The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-02-27
THE PENALTY OF EXOOMMUNICA.
TON.

TON.
The reported intention of the
French Canadian bishops to refuse
the sacraments to all Catholics who
accept the settlement of the school
que ton adopted by the Canadian
Government makes brief explana-
ton of the meaning of excommunica-
ton timely. Recommendation it.
self, though not the name, is much
older than the Catholic church. Ref
erences to it are numerous in the
Greek tragedians, and every classical
scholar is familiar with the Roman
exsecratio and diris devotio. Caesar,
in his CONNIE ntaries," efers to the
same practice among the Druids,
and readers of the Old Testament
will recall frequent examples of the
practice among the ancient Hebrews.
1t was their custom to put to death a
devoted" person or animal, and
whole cities that were for one reason
or another put under the ban were
ruthlessly destroyed, the innocent
with the guilty. Gentiles more COM
monty met with the latter fate, but
there was as little pity for the Israe-
lite who was "cut off, by the congre-
CATION.
The Christian practice of excom-
munication finds its authority in the
New Testament. In essence it is
simply the right which every organ
ization must exercise of excluding
from membership those who are no
longer worthy of membership. Such
right is exercised every day by all
the Protestant bodies when, for req
sons that are satisfactory to them,
they drop from the rolls certain of
their former members. But it is in
the Roman Catholic church that the
function has assumed the greatest
Importance. Two causes have con-
tributed to this. 1t is the teaching
of the church that outside of the
church there is no salvation. As ex-
planned by the church, this degree is
much less harsh than it sounds. But,
however literally it is explained, it
makes exclusion from the church a
most serious thing, and good Rom
an Catholic will even endure tyranny
and injustice rather than incur it.
And this very fear of excommuni-
cation has contributed to make it po-
tent weapon in the church, weapon
which it has not been slow to use in
many critical periods of it's history.
Students of European medieval his
tory are familiar with the developed
form of excommunication known as
the interdict. When the Pope pro-
nounced an interdict on a nation, all
the services of the church in that ma
ton ceased until he lifted the inter-
dict. Alta time when practically all the
people were members of the church,
this proceeding was drastic enough
to bring any country to terms. AS
fo1 accommodation there were two
grades. The minor excommunica-
ton excluded the culprit from the
sacraments only. OF course, this was
serious punishment to those who
believed the dogmas of the church ;
but many turbulent sinners took the
risk of incurring it, with theintention
of making their peace with the church
just before their death. Sometimes,
however, they met with sudden death f;
and I'll en- their case was serious, though
not hopeless, for the power of the
church extended even beyond the
grave. But for that reason Sudden
death" was looked upon as a calam-
ity, and petition against it was in
serted in the Litany.
The major accommodation, how
ever, was most to be dreaded. 1t ex-
cluded the culpIit from the mass,
from burial in consecrated ground,
from ecclesiastical jurisdiction and
from all intercourse with other Chris
tians, except what was absolutely
necessary. But in order to enforce
this last part of the punishment the
church was obliged to invoke the aid
OF the State, which, of course, she al