Circular from the Pastoral Office of the Archdiocese of Lima on the crime of abortion.
Dear Brother Priest:
By commission of His Eminence the Cardinal, Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru, Most Rev. Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, the Pastoral Office of the Archdiocese is pleased to send you the present report: “The crime of abortion: The juridical and moral dimension of this unlawful act”; with the purpose of offering you basic information and sound criteria on this matter, which constitutes a grave moral problem.
As we well know, “certain particularly grave sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty…and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them (see CIC, can. 1354-1357)”. The Code of Canon Law, in can. 1398, penalizes procured abortion, and the penalty imposed is excommunication latae sententiae. Only some priests have the faculty to absolve and to lift this penalty (see question No. 18 of the report). Although during the Great Jubilee of the Holy Year 2000 the faculty to absolve from this penalty was granted to all ministers of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, it is fitting to point out that this concession ended this past January 6, 2001.
Likewise, the present work seeks to be an instrument that helps you in the formation of the conscience of the faithful entrusted to you, since “Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.”. In the same way, we wish to recall the grave responsibility of instructing the faithful so that the provision contemplated in can. 1398 may be effective.
Trusting that this report will be of use to you in your pastoral ministry, I take this occasion to renew to you the sentiments of my highest esteem in the Lord Jesus.
Fraternally in Christ,
Fr. VÍCTOR SOLÍS ALFAGEME
Executive Secretary – Pastoral Office
THE CRIME OF ABORTION
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. What is procured abortion?
Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth. So it was declared on May 23, 1988, by the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of Legislative Texts:
“Abortion is not only the killing of the immature fruit of the womb, but any action that in any way and at any moment leads to its death. The penalty affects all those who take part in the abortion and not only the mother who kills or has her child killed” .
2. Why is abortion considered a “horrendous crime”?
Abortion is a “horrendous crime”, as the Second Vatican Council described it, because it consists in taking the life of an innocent creature who has committed no crime. Moreover, the crime is aggravated by the fact that the victim is a creature who would have a right to the love of his parents and who will not come to enjoy any of the goods of life, chiefly Baptism and the graces of Christianity. Finally, this crime is committed against someone absolutely incapable of defending himself, and often it is not effectively punished by human justice, which is why the divine judgment is all the more to be feared.
3. What does a person incur who procures an abortion or consents to having one performed on themselves?
Whoever deliberately consents to and performs an abortion, or accepts having one performed on themselves, or provides indispensable cooperation in carrying it out, incurs moral guilt and a canonical penalty; that is, they commit both a sin and a crime.
4. What does moral guilt consist of?
Moral guilt is a grave sin against the sacred value of human life. The Fifth Commandment orders: YOU SHALL NOT KILL. It is an exceptionally grave (mortal) sin, because the victim is innocent and defenseless and its death is caused precisely by those who have a special obligation to watch over its life. Moreover, it must be kept in mind that the aborted child is deprived of Holy Baptism.
5. What is a canonical penalty?
A canonical penalty is a sanction that the Church imposes on certain criminal acts, which are defined in the Code of Canon Law, because they are external, voluntary, and gravely imputable transgressions of a law to which a penalty is attached.
6. With what penalty does the Church punish directly procured abortion?
The Church punishes directly procured abortion with the canonical penalty of excommunication, not only the mother and the physician, but every person without whose help this crime against human life would not have been carried out. Canon 1398 of the CIC states: “Whoever procures an abortion, if it comes about, incurs latae sententiae excommunication”.
7. What does it mean to incur excommunication?
It means to fall under a penalty by which the person is excluded from the communion of the faithful and, consequently, is forbidden any ministerial participation in the celebration of the Eucharist or in any other celebrations of worship, to celebrate the sacraments or sacramentals and to receive the sacraments, as well as to hold ecclesiastical offices, ministries, and functions, or to perform acts of governance.
