Q. Many years ago, I had an abortion. After many
years as a lapsed Catholic, I returned to the Church and to
confession. The abortion sin was confessed to a chaplain
while I was in the hospital. Although he said something about
abortion carrying with it an excommunication, he gave me
absolution. I gave it no additional thought and continued to
receive the sacraments (Communion, Reconciliation, and even
remarriage within the Church.) It wasnt until recently
that I read something about the "rite" of removing an
excommunication that I began to fear I had done and continue
to do something wrong. Can you help by setting my mind at
ease or instructing me in the way to proceed? An ACH
Reader
Since abortion is the purposeful murder of an
innocent, unborn child, the Church indeed imposes the most
severe penalty of excommunication for this heinous action. A
person who successfully procures an abortion receives this
penalty automatically (Code of Canon Law, #1398).
Unlike some offenses that require the competent authority to
impose the penalty of excommunication (technically termed
ferendae sententiae), the penalty here is automatic
(technically termed latae sententia).
Please note that
this penalty is not just imposed upon the woman who has the
abortion. Any Catholic accomplice in the act of procuring an
abortion, even though not specifically mentioned in Canon
#1398, receives the same penalty of automatic
excommunication. Here an accomplice is one who assists in
such a way that the heinous act would not have been committed
without his assistance. Therefore, the doctor who performs
the abortion, the nurse who assists in the procedure, the
boyfriend who encourages the abortion, and the parent who
pays for the abortion all are accomplices, guilty of
the act, and thereby receive the just penalty. (See Code
of Canon Law, #1329.2.)
Always remember that the severe
penalty of excommunication exists first to prevent a heinous
sin from occurring (i.e. moving a person to rethink
performing an action in light of the penalty that will be
imposed), and second to move a person to repentance and
reconciliation. Also, for a person to be automatically
excommunicated, he must know that the penalty exists and will
be imposed for a particular offense, and then choose to
perform the action with full knowledge and freedom.
Nevertheless, the door to reconciliation remains open to the
repentant sinner. The diocesan bishop has authority to remit
the automatic excommunication imposed for an abortion. Such
remission would occur in the Sacrament of Penance. The bishop
in turn may delegate this authority to priest confessors.
Accordingly, in the Priests Faculties and
Permissions promulgated by Bishop Keating (and still in
effect despite his death), each priest in the Diocese of
Arlington has the authority within the context of the
Sacrament of Penance to remit the automatic excommunication
and to grant absolution the first time a person confesses
having procured or assisted with procuring an abortion.
However, in those cases when a person has already confessed
on a previous occasion for having procured or assisted with
procuring an abortion but then has repeated the offense, the
priest confessor must contact the Bishop who will provide a
just penance. The priest confessor would then meet with the
penitent, impose the penance, and grant absolution. (If the
priest confessor judges that it would be too burdensome for
the penitent to remain in the state of mortal sin until the
Bishop acts, the Code of CanonLaw stipulates
that a priest confessor can remit an automatic
excommunication and later inform the Bishop of the
circumstances (#1357.1) )
In all, the Church strives not only
to uphold the truth about the sanctity of life and to prevent
a person from committing such a heinous sin, but also to
reconcile the sinner and to be the instrument of the
Lords compassion and mercy. Turning specifically to the
reader in the question, I offer the following guidance: You
seem to have followed the proper procedures and to have been
properly reconciled to the Lord and the Church. Thank God for
the grace which moved you to reconciliation. Look now for
those graced opportunities when you can intervene and help
someone else who may be considering having an abortion or may
have had an abortion. If you continue to have any questions
about this issue, please contact your parish priest.