Suspension () in

Catholic canon law The canon law of the Catholic Church ("canon law" comes from Latin ') is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the legal system, system of laws and canon law, ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the Hierarchy of the ...

is a

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spi ...

or punishment, by which a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

is deprived, entirely or partially, of the use of the right to order or to hold

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

, or of any benefice.Suspension (in Canon Law)
- Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 December 2012. A suspension ''a divinis'' is a suspension which "forbids the exercise of every act of the power of orders which one obtained either by sacred orders or by privilege". When a suspension is total, a cleric is deprived of the exercise of every function and of every ecclesiastical

rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Cath ...

, and can also be temporarily deprived of Communion. The principal grounds on which suspension is incurred in the present discipline of the Church are found in the

Decrees A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

Types of suspension

The

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

1333 of the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...

states there is three categories of things a suspension can affect: The canons 2278 to 2280 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law define 11 types of suspension.

Notable suspensions

Marco Bisceglia Marco Bisceglia (Lavello, 5 July 1925 - Rome, 22 July 2001) was an Italian priest, among the first Catholic activists to plead the cause of homosexuals. Biography Political commitment Marco Bisceglia was a parish priest of the Church of the Sacr ...

. Suspended in 1975 for performing a blessing of gay catholic couple. The couple was not real; Bisceglia was approached by two right-wing journalists from ''

Il Borghese ''Il Borghese'' is a monthly cultural and political magazine with a right-wing stance published in Rome, Italy. The magazine has been in circulation since 1950 and is named after the conservative Borghese family. History and profile ''Il Borg ...

'', posing as a gay couple.

References

{{reflist

External links

1983 code of canon law sanctions
Penal canon law Catholic Church legal terminology