8. What does it mean that an excommunication is latae sententiae?
By this expression is meant that the one who incurs it is automatically excommunicated, by the very fact of having committed the crime, without any authority of the Church needing to declare it expressly.
9. Does the phrase “if it —the abortion— comes about” mean anything special?
Yes. It means that, for the penalty of excommunication to come about, the abortion must be completed; that is, the child must die as a consequence of the abortion. If for any reason the abortion is not completed, the excommunication will not come about, although the sin will still be present.
10. Is a person who uses abortifacient drugs or intrauterine devices excommunicated?
No, because it is not established that in each case an abortion has taken place, since it is not known when fertilization—and therefore expulsion of the embryo—occurred. Nevertheless, the use of these means is always a grave sin, because of the proximate occasion of abortion and because of the sin against chastity.
11. In the case of abortion, who incurs the penalty of excommunication?
If the conditions that constitute the crime of abortion are present, then, in addition to the woman who voluntarily aborts, all those who have provided indispensable cooperation for the abortion to be committed are excommunicated: those who perform it, those who assist in such a way that without their help the abortion would not have taken place, whoever decisively advises and encourages its performance when it is in fact carried out, etc. (for example: the anesthesiologist, the nurse, the one who provides the money, etc.).
12. Is abortion justified to save the mother’s life?
If the mother’s life is in danger, everything possible must be done to save her. Likewise, an effort must be made to save the child’s life at all costs. It is not lawful to kill one directly in order to save the other. If, while seeking to save both lives, the death of one or of both occurs accidentally and unintentionally, there is no crime; but one must always seek to save both lives, which are equally valuable before God.
13. And may abortion not be induced to prevent the birth of an abnormal child?
Only God is the master of life, and man cannot condemn to death an innocent creature for being abnormal or out of fear that it may be abnormal. Although health and normality are perfections of man, nevertheless man does not live in order to be healthy; this is not the supreme value. Sick, deformed persons, etc., can be very happy in this life and attain a high degree of holiness, of glory, of happiness in the life to come. Moreover, many people can render great services to God and to men, even though they are partially incapacitated, and no one can foresee with certainty what the life of an as-yet-unborn creature will be like.
14. What is the reason for abortion being condemned by a canonical penalty as grave as excommunication?
The reason for this norm is to protect —also in this way, and not only through catechesis and the right formation of conscience— the life of the child from the very instant of conception, because the Church realizes that the fragile life of children in the mother’s womb depends decisively on the attitude of those closest to them, who are, moreover, those with the most direct and special obligation to protect it: parents, doctors, etc. Later, when the child is born, it will also be protected in some way by society itself.
The Church has always understood that procured abortion is one of the worst crimes from the moral point of view. The Second Vatican Council states in this regard:
“God, the Lord of life, has conferred on men the surpassing ministry of safeguarding life in a manner which is worthy of man. Therefore from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes”.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states this clearly:
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life (See Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction “Donum vitae” 1, 1).
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jer 1:5; cf. Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11). My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth (Ps 139:15).
“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.
“You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish (Didache 2, 2; Barnabas, ep. 19, 5; Epistle to Diognetus 5, 5; Tertullian, apol. 9)”.
15. But since in recent years there are more and more countries and laws that permit abortion, would it not have been a gesture of benevolence on the Church’s part to have mitigated the penalties for Catholics who abort?
In the last and thorough revision of the Code of Canon Law, completed in 1983, the Church could have changed the penalty of excommunication that weighs upon those who knowingly procure an abortion, but she did not do so precisely because in recent decades there has occurred throughout the world a marked relaxation of people’s sensitivity—and that of many believers as well—toward this crime. And although this greater social laxity, which exerts a certain pressure on consciences, may diminish the gravity of the offense in some cases, a mitigation of the penalty would inevitably have given rise to the erroneous idea that the Church today regards procured abortion as less grave than before, when evidently this is not the case.
