China's Excommunicated Bishops

As we essentially predicted on last week's Sunday Sequence, the Vatician has excommunicated two bishops illegally consecrated by China's state-run Catholic Church -- that's a church that broke away from Vatican authority some fifty years ago.

Excommunication is automatic under Canon Law for bishops who are illegally consecrated. The relevant law is canon 1382:

A bishop who consecrates some one a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration from him incur a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.

The technical term “latae sententiae” (which literally means a ‘broad sentence’ or ‘wide judgment’) here denotes excommunication which is automatic.

I suppose we've an example of that kind of excommunication in Northern Ireland. Bishop Pat Buckley's consecration as a bishop in May 1998 took place in the absence of a Papal Mandate. Perhaps Bishop Buckley may be able to appeal to some other canon or provision I am unaware of to avoid latae sententiae excommunication; or perhaps he is beyond caring about Canon Law provisions.