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This is a list of some of the more notable people
excommunicated by the Catholic Church. It includes only
excommunications acknowledged or imposed by a decree
of the Pope or a bishop in communion with him. Latae
sententiae excommunications, those that automatically
aect classes of people (members of certain associations
or those who perform actions such as directly violating
the seal of confession[1] or carrying out an abortion),[2]
are not listed unless conrmed by a bishop or ecclesiastical tribunal with respect to certain individuals.
3 3rd century
4 4th century
5 5th century
Nestorius, proponent of Nestorianism
1st century
6 8th Century
Hymenaeus and Alexander, excommunicated by The heretic preachers Adalbert and Clement by a counPaul as recounted in 1 Timothy[7]
cil headed by St Boniface in 745. Adelberts excommunication was not upheld by Rome, however, although
Clements was.
2nd century
7 10th century
10 13TH CENTURY
11th century
Michael Cerularius, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, in 1054.
The legal validity of this excommunication has
been questioned as it was issued by legates of
Pope Leo IX after the Popes death. It was declared lifted on December 7, 1965.[11]
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Gregory
VII over the Investiture Controversy
Harold II, King of England, for perhaps politically
motivated reasons by Pope Alexander II in order to
justify the invasion and takeover of the kingdom by
William the Conqueror in 1066.[12]
Bolesaw II the Generous, Duke of Poland, was excommunicated in 1080 after murdering the bishop
Saint Stanislaus of Krakw.
Philip I of France, king of France, for repudiating
his marriage and remarrying, by Hugh, Archbishop
of Lyon and later rearmed by Pope Urban II.
12th century
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor by Jordan, Archbishop of Milan in 1116 and ratied by Pope Paschal
II over the Investiture Controversy. Received back
into communion in 1122.
10 13th century
King John of England, excommunicated in 1208 by
Pope Innocent III after refusing to accept Cardinal Stephen Langdon as the popes choice for Archbishop of Canterbury. John relented in 1213 and
was restored to communion.
King Afonso II of Portugal, excommunicated in
1212 by Pope Honorius III for weakening the clergy
and investing part of the large sums destined to the
Catholic Church in the unication of the country.
Afonso II promised to reconcile with the Church,
however, he died in 1223 without making any serious attempt to do so.
King Andrew II of Hungary, was excommunicated
in 1231 after not following the points of Golden Bull
of 1222, a seminal bill of rights, which contained
new dispositions related to the tithe and hostile practices against the Jews and Muslims of the realm.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was excommunicated three times. The rst time by Pope Gregory
IX in 1227 for delaying his promise to begin the 5th
Crusade; the excommunication was lifted in 1229.
The same pope excommunicated him again in 1239
for making war against the Papal States, a censure
rescinded by the new pope, Celestine IV, who died
soon after. Frederick was again excommunicated
by Pope Innocent IV at the First Council of Lyons
in 1245. Frederick repented just before his death
and was absolved of the censure in 1250.
Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester was excommunicated in 1264 by Pope Clement IV for rebelling
against King Henry III of England during the Second
Barons War.[15] This was lifted in 1268.
3
Jacopo Colonna and Pietro Colonna, both cardinals, were excommunicated by Pope Boniface VIII
in the bull 'excelso throno' (1297) for refusing to
surrender their relative Stefano Colonna (who had
seized and robbed the popes nephew) and refusing
to give the pope Palestrina along with two fortresses,
which threatened the pope. This excommunication
was extended in the same year to Jacopos nephews
and their heirs, after the two Colonna cardinals denounced the popes election as invalid and appealed
to a general council.[16]
Eric VI of Denmark in 1298, by Pope Boniface
VIII, for imprisoning Archbishop of Lund, Jens
Grand.[16]
Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos of
Constantinople, by Pope Martin IV.
Peter III of Aragon, by Pope Martin IV
11
14th century
12 15th century
Saint Joan of Arc was excommunicated by Bishop
Pierre Cauchon (even though he allowed her Holy
Communion immediately before her immolation)
on 30 May 1431. She was later fully reconciled to
the Catholic Church at her posthumous Trial of Nullication on 7 July 1456.
Jan Hus
Girolamo Savonarola, was an Italian Dominican
friar, excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI in
1497.[19]
13 16th century
Pietro Colonna in 1501 by Pope Alexander VI
James IV of Scotland in 1513 for breaking the
Treaty of Perpetual Peace with England.
Martin Luther in 1520 by Pope Leo X.
Henry VIII of England in 1533, ocially promulgated on 17 December 1538 by Pope Paul III.
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and
rst head of the Church of England.
Elizabeth I of England in 1570 by the papal bull
Regnans in Excelsis.
Thomas Erastus founder of Erastianism
Henry IV of France and Navarre, who famously retaliated by excommunicating the Pope. He later
converted to Catholicism and his excommunication
was lifted on 17 September 1595.
Giovanni Bentivoglio, leader of Bologna, in 1506 by
Julius II, while the pope was at war with him and
leading an army to take Bologna.
Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Julius II in
1510.
