| CODE OF CANON LAW BOOK VI.
PENAL SANCTIONS IN THE CHURCH
BOOK VI.
PENAL SANCTIONS IN THE CHURCH PART II.
PARTICULAR OFFENCES AND THE PENALTIES ESTABLISHED FOR THEM TITLE I.
OFFENCES AGAINST
THE FAITH
AND THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 1364 - 1369)
Can. 1364— § 1. An apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic incurs a latae
sententiae excommunication, without prejudice to the provision of can. 194 §
1 n. 2; he or she may also be punished with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336
§§ 2-4.
§ 2. If a long-standing contempt or the gravity of scandal calls for it, other
penalties may be added, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state.
Can. 1365— A person who, apart from the case mentioned in canon 1364 § 1, teaches a
doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff, or by an Ecumenical Council, or
obstinately rejects the teaching mentioned in canon 750 § 2 or canon 752 and,
when warned by the Apostolic See or the Ordinary, does not retract, is to be
punished with a censure and deprivation of office; to these sanctions others
mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4 may be added.
Can. 1366— A person who appeals from an act of the Roman Pontiff to an Ecumenical Council
or to the College of Bishops is to be punished with a censure.
Can. 1367— Parents and those taking the place of parents who hand over their children to be
baptised or brought up in a non-Catholic religion are to be punished with a
censure or other just penalty.
Can. 1368— A person is to be punished with a just penalty who, at a public event or
assembly, or in a published writing, or by otherwise using the means of social
communication, utters blasphemy, or gravely harms public morals, or rails at or
excites hatred of or contempt for religion or the Church.
Can. 1369— A person who profanes a sacred object, moveable or immovable, is to be punished
with a just penalty.
TITLE II
OFFENCES AGAINST
CHURCH AUTHORITIES
AND THE EXERCISE OF DUTIES (Cann. 1370 - 1378)
Can. 1370— § 1. A person who uses physical force against the Roman Pontiff incurs a
latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; if the
offender is a cleric, another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical
state, may be added according to the gravity of the crime.
§ 2. One who does this against a Bishop incurs a latae sententiae
interdict and, if a cleric, he incurs also a latae sententiae suspension.
§ 3. A person who uses physical force against a cleric or religious or another
of Christ’s faithful out of contempt for the faith, or the Church, or
ecclesiastical authority or the ministry, is to be punished with a just penalty.
Can. 1371 — § 1. A person who does not obey the lawful command or prohibition of the
Apostolic See or the Ordinary or Superior and, after being warned, persists in
disobedience, is to be punished, according to the gravity of the case, with a
censure or deprivation of office or with other penalties mentioned in can. 1336,
§§ 2-4.
§ 2. A person who violates obligations imposed by a penalty is to be punished
with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4.
§ 3. A person who, in asserting or promising something before an ecclesiastical
authority, commits perjury, is to be punished with a just penalty.
§ 4. A person who violates the obligation of observing the pontifical secret is
to be punished with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4.
§ 5. A person who fails to observe the duty to execute an executive sentence is
to be punished with a just penalty, not excluding a censure.
§ 6. A person who neglects to report an offence, when required to do so by a
canonical law, is to be punished according to the provision of can. 1336 §§ 2-4,
with the addition of other penalties according to the gravity of the offence.
Can. 1372— The following are to be punished according to the provision of can. 1336 §§ 2-4:
1° those who hinder the freedom of the ministry or the exercise of
ecclesiastical power, or the lawful use of sacred things or ecclesiastical
goods, or who intimidate one who has exercised ecclesiastical power or ministry;
2° those who hinder the freedom of an election or intimidate an elector or one
who is elected.
Can. 1373— A person who publicly incites hatred or animosity against the Apostolic See or
the Ordinary because of some act of ecclesiastical office or duty, or who
provokes disobedience against them, is to be punished by interdict or other just
penalties.
Can. 1374— A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be
punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an
association is to be punished with an interdict.
Can. 1375— § 1. Anyone who usurps an ecclesiastical office is to be punished with a just
penalty.
§ 2. The unlawful retention of an office after being deprived of it, or ceasing
from it, is equivalent to usurpation.
Can. 1376 —
§ 1. The following are to be punished with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4, without prejudice to the obligation of repairing the harm:
1° a person who steals ecclesiastical goods or prevents their proceeds from
being received;
2° a person who without the prescribed consultation, consent, or permission, or
without another requirement imposed by law for validity or for lawfulness,
alienates ecclesiastical goods or carries out an act of administration over
them.
§ 2. The following are to be punished, not excluding by deprivation of office, without prejudice to the obligation of repairing the harm:
1° a person who through grave personal culpability commits the offence mentioned
in § 1, n. 2;
2° a person who is found to have been otherwise gravely negligent in
administering ecclesiastical goods.
