Excommunication
Excommunication is the most serious penalty in Catholic Church law, formally barring a person from receiving the sacraments and taking part in certain Church activities because of a grave offense.
A Medicinal Penalty
The Church describes excommunication as "medicinal" rather than purely punitive — its goal is to prompt the person to repent and be reconciled, not to cast them out permanently.
What It Does and Doesn't Do
An excommunicated person remains a baptized Catholic and can return to full communion through repentance and, typically, absolution from a priest or bishop with the proper authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is someone excommunicated no longer Catholic?
They remain a baptized member of the Church but are barred from the sacraments and some Church activities until reconciled.
Who can excommunicate someone?
Some excommunications happen automatically upon committing certain grave acts defined in Church law, while others are formally declared by a bishop or the Holy See.