I read one of the answers here said that it's automatic excommunication for a Catholic just for having abortion, is that true? if so, if the person is excommunicated yet takes Holy Communion, what's going to happen?
2007-12-19 13:35:35 · 14 answers · asked by The Asker 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
by the way, here's the link to the answer: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhbV5dsybmiMQyW9ypnl.nvsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071219172446AADTEw4&show=7#profile-info-lGE8xO1caa
the last answerer here said: "it is murder, plain and simple. in the Catholic Church, he/she who participates and supports abortion (and of course had an abortion) is automatically excommunicated.
The Catholic Church doesn't take abortion lightly because God doesn't as well."
2007-12-19 13:37:50 · update #1
by the way, I am not Catholic, and I never had an abortion at all. just letting you know in case you would think that it's me I am talking about here in this question.
2007-12-19 13:41:30 · update #2
GS Smooth, I'm only asking the Catholics' and their beliefs. anyway, thanks for sharing your own opinion on the matter, if you really feel like you need to be heard or something. I hope you feel better now.
2007-12-19 13:49:32 · update #3
One needs to get back to the definition of mortal sin, for which there are three conditions: It must be grave matter, committed with full knowledge, and done with deliberate intent.
The Catechism (paragraphs 1858-1860) elaborates:
"Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: 'Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.' The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
"Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
"Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest."
The Church considers a very few mortal sins, abortion among them, to be sufficiently grave as to warrant automatic excommunication. It would be rather difficult in this day and age for a Catholic to seek an abortion without knowledge of its gravity, but as others have pointed out, being coerced and compelled do mitigate the freely chosen deliberate intent to a degree.
I suppose it's possible to receive Holy Communion, after having an abortion but without having gone to confession, in genuine ignorance ... but that would be extremely rare. To receive with any mortal sin on one's soul is to commit a second mortal sin, and this would continue to be compounded until a state of grace is sacramentally restored through Reconciliation. It's not something to be taken lightly, at all. Forgiveness and returning to communion with the Church is readily available; why would anyone want to knowingly profane the Eucharist?
To deceive others is easy; to deceive one's self easier still. But deceiving God is impossible.
2007-12-24 00:41:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not an automatic excommunication.
"A person must be old enough, knowledgeable enough, and free enough in his or her action to incur the full weight of such a penalty." So there is a chance she would not be excommunicated.
If she's not excommunicated then all the regular rules would apply. She could take communion if she was in a state of grace; so she'd have to go to confession first and sort everything out according to all the rules there which would be a separate question. You can also be absolved from excommunication if you repent and satisfy other conditions of the Church.
If she was excommunicated then yeah, she couldn't take communion. I've read through the Catholic Encyclopedia and I can't find a further punishment for that. Maybe the communion would automatically be invalid if she took it.
Very interesting question.
2007-12-19 13:59:30 · answer #2 · answered by Judge and Jury 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
NO, many Catholic have had abortions in the past. NOT JUSTIFYING IT!!!, but we don't excommunicate them b/c we know God is a forgiving God. If she takes Holy Communion (without recieving Confession), then it will be considered YET ANOTHER MORTAL SIN!!! She has to recieve the Sacrament of Recconcilliation or else her sins will never be forgiven. Luckilly, though, she can ALWAYS recieve Confession when it is being offered. Actually, most Parish Priests will perform the Sacrament of Confession on request. God Bless.
2007-12-23 18:06:10 · answer #3 · answered by Catholic717 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's true that having, performing or participating in an abortion means automatic excommunication for any Catholic. That means not just a woman who has one, but also a doctor performing one, any of the clinic staff that enable abortion, even a parent or friend driving a girl to get an abortion, a boyfriend insisting on and paying for an abortion, etc.
Once a person has excommunicated him/herself by committing this mortal sin, receiving the Holy Eucharist before the sin is absolved would be a second mortal sin. And that would need to be absolved before receiving again, because it would be a third mortal in, and so on.
Nothing "happens" in any sort of immediate sense, but the person in question would be in grave danger of eternal torment if the situation were not quickly rectified. One never knows when one might meet the end of one's life.
EDITED TO ADD:
Judge and Jury is on to something above. A girl might not be 100% culpable in her abortion. Many, many, MANY teens are forced into abortions by their boyfriends or parents. They may not want to do it at all, but are threatened and don't have the strength/support to overcome. Those girls are NOT guilty of mortal sin, because to be guilty of a mortal sin, you have to do it willingly.
2007-12-20 02:43:47 · answer #4 · answered by sparki777 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes, sacred Tradition is very important, but the Holy Father is to be obeyed and through that obedience all sacred Traditions will follow. Holy Communion is the most beautiful of all our Sacraments! If received into a worthy soul Christ lives in that soul and heals the wounds from any venial sins committed. He stays inside your soul until you sin He only leaves the soul because our sins are truly terrible to His Divine perfection. He is a Loving God, giving Himself again and again to us by His Holy Cross, through the Sacred Sacrifice of the Mass. How truly blessed the Catholic Church is, how truly blessed all the men are, who become priests and are able to bring the Celestrial Court and Christ Himself on the altar during the Consecration of the Mass. Sacred Traditions which have fallen by the way side will someday return, young people like me crave that truly awesome Reverence. We, my generation. need something to believe in and since the Church has so quickly changed, over the past 50 or so years we have lost a lot of that Piety and Reverence for the Blessed Sacrament, but it is coming back, especially now that Pope Benedict XVI has made it a point to tell the churches of the world to make available the Latin Mass in every diocese. It hasn't completely happened yet, but it will. Pray the Rosary and receive the Sacraments for the Glory of God in the Highest!
2016-04-10 08:44:04 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Abortion can result in automatic excommunication. If they receive communion after having and abortion without first going to confession, they commit a sacrilege against the Holy Eucharist and are guilty of a mortal sin.
They would need to first repent and go to confession.
2007-12-21 02:28:18 · answer #6 · answered by Danny H 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It would seem to me that if one is truly catholic, they would not feel worthy of taking communion in the catholic church after having an abortion. They would definitely want to counsel with a priest.
If someone had an abortion, didn't mention it to anyone, and continued to take communion, I would say they were not a true believer in the catholic faith.
When you take communion in a catholic church, you are saying you agree with, are "in communion" with, the beliefs of the catholic church.
2007-12-19 13:59:40 · answer #7 · answered by none 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I'm Catholic. Abortion would be an EXTREME sin. You wouldn't need to take communion for quite some while, and of course you would have to go to confession. Probably 22305812409 times, and even then, who knows if God would forgive you for murdering an unborn baby. <3
2007-12-19 13:38:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 2⤋
She would be a committing another mortal sin because one must be in a state of grace when receiving communion.
2007-12-19 14:13:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
1 Corinthians 11 :27
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
28
Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29
For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
30
That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
2007-12-19 14:04:51 · answer #10 · answered by tebone0315 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