As the fundamental and all-embracing obligation imposed upon man by the Creator, the natural law is the one to which all his other obligations are attached. The duties imposed on us in the supernatural law come home to us, because the natural law and its exponent, conscience, tell us that, if God has vouchsafed to us a supernatural revelation with a series of precepts, we are bound to accept and obey it. The natural law is the foundation of all human law inasmuch as it ordains that man shall live in society, and society for its constitution requires the existence of an authority, which shall possess the moral power necessary to control the members and direct them to the common good.
Human laws are valid and equitable only in so far as they correspond with, and enforce or supplement the natural law; they are null and void when they conflict with it...... Logically, chronologically, and ontologically antecedent to all human society for which it provides the indispensable basis, the natural or moral law is neither—as Hobbes, in anticipation of the modern positivistic school, taught—a product of social agreement or convention, nor a mere congeries of the actions, customs, and ways of man, as claimed by the ethicists who, refusing to acknowledge the First Cause as a Personality with whom one entertains personal relations, deprive the law of its obligatory basis.
from the Catholic Encyclopedia on natural law...
Catholic teaching has been clear on the fact that we can come to know Divine Law, through reason, our consciences, and through Divine Revelation.
If there is confusion, it is that some people are listening not the Holy Mother Church, but to the siren songs of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Natural and supernatural laws are not options. These laws are not to be ignored by humans, who risk their immortal souls by not considering God and His Ways.
Human laws, tragically, having deviated from both natural law and the law of Revelation. Souls are lost daily because the understanding of free will and natural law have been ignored.
I hope the last few posts, plus the long list of posts on free will answer some questions.
All the information I have shared is the Teaching of the Church, founded by Christ.
Check out other tags as well.
Showing posts with label excommunication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excommunication. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Reminders on Natural and Supernatural Law from The CCC
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a1.htm
It is the duty of every Catholic to study and learn the Faith. No one is exempt except those who are mentally challenged, and even they can learn discipline according to the natural moral law.
There is, in this time of an explosion of information on the Net, no excuses for not learning. If a person has time to sit down in front of the telly for two hours a day, that person has time for prayer, reading Scripture and studying.
We are not forever children and we must appropriate our adult faith.
It is the duty of every Catholic to study and learn the Faith. No one is exempt except those who are mentally challenged, and even they can learn discipline according to the natural moral law.
There is, in this time of an explosion of information on the Net, no excuses for not learning. If a person has time to sit down in front of the telly for two hours a day, that person has time for prayer, reading Scripture and studying.
We are not forever children and we must appropriate our adult faith.
1954 Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good. The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie:
- The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin . . . But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.5
1955 The "divine and natural" law6 shows man the way to follow so as to practice the good and attain his end. The natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good, as well as upon the sense that the other is one's equal. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue. This law is called "natural," not in reference to the nature of irrational beings, but because reason which decrees it properly belongs to human nature:
- Where then are these rules written, if not in the book of that light we call the truth? In it is written every just law; from it the law passes into the heart of the man who does justice, not that it migrates into it, but that it places its imprint on it, like a seal on a ring that passes onto wax, without leaving the ring.7 The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. God has given this light or law at the creation.8
1956 The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties:
- For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense . . . . To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely.9
1957 Application of the natural law varies greatly; it can demand reflection that takes account of various conditions of life according to places, times, and circumstances. Nevertheless, in the diversity of cultures, the natural law remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond the inevitable differences, common principles.
1958 The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history;10 it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and supports their progress. The rules that express it remain substantially valid. Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from the heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies:
- Theft is surely punished by your law, O Lord, and by the law that is written in the human heart, the law that iniquity itself does not efface.11
1959 The natural law, the Creator's very good work, provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices. It also provides the indispensable moral foundation for building the human community. Finally, it provides the necessary basis for the civil law with which it is connected, whether by a reflection that draws conclusions from its principles, or by additions of a positive and juridical nature.
1960 The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and revelation so moral and religious truths may be known "by everyone with facility, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error."12 The natural law provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in accordance with the work of the Spirit.
1961 God, our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for himself to be his people and revealed his Law to them, thus preparing for the coming of Christ. The Law of Moses expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason. These are stated and authenticated within the covenant of salvation.
