Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)

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For other meanings see Interdict

The word interdict usually refers to an ecclesiastical penalty in the Roman Catholic Church. Interdicts may be local or personal. A local interdict, which is no longer a part of canon law, suspends all public worship and withdraws the church's sacraments in a territory or country. A local interdict against a country was to it the equivalent of excommunication against an individual. It would cause all the churches to be closed, and almost all the sacraments not to be allowed (i.e. preventing marriage, confession, Anointing of the Sick, and the eucharist). