic stem cell researchers, given that the deliberate termination of embryonic cell reproduction is included as a form of abortion in official Church documents such as Donum Vitae
, Evangelium Vitae
and Dignitas Personae
.
of Olinda and Recife
stated that the excommunication had been incurred by the mother and the doctors who had an abortion performed on a 9-year-old girl who was four months pregnant with twin fetuses resulting from abuse by her stepfather. "The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion," he said, "have incurred excommunication."
Health Minister José Gomes Temporão criticized the Church's position as "extreme, radical and inadequate", and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
also denounced it. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
and President of the Pontifical Council for Latin America, defended the archbishop's statement, commenting: "It is a sad case, but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated. Life must always be protected. The attack on the Brazilian church is unjustified."
A French bishop questioned the applicability, in this case, of canon 1398 to the girl's mother on the grounds that canon 1324
, as mentioned above, states that automatic censures do not apply to those who act out of grave fear, unless the action is intrinsically evil. He did not address the question whether directly willed abortion is intrinsically evil.
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
which declares that a person who procures a completed abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
incurs a latae sententiae
Latae sententiae
Latæ sententiæ is a Latin term used in the canon law of the Catholic Church meaning literally "given sentence".Officially, a latae sententiae penalty follows automatically, by force of the law itself, when the law is contravened....
(automatic) excommunication.
Historical roots
The censure against procuring abortion has roots in the attitude of the early ChurchEarly Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
, shown in the very early Didache
Didache
The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles is a brief early Christian treatise, dated by most scholars to the late first or early 2nd century...
. It was punished by a ten-year exclusion from the sacraments.
Juridical context
Excommunication is an ecclesiastical censureCensure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
imposed primarily not as punishment for the deed done, but for the purpose of breaking contumacy and reintegrating the offender in the community.
An excommunicated person is not cut off from the Church, but is barred from receiving the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
and the other sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
s, and from taking a ministerial part in the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
(reading, bringing the offerings, etc.), while still being bound by obligations such as attending Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
.
Nobody is subject to any ecclesiastical censure except for an external violation by that person of a law or precept that is gravely imputable by reason of malice or negligence, but imputability is presumed unless the contrary is clear. Accordingly, no censure applies if the violator is not yet 16 years old, or is unaware (unless because of negligence) of violating a law, or who acted due to physical force or chance occurrence.
While no excommunication can be inflicted in those circumstances, automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication does not apply in certain other cases, of which the Code of Canon Law lists ten, including the cases of those who, although over 16 years of age, are still minors, or who act out of grave fear (unless the action is intrinsically evil). A penalty or penance can still be imposed in such cases.
A declaration of repentance
Repentance
Repentance is a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law...
, followed by absolution given by a priest empowered to lift the censure, ends an excommunication such as that imposed by canon 1398.
In accordance with the principle of double effect, excommunication is not incurred in the rare cases of indirect abortion
Indirect abortion
Indirect abortion is the name given by Catholic theologians to an abortion procedure which has a therapeutic medical effect, presumably to save the life of a pregnant woman....
, such as when, in an ectopic pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy, or eccysis , is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo implants outside the uterine cavity. With rare exceptions, ectopic pregnancies are not viable. Furthermore, they are dangerous for the parent, since internal haemorrhage is a life threatening complication...
, the fallopian tube is removed, or in cases of ovarian cancer. In these cases the procedure is aimed only at preserving the woman's life, and the death of the foetus, although foreseen, is not willed either as an end or as a means for obtaining the intended effect.
Canon 1398 imposes automatic excommunication on those who procure an abortion. Canon 915
Canon 915
Canon 915, one of the canons of the current 1983 Code of Canon Law, forbids the administration of Holy Communion to those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared or who persist in manifest grave sin...
, which some claim applies to Catholic legislators who make abortion legal, does not impose excommunication, but instead imposes on the minister of Holy Communion the obligation to refuse the sacrament to those who "obstinately persevere in manifest grave sin".
Abortion pill
Mgr Elio SgrecciaElio Sgreccia
Elio Sgreccia is a bioethicist and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is President emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life....
, of the Pontifical Academy for Life
Pontifical Academy for Life
The Pontifical Academy for Life or Pontificia Accademia Pro Vita is a Pontifical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to promoting the Church's consistent life ethic...
, has declared that the canonical laws on abortion would also apply to anyone who takes the abortion pill, following the decision by Italy’s drugs regulation agency to authorise its use.
Embryonic stem cell research
Cardinal Alfonso López TrujilloAlfonso López Trujillo
Alfonso López Trujillo was a Colombian Cardinal Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.-Youth:...
, as head of the Pontifical Council for the Family
Pontifical Council for the Family
The Pontifical Council for the Family is part of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio Familia a Deo Instituta, replacing the Committee for the Family that Pope Paul VI had established in 1973...
, had argued that canon 1398 should also be interpreted in a sense that applies to embryonic stem cell researchers, given that the deliberate termination of embryonic cell reproduction is included as a form of abortion in official Church documents such as Donum Vitae
Donum Vitae
Donum Vitae is the instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation which was issued on February 22, 1987 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith...
, Evangelium Vitae
Evangelium Vitae
Evangelium Vitae is the name of the encyclical written by Pope John Paul II which expresses the position of the Catholic Church regarding the value and inviolability of human life...
and Dignitas Personae
Dignitas Personae
Dignitas Personae is the title of a 2008 instruction by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith giving doctrinal directives on certain embryonic ethical controversies that had emerged since 1987, after Donum Vitae was released....
.
2009 case in Brazil
In 2009, Archbishop José Cardoso SobrinhoJosé Cardoso Sobrinho
José Cardoso Sobrinho is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the cities of Olinda and Recife in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco....
of Olinda and Recife
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife is an archdiocese located in the cities of Olinda and Recife in Brazil.-History:* 1614: Established as Territorial Prelature of Pernambuco from the Diocese of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos...
stated that the excommunication had been incurred by the mother and the doctors who had an abortion performed on a 9-year-old girl who was four months pregnant with twin fetuses resulting from abuse by her stepfather. "The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion," he said, "have incurred excommunication."
Health Minister José Gomes Temporão criticized the Church's position as "extreme, radical and inadequate", and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
also denounced it. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
Congregation for Bishops
The Congregation for Bishops is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops that are not in mission territories or those areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches who deal with the Eastern Catholics, pending papal...
and President of the Pontifical Council for Latin America, defended the archbishop's statement, commenting: "It is a sad case, but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated. Life must always be protected. The attack on the Brazilian church is unjustified."
A French bishop questioned the applicability, in this case, of canon 1398 to the girl's mother on the grounds that canon 1324
Canon 1324
Canon 1324 of the Code of Canon Law, according to which penalties prescribed in canon law must be diminished or replaced by a penance. The canon does not automatically remove the penalty completely except in cases of latae sententiae excommunication.- Cases to which the canon applies :The...
, as mentioned above, states that automatic censures do not apply to those who act out of grave fear, unless the action is intrinsically evil. He did not address the question whether directly willed abortion is intrinsically evil.