Discalced Carmelites in Spain who participated in
an illicit meeting to elect a provincial without approval, by the Popes legate in Spain Filippo Sega
in 1578[20] This was ignored by those excommunicated. It was formally revoked in 1579.[21]
17 20TH CENTURY
Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Encarnacion in Avila who refused to renounce St Teresa's
leadership of the convent, by the orders provincial,
after the church authorities ordered a replacement
in 1577.[22][23] This excommunication was revoked
later that year.[24]
14
17th century
15
18th century
16
19th century
17 20th century
Fidel Castro is reported to have been excommunicated by John XXIII in 1962 for aliating with the
Communist Party of Cuba, preaching communism
and supporting a communist government; the basis of the excommunication is supposed to have
been the 1949 Decree against Communism of Pope
Pius XII.[35] Other sources deny that there was
any such personal excommunication of the Cuban
leader.[36][37]
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Bishops Antonio de
Castro Meyer, Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier
de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de
Galarreta for the Ecne Consecrations (Society of
St. Pius X) without papal mandate. Formally
declared to have incurred latae sententiae excommunication by Cardinal Bernardin Gantin on July
1, 1988.[38][39] The excommunications of the latter four (the bishops consecrated in that 1988 ceremony) were lifted in 2009; the rst two (the consecrator and the co-consecrator) had died in the meantime.
Father Romolo Murri, a leader of the Italian
Catholic Democrats, for giving speeches against Papal policy[40]
Juan Pern, in 1955, after he signed a decree ordering the expulsion of Argentine bishops Manuel Tato
and Ramn Novoa[41][42]
5
All Catholics who participated in the creation of an
independent church in the Philippines, in 1902[43]
Alfred Loisy, a French cleric associated with
modernism.[44]
Leonard Feeney, a U.S. Jesuit priest who defended
the strict interpretation of the Roman Catholic doctrine "outside the Church there is no salvation", arguing that baptism of blood and baptism of desire
are unavailing. Feeney was later fully reconciled to
the Church before his death.
Marshal Josip Broz Tito and all Catholics who
participated in the trial of Archbishop Aloysius
Stepinac of Zagreb and the trial of Archbishop
Jozsef Mindszenty of Hungary, which included most
of the jury members.[45]
Feliksa Kozowska and the Mariavite movement in
December 1906 by St Pius X
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in 1968, by reason of
her marriage to Aristotle Onassis. Richard Cardinal Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston, attempted to
dispute it, but he was rebuked by the Vatican, which
pointed out that Mrs. Kennedy had not followed the
laws of the church and was barred from receiving
the sacraments.[46]
Plaquemines Parish President Leander Perez, Jackson G. Ricau (secretary of the Citizens Council of
South Louisiana) and Mrs. B.J. Gaillot, Jr., president of Save Our Nation, Inc., on April 16, 1962 by
Archbishop Joseph Rummel of the Archdiocese of
New Orleans. They were excommunicated for aggressively opposing the racial integration of Catholic
schools in the Archdiocese starting in the 1963-64
school year. Perez and Ricau were later reinstated
into the Church following public retractions.[47]
John Duryea, priest at Stanford University and in
Palo Alto, California, in 1976
Tissa Balasuriya, Sri Lankan Catholic priest, excommunicated in 1997 for his doctrinal views but
had this excommunication lifted a year later after
admitting perceptions of error, and agreeing to
submit all future writings to his bishops for their imprimatur.
18
21st century
20
Fr. Roy Bourgeois (also laicized and dismissed from
the Maryknoll Fathers) for participating in the ordination of a woman.[62]
REFERENCES
Fr Greg Reynolds of Melbourne, Australia was excommunicated in 2013 for continuing to celebrate
Mass when not permitted, advocating the ordination
of women, and promoting same-sex marriage.[70]
19
See also
[20] Richard P. Hardy. The Life of St John of the Cross. London, 1982. p79
[21] Journey to Carith: The Sources and Story of the Discalced
Carmelites - Peter-Thomas Rohrbach - Google Books.
Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
[22] Richard P. Hardy. The Life of St John of the Cross. London, 1982. p61
[23] Outline of the Life of St Teresa of Avila. Ourgardenofcarmel.org. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
[24]
20
References
[29]
[30] Nun becomes rst Australian saint. Al Jazeera. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
[31] Press, Margaret M. (1986). From Our Broken Toil
South Australian Catholics 1836 - 1906. The Catholic
Archdiocese of Adelaide. pp. 181193. ISBN 0 949807
35 4.
[32] Villari, Luigi (1911). Victor Emmanuel II. Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.
[33] Aug, Claude, ed. (1898). Loyson, Charles. Nouveau
Larousse illustr (in French) 5. Paris: ditions Larousse.
p. 777.
[34] De Vargas Vila, ni paz en su tumba. El Colombiano.
Retrieved 2014-06-28.
[35] La excomunin de Fidel Castro cumple cincuenta aos.
ABC.es. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
[36] Andrea Tornielli, The mystery of Fidel Castros excommunication in Vatican Insider, 2 March 2012
[37] The American Catholic, 01/03/1962: Pope John XXIII
excommunicated Fidel Castro
[38] Oce of Congregation for Bishops - Excommunication
[39] Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei"". Vatican.va. Retrieved
2014-06-28.
[40] PRIEST EXCOMMUNICATED.; Father Murri, Leader
of Italian Catholic Democrats, Cut O by Church. The
New York Times. March 23, 1909. Retrieved May 8,
2010.
[64] Clerical Whispers: Pope res Fr. Lokodo from priesthood. Clericalwhispers.blogspot.se. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
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