Can. 1377— § 1. A person who gives or promises something so that someone who exercises an
office or function in the Church would unlawfully act or fail to act is to be
punished according to the provision of can. 1336 §§ 2-4; likewise, the person who accepts such gifts or promises is to
be punished according to the gravity of the offence, not excluding by
deprivation of office, without prejudice to the obligation of repairing the
harm.
§ 2. A person who in the exercise of an office or function requests an offering
beyond that which has been established, or additional sums, or something for his
or her own benefit, is to be punished with an appropriate monetary fine or with
other penalties, not excluding deprivation of office, without prejudice to the
obligation of repairing the harm.
Can. 1378 — § 1. A person who, apart from the cases already foreseen by the law, abuses
ecclesiastical power, office, or function, is to be punished according to the
gravity of the act or the omission, not excluding by deprivation of the power or
office, without prejudice to the obligation of repairing the harm.
§ 2. A person who, through culpable negligence, unlawfully and with harm to
another or scandal, performs or omits an act of ecclesiastical power or office
or function, is to be punished according to the provision of can. 1336 §§ 2-4, without prejudice to the obligation of repairing the harm.
TITLE III.
OFFENCES AGAINST THE SACRAMENTS (Cann. 1379 - 1389)
Can. 1379— § 1. The following incur a latae sententiae interdict or, if a cleric,
also a latae sententiae suspension:
1° a person who, not being an ordained priest, attempts the liturgical
celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice;
2° a person who, apart from the case mentioned in can. 1384, though unable to
give valid sacramental absolution, attempts to do so, or hears a sacramental
confession.
§ 2. In the cases mentioned in § 1, other penalties, not excluding
excommunication, can be added, according to the gravity of the offence.
§ 3. Both a person who attempts to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the
woman who attempts to receive the sacred order, incur a latae sententiae
excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be
punished by dismissal from the clerical state.
§ 4. A person who deliberately administers a sacrament to those who are
prohibited from receiving it is to be punished with suspension, to which other
penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4 may be added.
§ 5. A person who, apart from the cases mentioned in §§ 1-4 and in can. 1384,
pretends to administer a sacrament is to be punished with a just penalty.
Can. 1380— A person who through simony celebrates or receives a sacrament is to be
punished with an interdict or suspension or the penalties
mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4.
Can. 1381— One who is guilty of prohibited participation in religious rites is to be
punished with a just penalty.
Can. 1382— § 1. One who throws away the consecrated species or, for a sacrilegious
purpose, takes them away or keeps them, incurs a latae sententiae
excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be
punished with some other penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical
state.
§ 2. A person guilty of consecrating for a sacrilegious purpose one element only
or both elements within the Eucharistic celebration or outside it is to be
punished according to the gravity of the offence, not excluding by dismissal
from the clerical state.
Can. 1383— A person who unlawfully traffics in Mass offerings is to be punished with a
censure or with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§
2-4.
Can. 1384— A priest who acts against the prescription of can. 977 incurs a latae
sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
Can. 1385— A priest who in confession, or on the occasion or under the pretext of
confession, solicits a penitent to commit a sin against the sixth commandment of
the Decalogue, is to be punished, according to the gravity of the offence, with
suspension, prohibitions and deprivations; in the more serious cases he is to be
dismissed from the clerical state.
Can. 1386— § 1. A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a
latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; he who does
so only indirectly is to be punished according to the gravity of the offence.
§ 2. Interpreters, and the others mentioned in can. 983 § 2, who violate the
secret are to be punished with a just penalty, not excluding excommunication.
§ 3. Without prejudice to the provisions of §§ 1 and 2, any person who by means
of any technical device makes a recording of what is said by the priest or by
the penitent in a sacramental confession, either real or simulated, or who
divulges it through the means of social communication, is to be punished
according to the gravity of the offence, not excluding, in the case of a cleric,
by dismissal from the clerical state.
Can. 1387— Both the Bishop who, without a pontifical mandate, consecrates a person a
Bishop, and the one who receives the consecration from him, incur a latae
sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
Can. 1388— § 1. A Bishop who, contrary to the provision of can. 1015, ordained someone
else’s subject without the lawful dimissorial letters, is prohibited from
conferring orders for one year. The person who received the order is ipso
facto suspended from the order received.
§ 2. A person who comes forward for sacred orders bound by some censure or
irregularity which he voluntarily conceals is ipso facto suspended from
the order received, apart from what is established in
canon 1044, § 2, n. 1.
Can. 1389— A person who, apart from the cases mentioned in cann. 1379-1388, unlawfully
exercises the office of a priest or another sacred ministry, is to be punished
with a just penalty, not excluding a censure.
TITLE IV.
OFFENCES AGAINST REPUTATION AND THE OFFENCE OF FALSEHOOD (Cann. 1390 - 1391)
Can. 1390— § 1. A person who falsely denounces a confessor of the offence mentioned in can.
1385 to an ecclesiastical Superior incurs a latae sententiae interdict
and, if a cleric, he incurs also a suspension.