The Church is Mother and Teacher; as Mother, she is slow to anger and ready to forgive, but as Teacher she cannot distort the deposit of doctrine she has received from God, and she cannot call good what is evil, nor can she give occasion for anyone to suppose that she acts in this way.
16. Can it happen that a person consents to or cooperates in an abortion and does not incur excommunication?
Yes. Since in Canon Law there is no crime where there is no grave (mortal) sin, there are circumstances in which this penalty is not incurred, for it requires full imputability.
For example, the following are not excommunicated: those who procure an abortion if they are unaware that it is punished with excommunication; those who have no awareness that voluntarily aborting is a mortal sin; those who have taken part in an abortion compelled by irresistible force against their will or by grave fear; those under sixteen (16) years of age; in general, those who have acted without full advertence and full consent.
Canon 1323 of the Code of Canon Law states in this regard:
“No one is liable to any penalty who, when he violated a law or precept:
1. had not yet completed sixteen years of age;
2. was, without fault, ignorant of violating a law or precept; and inadvertence and error are equivalent to ignorance;
3. acted out of physical force, or by reason of a fortuitous event that could not be foreseen or that, once foreseen, could not be avoided;
4. acted under coercion of grave fear, even if only relatively grave, or out of necessity or to avoid grave harm, unless the act was intrinsically evil or tended to the harm of souls;
5. acted in legitimate defense against an unjust aggressor of himself or of another, observing due moderation;
6. lacked the use of reason, without prejudice to the prescriptions of cann. 1324 §1, 2° and 1325;
7. judged without fault that one of the circumstances indicated in nn. 4° or 5° was present.
17. Is the Catholic doctrine on abortion not a hard teaching that very few will be able to follow?
In almost these very words the contemporaries of Jesus replied when they heard his preaching (see Jn 6:60). And the Lord Jesus himself told us that one must follow the narrow way to reach the Kingdom of Heaven (see Mt 7:13). To follow Christ in his Church is not easy, but with the Grace of God the path is made smooth and difficulties are overcome, however great they may seem. The Lord also told us to come to him with confidence, and he would relieve us of our anguish (see Mt 11:28).
The Catholic doctrine on abortion does not stem from the will of ecclesiastical authority, but is founded in the deepest nature of things as willed by God, which is expressed in the Law that He has made known to us and which the Church has the mission to transmit: it will never be lawful to take the life of an innocent and defenseless human being. But the Church also fulfills her duty by being the setting in which Christians can best strengthen their faith and be helped and encouraged to live their Christian life more intensely.
18. How is a person who has incurred the sin of abortion to proceed for absolution of the excommunication and of the sin?
If a Catholic finds himself in this situation, he must go to the Bishop or to the priests authorized to remit this penalty.
In the Archdiocese of Lima, in addition to the Bishop, the following are authorized to absolve the excommunication:
– The Vicar General.
– The Canon Penitentiary.
– The Episcopal Vicars within their territory.
– The Parish Priests in their parish.
– The priests who, by reason of their membership in their Institute of Consecrated Life, have the privilege granted and not revoked.
– The confessors appointed by the diocesan Bishop for the Cathedral Basilica of Lima, the Sanctuary of Las Nazarenas (downtown Lima), and the Parish of San Pedro (downtown Lima).
– And those other priests to whom, having requested the faculty, the Bishop has granted it.
Any other priest with ministerial licenses in the Archdiocese of Lima who, by reason of his pastoral ministry, should need to have this faculty must request it in writing from the Archiepiscopal Curia, setting forth the grounds for his request. The diocesan Bishop, after evaluating the request, will determine whether or not it is fitting to grant this faculty, and if he deems it fitting, he will grant it in writing.
