Loss of clerical state information

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In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy.

The term defrocking originated in the ritual removal of vestments as a penalty against clergy that was eventually codified within the Roman Pontifical. Contemporary Latin Catholic canon law does not contain such a ritual,^[1] leading some to consider it an inaccurate description of laicization.^[2] However, others consider "defrocking" a synonym to laicization that is especially popular in English.^[3] While the ritual removal of the vestments no longer exists, canon law still prohibits the wear of a clerical collar by laicized priests.^[4]

In the Catholic Church, a bishop, priest, or deacon may be dismissed from the clerical state as a penalty for certain grave offences, or by a papal decree granted for grave reasons. This may be because of a serious criminal conviction, heresy, or similar matter. Removal from the clerical state is sometimes imposed as a punishment (Latin: ad poenam),^[5] or it may be granted as a favour (Latin: pro gratia) at the cleric's own request.^[6] A Catholic cleric may voluntarily request to be removed from the clerical state for a grave, personal reason.^[7] Voluntary requests were, as of the 1990s, believed to be by far the most common means of this loss, and most common within this category was the intention to marry, as most Latin Church clergy must as a rule be celibate.^[7] Canon law was amended in March 2019 to allow dismissal from their community, though not dismissal from the clerical state, for religious who are members of, and desert, a religious community.^[8]^[9] This policy has been in force since 10 April 2019.^[10]

^ "'Defrocking' priests: the media keep asking the wrong question". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
^ Stravinskas, Peter M.J. (1991). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. p. 293.
^ Attwater, Donald (1962). A Catholic Dictionary (3rd ed.). New York City: Macmillan Company. pp. 140, 505.
^ Schmalz, Mathew (20 February 2019). "Theodore McCarrick will continue to be a Catholic priest". The Conversation. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
^ "David Hanser". www.archmil.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
^ "An example of pro gratia laicization" (PDF).
^ ^a ^b Shaw, Russell B.; Stravinskas, Peter M. J. (1998). Church & state: a novel of politics and power. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. p. 595. ISBN 0-87973-669-0.
^ "Papa Francesco: motu proprio "Communis vita", il religioso "illegittimamente assente e irreperibile" per un anno è dismesso dall'ordine". Servizio informazione Religiosa. 26 March 2019.
^ Brockhaus, Hannah. "Pope Francis changes canon law for religious who desert the community". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ "Mons. Rodríguez: "Communis vita, don y responsabilidad para la vida religiosa" - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va (in Spanish). 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

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