§ 2. A person who calumniously denounces some other offence to an ecclesiastical
Superior, or otherwise unlawfully injures the good name of another,
is to be punished according to the provision of can. 1336 §§ 2-4, to which moreover a censure may be added.
§3. The calumniator must also be compelled to make appropriate amends.
Can. 1391— The following are to be punished with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§
2-4, according to the gravity of the offence:
1° a person who composes a false public
ecclesiastical document, or who changes, destroys, or conceals a genuine one, or
who uses a false or altered one;
2° a person who in an ecclesiastical matter uses some other false or altered
document;
3° a person who, in a public ecclesiastical document, asserts something false. TITLE V.
OFFENCES AGAINST SPECIAL OBLIGATIONS (Cann. 1392 - 1396)
Can. 1392— A cleric who voluntarily and unlawfully abandons the sacred ministry, for six
months continuously, with the intention of withdrawing himself from the
competent Church authority, is to be punished, according to the gravity of the
offence, with suspension or additionally with the penalties established in can.
1336 §§ 2-4, and in the more serious cases may be dismissed from the clerical
state.
Can. 1393 — § 1. A cleric or religious who engages in trading or business contrary to the
provisions of the canons is to be punished with the penalties mentioned in can.
1336 §§ 2-4, according to the gravity of the offence.
§ 2. A cleric or religious who, apart from the cases already foreseen by the law, commits an offence in a
financial matter, or gravely violates the stipulations contained in can. 285 § 4, is to be punished with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 §§ 2-4,
without prejudice to the obligation of repairing the harm.
Can. 1394— § 1. A cleric who attempts marriage, even if only civilly, incurs a latae
sententiae suspension, without prejudice to the provisions of can. 194 § 1
n. 3, and 694 § 1 n. 2. If, after warning, he has not reformed or continues to
give scandal, he must be progressively punished by deprivations, or even by
dismissal from the clerical state.
§ 2. Without prejudice to the provisions of can. 694 § 1 n. 2, a religious in
perpetual vows who is not a cleric but who attempts marriage, even if only
civilly, incurs a latae sententiae interdict.
Can. 1395— § 1. A cleric living in concubinage, other than in the case mentioned in can.
1394, and a cleric who continues in some other external sin against the sixth
commandment of the Decalogue which causes scandal, is to be punished with
suspension. To this, other penalties can progressively be added if after a
warning he persists in the offence, until eventually he can be dismissed from
the clerical state.
§ 2. A cleric who has offended in other ways against the sixth commandment of the
Decalogue, if the offence was committed in public, is to be punished with just
penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case so
warrants.
§ 3. A cleric who by force, threats or abuse of his authority commits an offence
against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue or
forces someone to perform or submit to sexual acts is to
be punished with the same penalty as in § 2.
Can. 1396— A person who gravely violates the obligation of residence to which he is bound
by reason of an ecclesiastical office is to be punished with a just penalty, not
excluding, after a warning, deprivation of the office.
TITLE VI.
OFFENCES AGAINST HUMAN LIFE,
DIGNITY AND FREEDOM (Cann. 1397 - 1398)
Can. 1397— § 1. One who commits homicide, or who by force or by fraud abducts, imprisons,
mutilates or gravely wounds a person, is to be punished, according to the
gravity of the offence, with the penalties mentioned in can. 1336, §§ 2-4. In
the case of the homicide of one of those persons mentioned in can. 1370, the
offender is punished with the penalties prescribed there and also in § 3 of this
canon.
§ 2. A person who actually procures an abortion incurs a latae sententiae
excommunication.
§ 3. If offences dealt with in this canon are involved, in more serious cases
the guilty cleric is to be dismissed from the clerical state.
Can. 1398— § 1. A cleric is to be punished with deprivation of office and with other just
penalties, not excluding, where the case calls for it, dismissal from the
clerical state, if he:
1° commits an offence against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue with a
minor or with a person who habitually has an imperfect use of reason or with one
to whom the law recognises equal protection;
2° grooms or induces a minor or a person who habitually has an imperfect use of
reason or one to whom the law recognises equal protection to expose himself or
herself pornographically or to take part in pornographic exhibitions, whether
real or simulated;
3° immorally acquires, retains, exhibits or distributes, in whatever manner and by whatever technology, pornographic images of minors or
of persons who habitually have an imperfect use of reason.
§ 2. A member of an institute of consecrated life or of a society of apostolic life,
or any one of the faithful who enjoys a dignity or performs an office or
function in the Church, who commits an offence mentioned in § 1 or in can. 1395
§ 3 is to be punished according to the provision of can. 1336 §§ 2-4, with the addition of other penalties according to the gravity
of the offence. TITLE VII.
GENERAL NORM (Can. 1399)
Can. 1399— Besides the cases prescribed in this or in other laws, the external violation of
divine or canon law can be punished, and with a just penalty, only when the
special gravity of the violation requires it and necessity demands that scandals
be prevented or repaired.
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