19. What must the priest keep in mind when one of the faithful is unaware of the penal norms concerning abortion?
Whenever it concerns one of the faithful who has reached the age of penal majority (from 16 years onward), the following must be kept in mind:
a) If it is a matter of inculpable ignorance of the violation of the substantive norm (which commands or forbids a conduct) described in can. 1323, 2° (“was, without fault, ignorant of violating a law or precept; and inadvertence and error are equivalent to ignorance”), it must be remembered that the faithful is not subject to any penalty. In this case any priest with the proper licenses can absolve the sin. Ignorance that was fully voluntary would be culpable, and therefore would not function as an exempting cause—that is, ignorance deliberately maintained so as not to be under the obligation to comply with what the norm prescribes, or even sought as an excuse in order to act with impunity (affected ignorance).
b) If it is a matter of inculpable ignorance of the penal norm described in can. 1324, 9°—that is, of the law or precept that establishes a penalty for whoever violates it—it must be kept in mind that in this circumstance the penalty established in the law or precept “must be tempered or a penance employed in its place, when the offense has been committed”.
In this case any priest with the proper licenses can absolve the sin and impose a penance according to each case. It must be emphasized that the faithful in this circumstance does not fall under the automatic penalty of excommunication, for although there is on his part the will to violate the law, there is no will to face the guilt, since he was unaware of it. It is well to clarify that it would be a mitigating factor for someone to be unaware that abortion is punished with a penalty; but not for one who, knowing this, was unaware only that it is a matter of excommunication.
20. How must the confessor act when a penitent who, knowing the penal norms on abortion, would find it hard to remain in a state of grave sin?
If it should be burdensome for the penitent to remain in the state of grave sin for the time necessary for the competent Superior or an authorized priest to absolve him, the confessor can remit, in the internal sacramental forum, the undeclared latae sententiae censures of excommunication or interdict.
Now then, “in granting the remission, the confessor is to impose on the penitent the obligation of having recourse within the space of one month, under penalty of reincidence, to the competent Superior or to a priest endowed with that faculty, and of abiding by his mandates; in the meantime, let him impose a suitable penance and, insofar as it is urgent, the reparation of scandal and harm; recourse may also be made through the confessor, without indicating the name of the penitent.
“Those who, according to c. 976, were absolved of a censure imposed, declared, or reserved to the Apostolic See have the same duty of having recourse, after recovering from their illness” .
21. In danger of death, can any priest validly and licitly absolve from any censures and sins?
“Any priest, even though lacking the faculty to hear confessions, validly absolves any penitent who is in danger of death; and he licitly absolves from every censure and sin, even if an approved priest is present”.
22. The priest authorized to forgive the sin and lift the excommunication for abortion—how is he to do it?
The authorized confessor may, before absolving the sins, absolve from the censure with the following formula:
“By virtue of the power granted to me, I absolve you from the bond of excommunication. In the name of the Father, and of the Son @ and of the Holy Spirit”.
Within confession, it would suffice to make the intention of absolving the censure.
23. What does a crime of abortion bring about in members of an institute of consecrated life, of a secular institute, or of a society of apostolic life; or in those who aspire to receive orders or have already been ordained?
For members of an institute of consecrated life, of a secular institute, or of a society of apostolic life, the commission of a crime of abortion is a cause for dismissal.
For those who aspire to receive orders or have already been ordained, it is a cause of irregularity for receiving them or for exercising them.
24. What must the confessor keep in mind in the case of irregularities?
He must keep in mind that in order to absolve the irregularity, a recourse will have to be submitted. The recourse may be submitted by the penitent himself, or through the confessor.
If the confessor submits it, the recourse must not indicate the name of the penitent but a fictitious one. The recourse must be addressed to the Most Eminent and Most Reverend Cardinal Major Penitentiary.- Piazza della Cancelleria, 1.- 00186 Rome; and it must be sent through the Apostolic Nunciature in Peru.
25. What is the formula for dispensation from irregularity?
Once the dispensation has been obtained from the Sacred Penitentiary, the confessor—either within confession and after absolution has been given, or outside the sacrament of penance—uses the following formula:
“By virtue of the power granted to me, I dispense you from the irregularity you have incurred. In the name of the Father, and of the Son @ and of the Holy Spirit”.