1962 The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments. The precepts of the Decalogue lay the foundations for the vocation of man fashioned in the image of God; they prohibit what is contrary to the love of God and neighbor and prescribe what is essential to it. The Decalogue is a light offered to the conscience of every man to make God's call and ways known to him and to protect him against evil:
- God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts.13
1963 According to Christian tradition, the Law is holy, spiritual, and good,14 yet still imperfect. Like a tutor15 it shows what must be done, but does not of itself give the strength, the grace of the Spirit, to fulfill it. Because of sin, which it cannot remove, it remains a law of bondage. According to St. Paul, its special function is to denounce and disclose sin, which constitutes a "law of concupiscence" in the human heart.16 However, the Law remains the first stage on the way to the kingdom. It prepares and disposes the chosen people and each Christian for conversion and faith in the Savior God. It provides a teaching which endures for ever, like the Word of God.
1964 The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. "The Law is a pedagogy and a prophecy of things to come."17 It prophesies and presages the work of liberation from sin which will be fulfilled in Christ: it provides the New Testament with images, "types," and symbols for expressing the life according to the Spirit. Finally, the Law is completed by the teaching of the sapiential books and the prophets which set its course toward the New Covenant and the Kingdom of heaven.
- There were . . . under the regimen of the Old Covenant, people who possessed the charity and grace of the Holy Spirit and longed above all for the spiritual and eternal promises by which they were associated with the New Law. Conversely, there exist carnal men under the New Covenant still distanced from the perfection of the New Law: the fear of punishment and certain temporal promises have been necessary, even under the New Covenant, to incite them to virtuous works. In any case, even though the Old Law prescribed charity, it did not give the Holy Spirit, through whom "God's charity has been poured into our hearts."18
1965 The New Law or the Law of the Gospel is the perfection here on earth of the divine law, natural and revealed. It is the work of Christ and is expressed particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. It is also the work of the Holy Spirit and through him it becomes the interior law of charity: "I will establish a New Covenant with the house of Israel. . . . I will put my laws into their hands, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."19
1966 The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith in Christ. It works through charity; it uses the Sermon on the Mount to teach us what must be done and makes use of the sacraments to give us the grace to do it:
- If anyone should meditate with devotion and perspicacity on the sermon our Lord gave on the mount, as we read in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, he will doubtless find there . . . the perfect way of the Christian life. . . . This sermon contains . . . all the precepts needed to shape one's life.20
1967 The Law of the Gospel "fulfills," refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection.21 In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills the divine promises by elevating and orienting them toward the "kingdom of heaven." It is addressed to those open to accepting this new hope with faith - the poor, the humble, the afflicted, the pure of heart, those persecuted on account of Christ and so marks out the surprising ways of the Kingdom.
1968 The Law of the Gospel fulfills the commandments of the Law. The Lord's Sermon on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing the moral prescriptions of the Old Law, releases their hidden potential and has new demands arise from them: it reveals their entire divine and human truth. It does not add new external precepts, but proceeds to reform the heart, the root of human acts, where man chooses between the pure and the impure,22 where faith, hope, and charity are formed and with them the other virtues. The Gospel thus brings the Law to its fullness through imitation of the perfection of the heavenly Father, through forgiveness of enemies and prayer for persecutors, in emulation of the divine generosity.23
1969 The New Law practices the acts of religion: almsgiving, prayer and fasting, directing them to the "Father who sees in secret," in contrast with the desire to "be seen by men."24 Its prayer is the Our Father.25
1970 The Law of the Gospel requires us to make the decisive choice between "the two ways" and to put into practice the words of the Lord.26 It is summed up in the Golden Rule, "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; this is the law and the prophets."27
The entire Law of the Gospel is contained in the "new commandment" of Jesus, to love one another as he has loved us.28
1971 To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine hands on the Lord's teaching with the authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the virtues that flow from faith in Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit. "Let charity be genuine. . . . Love one another with brotherly affection. . . . Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."29 This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church.30
1972 The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity and, finally, lets us pass from the condition of a servant who "does not know what his master is doing" to that of a friend of Christ - "For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" - or even to the status of son and heir.31
1973 Besides its precepts, the New Law also includes the evangelical counsels. The traditional distinction between God's commandments and the evangelical counsels is drawn in relation to charity, the perfection of Christian life. The precepts are intended to remove whatever is incompatible with charity. The aim of the counsels is to remove whatever might hinder the development of charity, even if it is not contrary to it.32
1974 The evangelical counsels manifest the living fullness of charity, which is never satisfied with not giving more. They attest its vitality and call forth our spiritual readiness. The perfection of the New Law consists essentially in the precepts of love of God and neighbor. The counsels point out the more direct ways, the readier means, and are to be practiced in keeping with the vocation of each:
- [God] does not want each person to keep all the counsels, but only those appropriate to the diversity of persons, times, opportunities, and strengths, as charity requires; for it is charity, as queen of all virtues, all commandments, all counsels, and, in short, of all laws and all Christian actions that gives to all of them their rank, order, time, and value.33
More on Natural Law
Continuing with the theme of yesterday on natural law, I would like to quote the philosopher Jacques Maritain.
