Morals of the Church
Library › Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology › Volume II › Book IV. On the Sanction of Christian Life, or on Ecclesiastical Penalties › Treatise II. On the Penalties of Delict › Dissertation II. On Penalties in Species › Part I. On Medicinal Penalties, or on Censures › Section I. On Censures in General

Chapter — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

Chapter I. On the Notion, Multiplication, and Division of Censure

862.

I. Notion. Censure is a penalty by which a baptized man, delinquent and contumacious, is deprived of certain spiritual goods or goods annexed to spiritual things, until, withdrawing from contumacy, he is absolved (canon 2241, § 1). It is said:

  1. Baptized, because the Church lacks jurisdiction over the non-baptized; against heretics and schismatics she can issue censures.

  2. Delinquent and contumacious; these things will be explained more fully under II.

  3. Until, withdrawing from contumacy, he is absolved. Namely, censure is a medicinal penalty, and therefore primarily intends the amendment of the guilty person; hence as soon as the delinquent withdraws from contumacy, he must be absolved (St. Alphonsus VII, 1).

Note. Censures, especially those latae sententiae, and most of all excommunication, are not to be inflicted except soberly and with great circumspection (canon 2241, § 2), "since, as the Council of Trent says,1 experience teaches that if it is struck rashly or for light matters, it is rather despised than feared, and produces ruin rather than salvation."

II. A fuller exposition of the notion will show what things are required on the part both of the delict and of the delinquent, so that the penalty of censure may be decreed; and what things are required so that the delinquent may be absolved.

  1. Requisites on the part of the delict. By censure there is punished only an external delict (n. 846), grave (n. 858), consummated (n. 858; St. Alphonsus VII, 31-34, 36; canon 2242, § 1). Note that a grave delict is required not only as to the external act, but also as to the internal act, so that whatever excuses from mortal sin also excuses from censure (n. 858), at least in the internal forum, because in the external forum malice is presumed.

  2. The requisite on the part of the delinquent is contumacy (cited canon). Moreover:

a) If there is question of censures ferendae sententiae, one is contumacious who, notwithstanding the warnings mentioned in canon 2233, § 2 (n. 859), does not desist from the delict or refuses to do penance for the perpetrated delict with due reparation of damages and scandal (canon 2242, § 2).2

b) But to incur a censure latae sententiae, transgression of the law or precept to which the penalty latae sententiae is annexed suffices, unless the guilty person is excused from it by a legitimate cause (cited canon). It is disputed whether, in a case in which there is question of a censure which is not incurred unless the effect has followed, a transgression morally persisting until the effect has followed is required, so that the censure is not contracted by him who repents of the transgression before the effect. St. Alphonsus (VII, 40) and others affirm this, because a censure does not seem to be contracted by one who, at the moment at which according to the law it is contracted, is already no longer contumacious.

Note. Censure can also be issued against unknown delinquents (canon 2242, § 1), provided, however, that they are somehow determined; as happens, for example, in establishing censures latae sententiae. But a censure issued against an uncertain or indeterminate person would be invalid, for example: "I excommunicate one of the three authors of this crime."

  1. The requisite for a delinquent to be absolved is that contumacy has ceased. Moreover, contumacy must be said to have ceased when the guilty person has truly repented of the committed delict and at the same time has given congruous satisfaction for damages and scandal, or at least has seriously promised it; but to judge whether the repentance is true, the satisfaction congruous, or the promise of the same serious or not, belongs to him from whom absolution from the censure is sought (canon 2242, § 3). Therefore the one absolving can sometimes require cautions, so that he may be certain of the serious conversion of the penitent.

Question. When does censure produce its effect, and to what extent is appeal or recourse admitted concerning a censure inflicted or threatened?

Response 1. Censures inflicted by judicial sentence carry execution with them as soon as they have been issued, and from them there is no appeal except in devolutive effect; likewise from censures inflicted in the manner of a precept there is recourse, but in devolutive effect only3 (canon 2243, § 1).

Response 2. But appeal or recourse from a judicial sentence or precept threatening censures, even censures latae sententiae not yet contracted, suspends neither the sentence or precept nor the censures, if there is question of a matter in which law does not admit appeal or recourse even with suspensive effect; otherwise it suspends the censures, the obligation of observing what is commanded by the sentence or precept nevertheless remaining firm, unless the guilty person has lodged appeal or recourse not only from the penalty, but also from the sentence or precept itself (canon 2243, § 2).

III. Multiplication of censure. Since by several titles someone can be deprived of the same good, "not only diverse censures, but even a censure of the same species, can be multiplied in the same subject" (canon 2244, § 1). Moreover, according to the adage, as many penalties as delicts, the Code establishes:

  1. A censure latae sententiae is multiplied: 1° if diverse delicts, each of which carries a censure with it, are committed by the same or by distinct action (p. 716, IV, 1, 1°); 2° if the same delict, punished with a censure, is repeated several times, so that there are several distinct delicts (p. 716, IV, 1, 2°); 3° if a delict, punished with diverse censures by distinct Superiors, is committed once or several times (canon 2244, § 2, 1°, 2°, 3°).

  2. A censure ab homine (inflicted) is multiplied if several precepts, or several sentences, or several distinct parts of the same precept or sentence, each inflicts its own censure (canon 2244, § 3).

IV. Division. Censure, as was said of penalty in general (n. 853), is determinate or indeterminate, latae or ferendae sententiae, a iure or ab homine. Besides, censures are divided:

  1. By reason of the deprivation of goods, into excommunication, suspension, and interdict; concerning these separately below.

  2. By reason of the power of remitting, some are reserved, others non-reserved (canon 2245, § 1). We shall speak specifically of reservation.

1 Session 25, chapter 3.

2 An unknown delinquent must be warned by edict before a censure is inflicted, according to the norm of canon 1724, compared with canon 1720, 1 and 2 (cf. also canon 1717, 3).

3 Recourse extends more broadly than appeal, since the former can be extrajudicial, but the latter cannot in present Law.

What a censure is and its kindsContumacy