26. What should be the attitude the parish priest must take regarding Holy Communion for those persons who, calling themselves “Catholic,” publicly manifest their position in favor of abortion?
For all the foregoing, Catholic persons who take up this position are committing a grave fault that consists in advocating that a crime be committed.
It does not matter that the person says that “personally he does not believe in abortion and only defends the right of each woman to have one”.
The parish priest who has a parishioner in that condition must, before publicly denying him Holy Communion, speak with him or her in private and indicate that, if he does not retract his position, the priest will be obliged to deny him the Eucharist publicly. If he remains obstinate, it must be denied to him publicly, presuming, of course, that he or she requests it.
27. Do Catholics, besides the grave obligation not to cooperate in any procured abortion, have other obligations in this matter?
All Catholics are called to a full life—that is, to holiness—and to contribute actively to the spread of the Kingdom of God on earth by bringing the Gospel to the farthest corner of the world. If every responsible member of a society that proclaims itself civilized has the duty to defend life and human dignity, for many more reasons must we Catholics take up this task.
28. How can this be done in the case of abortion?
Bringing it about that the right to life is respected in a society is the responsibility of everyone in their daily activity, for all, by the example of their conduct, their words, their writings, their opinions, their vote, the education of their children, etc., influence what is thought, how people live, and what is legislated.
Certainly an important role belongs to politicians, educators, and those responsible for the means of social communication, because of the impact their words or actions have on the community; but they, while they influence society, are in turn also influenced by it.
29. What can an ordinary Christian do to influence this matter—a normal citizen who neither appears on television nor speaks from a professor’s chair or a public platform?
The first thing each one can and must do to affirm life is to live with awareness of its dignity. We will affirm the life of others only if we perceive our own in all its greatness and if our conduct is consistent with our faith. The example of the Lord Jesus, taking seriously each of the persons he met, should serve us so that all who cross our path may feel valued and regarded as unique and beloved beings.
Such an affirmation of personal life in our daily experiences will make it possible for esteem for each and every human being to arise naturally, including those conceived and unborn.
But alongside this general attitude, there are many concrete ways of working specifically in favor of life:
· Praying to the Lord for legislators and social leaders in general, that they may come to understand that conceived and unborn children are the most innocent and most defenseless members of our society, and that, as the Holy Father John Paul II has repeatedly said, the death of an innocent person can never be legitimized.
· Not despising the moral value of pain and sacrifice, whose rejection leads to justifying any attempt to do away with what are believed to be their causes, including the useless elderly or sick, the disabled who are a burden, or new children who may complicate life or diminish the family’s well-being.
· Welcoming and helping, also financially, those who, by reason of their motherhood, find themselves in difficult situations.
· Receiving with joy, however hard it may be, the new sick or disabled child who comes to the family, as a blessing from God. The witness of numerous Christian parents in this regard is exemplary.
· Reacting positively to public writings or audiovisual programs that defend human life, and critically to those that attack it.
· Informing those around us, with charity but with firmness and clarity, of the reality of the unborn child and of the importance of defending its right to live.
· Physicians, especially gynecologists, and other health professionals, using the technical means that allow a mother to see on an ultrasound, with her own eyes, the child in her womb, moving, swimming, sucking its thumb. It has been said that if mothers’ wombs were transparent, many would see the question of procured abortion in a different way.
These are only a few examples that can give an idea of the enormous field a Christian has before him in relation to this most grave problem.
29. Finally, what does current Peruvian legislation say concerning the topic of abortion?
Peru’s legislation concerning the topic of abortion is one of outright rejection and is therefore in favor of the defense of life from the moment of its conception until its natural end. So it is clearly indicated by the Political Constitution of Peru as well as the Civil Code and the Penal Code, as we can see below.
September 2001
Source: Encuentra.com