"For the perfecting of the species, that is to say in order that the highest exigencies of the natural law with regard to the human species should be recognized and supernaturally confirmed and that the rigour which is thus demanded from each one should raise the moral level of the species."
Thus, as Raissa Martain notes in her Journal, marriage, although temporary, is a sacrament for the "perfection of the species."
What is missing from marriage preparations is this idea that marriage between two people is exactly for the making of saints, for the personal holiness of each person in the marriage.
In natural law, we know that marriage is between a man and a woman and for life. This is something which the Church has upheld for centuries. Christ did not change the Ten Commandments and, in fact, made marriage more than a covenant.
That the moral level of humans is raised by the process of following natural law, which then leads to Revelation and the laws of the Church, may be seen in the history of the Church.
When a union of a man and woman contravenes natural and supernatural law, this public act of either fornication or adultery affects the entire community, not just the couple. There is no such thing as a completely "private" relationship.
Marriage not only can and should bring a couple to holiness, but the entire community benefits from the goodness of the marriage. Excellent Catholic families strengthen the Church and bring merit into parishes.
To ignore the natural law and to stop the process of moving from natural law to supernatural law indicates a mind-set which is sub-human, less that human.
to be continued...
"For the perfecting of the species, that is to say in order that the highest exigencies of the natural law with regard to the human species should be recognized and supernaturally confirmed and that the rigour which is thus demanded from each one should raise the moral level of the species."
Thus, as Raissa Martain notes in her Journal, marriage, although temporary, is a sacrament for the "perfection of the species."
What is missing from marriage preparations is this idea that marriage between two people is exactly for the making of saints, for the personal holiness of each person in the marriage.
In natural law, we know that marriage is between a man and a woman and for life. This is something which the Church has upheld for centuries. Christ did not change the Ten Commandments and, in fact, made marriage more than a covenant.
That the moral level of humans is raised by the process of following natural law, which then leads to Revelation and the laws of the Church, may be seen in the history of the Church.
When a union of a man and woman contravenes natural and supernatural law, this public act of either fornication or adultery affects the entire community, not just the couple. There is no such thing as a completely "private" relationship.
Marriage not only can and should bring a couple to holiness, but the entire community benefits from the goodness of the marriage. Excellent Catholic families strengthen the Church and bring merit into parishes.
To ignore the natural law and to stop the process of moving from natural law to supernatural law indicates a mind-set which is sub-human, less that human.
to be continued...
Monday, 10 November 2014
Denial of Natural Law Continued
Two of the heresies which are growing in modern society are the denial of natural law and the denial of free will. Readers have the list of free will posts here below......
Let me start with the first problematic belief, which takes the shape of people denying responsibility for actions because "they do not know" something is wrong.
The Catholic Encyclopedia is a good starting place for the understanding of natural law. The entire idea hinges on the fact that human being were created in the image and likeness of God.
Such philosophies are relativism, subjectivism and determinism deny the fact that we are all created to be with God in heaven, that we have this goal from the very fact that we are human beings, and that our intelligence and free will guide our actions and thoughts.
In other words, anything which is against human nature, as created by God, is against natural law. Human nature is the discriminating norm for natural law.
According to St. Thomas, the natural law is "nothing else than the rational creature's participation in the eternal law" (I-II.94). The eternal law is God's wisdom, inasmuch as it is the directive norm of all movement and action. When God willed to give existence to creatures, He willed to ordain and direct them to an end. In the case of inanimate things, this Divine direction is provided for in the nature which God has given to each; in them determinism reigns.
