There is no doubt that this action by a Brazilian prelate is controversial.

A Brazilian archbishop says all those who helped a child rape victim secure an abortion are to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

The girl, aged nine, who lives in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco, became pregnant with twins.

It is alleged that she had been sexually assaulted over a number of years by her stepfather.

The excommunication applies to the child's mother and the doctors involved in the procedure.

The pregnancy was terminated on Wednesday.

It is also beyond doubt that the action was correct under the Code of Canon Law.

Can. 1398: A person who actually procures an abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

And under Canon 1398, the archbishop arguably needs do nothing – the excommunication was automatic when the abortion is procured. Indeed, it would appear to apply to all of those who materially participated in the act.

Now one might argue with the position of the Catholic Church on abortion. I do not, for abortion is always the intentional taking of an innocent human life.

One may argue with the appropriateness of the sanction. I do not – having chosen to leave the Catholic Church some years ago, I do not have a dog in the fight over what is essentially an internal regarding the discipline of the Church.

But I remind folks of one thing – excommunication is intended to be a tool of rehabilitation as much as it is an instrument of punishment. In a case like this one, the rarely applied sanction is intended to acknowledge a grievous violation of the laws of God, and to call those punished back into full communion with Rome. Rather than cruel, one may therefore argue that the sanction is a merciful one.

Posted by: Greg at 01:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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