Folia Canonica 4. (2001)
STUDIES - John D. Faris: A Canonical Examination of the Acquisition, Consequences and Loss of Membership in a Church - A Catholic Perspective
MEMBERSHIP IN A CHURCH 151 In addition to the spiritual bonds between the baptized person and the Christian Church, there are also visible, juridical bonds which fall within the purveyance of canon law. As a social-juridical entity, the Catholic Church on occasion is obliged to inflict penalties to bring about reform and demonstrate that certain doctrinal positions or forms of behavior are incompatible with Catholic teachings and practice. There are three forms of censure in the Eastern Catholic Churches:79 Minor excommunication - A person under the censure of minor excommunication is not permitted to receive the Eucharist and can perhaps be excluded from participating in any act of divine worship.80 Major excommunication deprives a person from all sacraments, sacramen- tals, and public celebrations of divine worship; further, the person cannot exercise any office, ministry or function, is deprived of all benefits attached to any office, ministry, or function, and cannot exercise the power of governance.81 Suspension can be imposed only on clerics and restricts exercise of the power of orders and governance.82 An examination of these three forms of censures reveals that a person under a censure - even major excommunication - remains in the communion of the Church, but is deprived of certain rights: some or all of the spiritual goods of the Church.83 The penal sanction of excommunication is more accurately characterized as the curtailment of the right of a baptized person to the spiritual goods of the Church.84 Such an approach conforms to the definition of communicatio, i.e., an “action of sharing or imparting.”85 The baptized person under the censure of excommunication remains a member of the Church; it should be recalled that one who is excommunicated can retain certain rights (at least in the case of minor excommunication) and is nevertheless bound by the obligations attached to his or her ecclesial status. Through reform and repentance a person can re-acquire the right to the means of sanctification offered by the Church. Because the person has not lost the status of a (baptized) Christian, re-baptism would be inappropriate. 79 The C1C includes three forms of censure: excommunication, interdict, and suspension. See CIC cc. 1331-1333. For the sake of simplicity, we shall consider only censures as formulated in the CCEO. 80 CCEO c. 1431 § 1. See also CIC cc. 916. 81 CCEO c. 1434-§1. See also C/Cc. 1331. 82 CCEO c. 1432 §1. 83 CCEO c. 16 / CIC c. 213. 84 See L. Chiappeta, II Codice di Diritto Canonico, Napoli 1988 2, 453. 85 P. G. W. Glare, Oxford Latin Dictionary, Oxford 1982, s.v. communicatio. The term communio bears the same connotation.
