Heretics, Excommunication, and the "Deserter Analogy"

I have been trying to figure out what the deal is with heretics, especially when it comes to punishment, excommunication, and whether or not the are automatically “out of the Church”, still “in the Church”, still clergy, etc. Does an official sentence have to be passed? Some even belief that heretics are immediately kicked out, and are no longer even Catholic. It was the Council of Trent quote above that enabled me to figure this out. First, a quote:

“Excommunication is an act of jurisdiction.”

St. Thomas Aquinas

In the Catechism of the Council of Trent, page 95, we read this:

“Those Who Are Not Members Of The Church 

Hence there are but three classes of persons excluded from the Church's pale: infidels, heretics and schismatics, and excommunicated persons. Infidels are outside the Church because they never belonged to, and never knew the Church, and were never made partakers of any of her Sacraments. Heretics and schismatics are excluded from the Church, because they have separated from her and belong to her only as deserters belong to the army from which they have deserted. It is not, however, to be denied that they are still subject to the jurisdiction of the Church, inasmuch as they may be called before her tribunals, punished and anathematized. Finally, excommunicated persons are not members of the Church, because they have been cut off by her sentence from the number of her children and belong not to her communion until they repent. 

     But with regard to the rest, however wicked and evil they may be, it is certain that they still belong to the Church: Of this the faithful are frequently to be reminded, in order to be convinced that, were even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are still within the Church, and therefore lose nothing of their power.”

From the Council of Trent quote above:

- There are three categories of people who are “EXCLUDED from the Churches pale”

(The exact words used here are VITAL. I will capitalize the important ones)

1 - infidels (apostates)

2 - Heretics and Schismatics

3 - Excommunicaated persons

• The Catechism then states:
  
• “Heretics and Schismatics are EXCLUDED from the Church, because they have separated from her and belong to her only as deserters belong to the army from which they have deserted. It is not however, to be denied, that they are still subject to the jurisdiction on the Church, inasmuch as they may be called before her tribunals, punished and anathematized.
• Finally, excommunicated persons are NOT MEMBERS of the Church, because they have been cut off by her sentence from the number of her children and belong not to her communion until they repent.
• But with regard to the rest, however wicked and evil they may be, it is certain that they still BELONG TO the Church: Of this the faithful are frequently to be reminded, in order to be convinced  that, were even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are still WITHIN the Church, and therefore lose nothing of their power.”

THE ANALOGY OF THE ARMY DESERTER

Let’s say you go AWOL in the army, and then you come back, or you are arrested and they bring you back to your base. You are now in the military prison. You have been EXCLUDED from the other military people. You are excluded, but still a member of the army. Because they are still in the army, they are subject to its jurisdiction, the UCMJ and any other rules or laws. They have LOST NOTHING yet. They are excluded members. Because they are still members (though now excluded), they can now face the appropriate punishment. Justice can be served. A court martial (trial) can now take place, and the deserter can be jailed, discharged, or whatever.

Now, let’s substitute in a “heretic” instead of a “deserter”

1 - As a heretic, one is EXCLUDED from the Church

2 - They are EXCLUDED, but still a MEMBER (still WITHIN) the Church

3 - Because they are still a MEMBER (though EXCLUDED), they are still subject to Church law.

4 - They have LOST NOTHING Yet. They are in a virtual prison, so to speak.

5 - They can now stand a trial, and face the appropriate punishment (remember their are harsher punishments for a Bishop than a priest or layman, so they have to retain there status in order for just punishment.)

6 - Now the judiciary sentence of excommunication can be inflicted (remember that excommunication is a judiciary act from the St. Thomas quote above)

7 - Now, after being officially excommunicated, the person is NO LONGER A MEMBER.

To sum it up, the steps are as follows:

1 - HERETIC

2. -EXCLUDED

3 - but still a MEMBER

4 - TRIAL

5 - EXCOMMUNICATED

6 - NO LONGER A MEMBER

Now this is where the deserter analogy fails short because rank in the military is given by man. The priesthood, in the Sacrament of Holy Orders, is given by God, leaves an indelible mark on the soul, and can never be taken away. We now reach the last part of the catechism quote from above:

• But with regard to the rest, however wicked and evil they may be, it is certain that they still BELONG TO the Church: Of this the faithful are frequently to be reminded, in order to be convinced  that, were even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are still WITHIN the Church, and therefore lose nothing of their power.”

This makes absolute sense. If you were just immediately, and automatically kicked out of the army if you went AWOL, then you would no longer be subject to the UCMJ laws, and you couldn't stand trial and face punishment! Also, everyone, whether a General, Sargent, or private, would get the same exact sentence (being discharged). People must retain their title and status in order to receive the proper punishment. This is why you must still be in the hierarchy of clergy until AFTER the trial and punishment.

In the military, we see that you only “belong” to the military for the time you are enlisted. For the clergy, however, you ALWAYS belong to the Church. For this last part, we must realize that the priesthood has two kinds of power, judicial and sacramental. Excommunication removes your judicial power, but your sacramental power is never lost. This is what is meant by “losing nothing of their power” in the last sentence. A priest, no matter what the crime, even if they are ordered not to, still have the power to baptize, confirm (if a Bishop), ordain other priests and Bishops (if a Bishop), marry, hear confessions and give absolution, and perform anointing of the sick. This has always been the case, and can be verified by the fact that:

1 - Heretical, excommunicated Bishops have ordained clergy in the past, and they have been recognized as valid (though illicit, but that’s for another blog post)

And logically:

1 - If you are in danger of dying, and the only priest around is a heretical, evil, excommunicated priest, your confession or anointing would still be valid. History has also proven that the power in the sacraments does not come from the holiness of the priest, but from Jesus Christ Himself. God does not leave you hanging.

I hope this helped you, as researching it has helped me.