Like all the rest of creation, man is destined by God to an end, and receives from Him a direction towards this end. This ordination is of a character in harmony with his free intelligent nature. In virtue of his intelligence and free will, man is master of his conduct. Unlike the things of the mere material world he can vary his action, act, or abstain from action, as he pleases. Yet he is not a lawless being in an ordered universe. In the very constitution of his nature, he too has a law laid down for him, reflecting that ordination and direction of all things, which is the eternal law. The rule, then, which God has prescribed for our conduct, is found in our nature itself. Those actions which conform with its tendencies, lead to our destined end, and are thereby constituted right and morally good; those at variance with our nature are wrong and immoral.
To be human is to have knowledge of natural law. God ordered the universe and, specifically, human nature, to reflect Himself. The Divine nature informs human nature, and the Divine authority gives all all an innate obligation to follow natural law.
....
The discriminating norm is, as we have just seen, human nature itself, objectively considered. It is, so to speak, the book in which is written the text of the law, and the classification ofhuman actions into good and bad. Strictly speaking, our nature is the proximate discriminating norm or standard. The remote and ultimate norm, of which it is the partial reflection and application, is the Divine nature itself, the ultimate groundwork of the created order. The binding or obligatory norm is the Divine authority, imposing upon the rational creature the obligation of living in conformity with his nature, and thus with the universal order established by the Creator. Contrary to the Kantian theory that we must not acknowledge any other lawgiver than conscience, the truth is that reason as conscience is only immediate moral authority which we are called upon to obey, and conscience itself owes its authority to the fact that it is the mouthpiece of the Divine will and imperium. The manifesting norm (norma denuntians), which determines the moral quality of actions tried by the discriminating norm, is reason. Through this faculty we perceive what is the moral constitution of our nature, what kind of action it calls for, and whether a particular action possesses this requisite character.
The ability to reason is the faculty given to us by God, separating us from all other creatures, gives us the clarity as to what is moral, what action follows this knowledge of morality in a specific situation, and whether an action is moral.
This ability is in us by the very fact that we are human, and not because we are in sanctifying grace although sanctifying grace can inform natural law and lead to an understanding of other laws.
And, here comes an area of confusion for moderns: there are primary and secondary binding precepts.
To the first class belong those which must, under all circumstances, be observed if the essential moral order is to be maintained. The secondary precepts are those whose observance contributes to the public and private good and is required for the perfection of moral development, but is not so absolutely necessary to the rationality of conduct that it may not be lawfully omitted under some special conditions.
In addition, natural law is universal, to all people of all times.
Natural law is immutable; as long as humans exist, natural law exists.
And, here is the answer to those modern lawyers of all kinds who deny natural law. There is a new class both of civil and canon lawyers who have erroneously moved away from natural law philosophy.
The question arises: How far can man be ignorant of the natural law, which, as St. Paul says, is written in the human heart (Romans 2:14)? The general teaching of theologians is that the supreme and primary principles are necessarily known to every one having the actual use of reason. These principles are really reducible to the primary principle which is expressed by St. Thomas in the form: "Do good and avoid evil". Wherever we find man we find him with a moral code, which is founded on the first principle that good is to be done and evil avoided. When we pass from the universal to more particular conclusions, the case is different. Some follow immediately from the primary, and are so self-evident that they are reached without any complex course of reasoning. Such are, for example: "Do not commit adultery"; "Honour your parents". No person whose reason and moral nature is ever so little developed can remain in ignorance of such precepts except through his own fault. Another class of conclusions comprises those which are reached only by a more or less complex course of reasoning. These may remain unknown to, or be misinterpreted even by persons whose intellectual development is considerable.
Without Revelation, natural law is much harder to discern. Therefore, humans have a duty to pursue Revelation and supernatural law. See Vatican Council, Sess. III, cap. ii CE
to be continued.....................
Let me start with the first problematic belief, which takes the shape of people denying responsibility for actions because "they do not know" something is wrong.
The Catholic Encyclopedia is a good starting place for the understanding of natural law. The entire idea hinges on the fact that human being were created in the image and likeness of God.
Such philosophies are relativism, subjectivism and determinism deny the fact that we are all created to be with God in heaven, that we have this goal from the very fact that we are human beings, and that our intelligence and free will guide our actions and thoughts.
In other words, anything which is against human nature, as created by God, is against natural law. Human nature is the discriminating norm for natural law.
