Article II. On Irregularities from Delict

They are irregular from delict:

1°. Apostates from the faith, heretics, schismatics;

2°. Those who, except in a case of extreme necessity, have allowed baptism to be conferred upon themselves in any way by acatholics;

3°. Those who have dared to attempt marriage or to place only a civil act, either themselves bound by a matrimonial bond or sacred order or religious vows, even simple and temporary, or with a woman bound by the same vows or joined by a valid marriage;

4°. Those who have perpetrated voluntary homicide or procured the abortion of a human fetus, the effect having followed, and all cooperating;

5°. Those who have mutilated themselves or others, or have attempted to take life from themselves;

6°. Clerics exercising the medical or surgical art forbidden to them, if death follows from it;

7°. Those who place an act of order reserved to clerics constituted in sacred order, either lacking that order, or being prohibited from its exercise by a canonical penalty, whether personal, medicinal or vindicative, or local (Can. 985).

These delicts do not beget irregularity unless they have been grave sins, perpetrated after baptism, with the prescription of can. 985, n. 2 saved, and likewise external, whether public or occult (Can. 986).

1°. Apostasy from the faith is total defection from the Christian faith; heresy is the voluntary error of some Christian against some truth of faith; schism is voluntary withdrawal from the unity of the Church and from obedience to the Head, the Roman Pontiff.

2°. Irregularity from bad reception of Baptism arises. Voluntary acceptance of Baptism from an apostate, heretic, schismatic, or infidel outside a case of necessity is understood; it is said: if he knew, that is, if knowingly he permitted himself to be baptized by any one of these outside a case of extreme necessity, then he is irregular.

3°. They contract irregularity:

Paul, married, attempting marriage with Martha, unmarried, or with Bertha, married, or with Titina, bound even by temporary vows.

Paul, a religious from solemn vows, attempting marriage with Martha, unmarried, or with Margaret, a religious bound by vows;

Paul, a subdeacon or deacon or priest, attempting marriage with Martha, unmarried, or Marthina, a religious;

Paul, unmarried, attempting marriage with a nun bound by solemn vow;

Paul, professed from temporary vows, attempting marriage with Martha, a nun bound by solemn vow;

John, a professed member of the Society of Jesus from perpetual simple vows, attempting marriage with Bertha, unmarried, or professed from vows whether solemn or simple temporary.

By like reason those who have dared to place only a civil act contract irregularity according to the adjuncts of this canon n. 3.

4°. It arises from homicide and procurement of abortion:

In this irregularity there seem altogether to be included all homicides properly and strictly so called, all procuring abortion, all cooperators who truly incur the guilt of homicide. Therefore those killing by physical act; those procuring abortion by a physical act, the effect having followed; those incurring by a moral act the guilt of homicide or of abortion, the effect having followed; those cooperating efficaciously.

Nor are they irregular who kill someone in the just defense of themselves or of another person, the moderation of blameless defense having been observed.

5°. To mutilate is to cut off a member of the body which has a proper and distinct office: foot, hand, eye, tongue, the breast of a woman. To perpetrate suicide, that is, to attempt to take life from oneself. Therefore those who have mutilated either themselves or others, or have attempted to take life from themselves, become irregular.

Vasectomy is certainly grave damaging of a man, for it deprives him of an immense good; and therefore it is a grave lesion. According to many it is grave mutilation in the technical sense, for it is a cutting-off of a member, although not an excision; it renders the vessels useless for their end. But others say that it is not certainly established concerning irregularity, because the member is not cut out, which is required for irregularity.

One emasculated is not irregular if this has happened to him on account of necessity, or an injury exercised upon him, or on account of defect of nature in birth; otherwise if without necessity he asked this to be done in himself.

6°. Clerics are gravely prohibited from exercising medicine or surgery without apostolic indult; these, although not indecorous, are certainly alien from the clerical state. If death follows from this exercise, they become irregular. This irregularity strikes the clerics themselves exercising this medical or surgical art.

7°. Those who place some act of order reserved to clerics constituted in sacred order, not having that order - for example, a deacon celebrating Mass, a cleric in minors solemnly baptizing - become irregular; or if they have the order whose exercise, however, is prohibited to them by canonical penalty, and nevertheless they exercise it. And laymen also incur irregularity when exercising an act of order reserved to a cleric constituted in major orders, but not when exercising an act proper to minor orders.