According to St. Thomas, the natural law is "nothing else than the rational creature's participation in the eternal law" (I-II.94). The eternal law is God's wisdom, inasmuch as it is the directive norm of all movement and action. When God willed to give existence to creatures, He willed to ordain and direct them to an end. In the case of inanimate things, this Divine direction is provided for in the nature which God has given to each; in them determinism reigns.
Like all the rest of creation, man is destined by God to an end, and receives from Him a direction towards this end. This ordination is of a character in harmony with his free intelligent nature. In virtue of his intelligence and free will, man is master of his conduct. Unlike the things of the mere material world he can vary his action, act, or abstain from action, as he pleases. Yet he is not a lawless being in an ordered universe. In the very constitution of his nature, he too has a law laid down for him, reflecting that ordination and direction of all things, which is the eternal law. The rule, then, which God has prescribed for our conduct, is found in our nature itself. Those actions which conform with its tendencies, lead to our destined end, and are thereby constituted right and morally good; those at variance with our nature are wrong and immoral.
To be human is to have knowledge of natural law. God ordered the universe and, specifically, human nature, to reflect Himself. The Divine nature informs human nature, and the Divine authority gives all all an innate obligation to follow natural law.
....
The discriminating norm is, as we have just seen, human nature itself, objectively considered. It is, so to speak, the book in which is written the text of the law, and the classification ofhuman actions into good and bad. Strictly speaking, our nature is the proximate discriminating norm or standard. The remote and ultimate norm, of which it is the partial reflection and application, is the Divine nature itself, the ultimate groundwork of the created order. The binding or obligatory norm is the Divine authority, imposing upon the rational creature the obligation of living in conformity with his nature, and thus with the universal order established by the Creator. Contrary to the Kantian theory that we must not acknowledge any other lawgiver than conscience, the truth is that reason as conscience is only immediate moral authority which we are called upon to obey, and conscience itself owes its authority to the fact that it is the mouthpiece of the Divine will and imperium. The manifesting norm (norma denuntians), which determines the moral quality of actions tried by the discriminating norm, is reason. Through this faculty we perceive what is the moral constitution of our nature, what kind of action it calls for, and whether a particular action possesses this requisite character.
The ability to reason is the faculty given to us by God, separating us from all other creatures, gives us the clarity as to what is moral, what action follows this knowledge of morality in a specific situation, and whether an action is moral.
This ability is in us by the very fact that we are human, and not because we are in sanctifying grace although sanctifying grace can inform natural law and lead to an understanding of other laws.
And, here comes an area of confusion for moderns: there are primary and secondary binding precepts.
To the first class belong those which must, under all circumstances, be observed if the essential moral order is to be maintained. The secondary precepts are those whose observance contributes to the public and private good and is required for the perfection of moral development, but is not so absolutely necessary to the rationality of conduct that it may not be lawfully omitted under some special conditions.
In addition, natural law is universal, to all people of all times.
Natural law is immutable; as long as humans exist, natural law exists.
And, here is the answer to those modern lawyers of all kinds who deny natural law. There is a new class both of civil and canon lawyers who have erroneously moved away from natural law philosophy.
The question arises: How far can man be ignorant of the natural law, which, as St. Paul says, is written in the human heart (Romans 2:14)? The general teaching of theologians is that the supreme and primary principles are necessarily known to every one having the actual use of reason. These principles are really reducible to the primary principle which is expressed by St. Thomas in the form: "Do good and avoid evil". Wherever we find man we find him with a moral code, which is founded on the first principle that good is to be done and evil avoided. When we pass from the universal to more particular conclusions, the case is different. Some follow immediately from the primary, and are so self-evident that they are reached without any complex course of reasoning. Such are, for example: "Do not commit adultery"; "Honour your parents". No person whose reason and moral nature is ever so little developed can remain in ignorance of such precepts except through his own fault. Another class of conclusions comprises those which are reached only by a more or less complex course of reasoning. These may remain unknown to, or be misinterpreted even by persons whose intellectual development is considerable.
Without Revelation, natural law is much harder to discern. Therefore, humans have a duty to pursue Revelation and supernatural law. See Vatican Council, Sess. III, cap. ii CE
to be continued.....................
Confusion on Natural Law
If modern theologians and philosophers deny we can know natural law, naturally, they are..
- denying God
- denying we humans are different than animals
- denying the soul
- denying natural religion
- denying natural knowledge of God
- denying conscience
- denying free will
- denying the rational capacity of humans; in other words, denying reason
- denying Revelation, which is the restatement clearly of the natural law
more later...
Confusion About Excommunication
There are several situations in the Catholic Church which result in automatic excommunication.
These are the sins which cause automatic excommunication in the Catholic Church. These are clarified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
These apostasy, heresy, schism (CIC 1364:1), violating the sacred species (CIC 1367), physically attacking the pope (CIC 1370:1), absolving an accomplice in a sexual sin (CIC 1378:1), consecrating a bishop without authorization (CIC 1382), and directly violating the seal of confession (1388:1)
Automatic excommunication for abortion (CIC 1398 and Evangelium Vitae 62) applies not only to the woman who has the abortion, but to "all those who commit this crime with knowledge of the penalty attached, and includes those accomplices without whose help the crime would not have been committed". Canon 1329 is applied. That is the point. The more severe, the most narrow the application is the rule for Canon Law.
Canon Law 1329.1 refers to direct, immediate and grave.
Also included is membership to the Masons and receiving Holy Communion while in an irregular marriage.
Automatic excommunication is called latae sententiae.
One does not need to understand what this means to be automatically excommunicated, as these are such grave evils. There are two types of knowledge.
Formal and material knowledge are these two types of knowledge. Natural law covers formal knowledge for any person over the age of 13.
One does not have to know it is an act which makes one an excommunicate, but only have to know it is really bad, like abortion for those brought up Catholics.
Material knowledge has to do with precepts within the law. One cannot attend a Mass where only the host is consecrated, for example and not the wine, which is a serious sin and an extension of natural law. Hitting a pope comes under material knowledge, which means one has to know it is an extension of natural law.
Not so with abortion, which is so evil, one would know how serious this is.
If one is a Mason and has gone through some of the ceremonies, one is excommunicated. This would occurs about the fourth level, which equal automatic excommunication.
Some Canons are Church laws, and some are God's laws. God's laws is where one could not ever say "I did not know", such as with abortion. One is culpable for breaking God's laws.
Blasphemy, adultery, abortion, judicial murder, bestiality and so on NO EXCUSE. Arbitrary justice, (lynch mobs, Star Chamber and so on ), is also a serious sin which a person cannot excuse themselves.
See the difference?
These are the sins which cause automatic excommunication in the Catholic Church. These are clarified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
These apostasy, heresy, schism (CIC 1364:1), violating the sacred species (CIC 1367), physically attacking the pope (CIC 1370:1), absolving an accomplice in a sexual sin (CIC 1378:1), consecrating a bishop without authorization (CIC 1382), and directly violating the seal of confession (1388:1)
Automatic excommunication for abortion (CIC 1398 and Evangelium Vitae 62) applies not only to the woman who has the abortion, but to "all those who commit this crime with knowledge of the penalty attached, and includes those accomplices without whose help the crime would not have been committed". Canon 1329 is applied. That is the point. The more severe, the most narrow the application is the rule for Canon Law.
Canon Law 1329.1 refers to direct, immediate and grave.
Also included is membership to the Masons and receiving Holy Communion while in an irregular marriage.
Automatic excommunication is called latae sententiae.
One does not need to understand what this means to be automatically excommunicated, as these are such grave evils. There are two types of knowledge.
Formal and material knowledge are these two types of knowledge. Natural law covers formal knowledge for any person over the age of 13.
One does not have to know it is an act which makes one an excommunicate, but only have to know it is really bad, like abortion for those brought up Catholics.
Material knowledge has to do with precepts within the law. One cannot attend a Mass where only the host is consecrated, for example and not the wine, which is a serious sin and an extension of natural law. Hitting a pope comes under material knowledge, which means one has to know it is an extension of natural law.
Not so with abortion, which is so evil, one would know how serious this is.
If one is a Mason and has gone through some of the ceremonies, one is excommunicated. This would occurs about the fourth level, which equal automatic excommunication.
Some Canons are Church laws, and some are God's laws. God's laws is where one could not ever say "I did not know", such as with abortion. One is culpable for breaking God's laws.
Blasphemy, adultery, abortion, judicial murder, bestiality and so on NO EXCUSE. Arbitrary justice, (lynch mobs, Star Chamber and so on ), is also a serious sin which a person cannot excuse themselves.
See the difference?
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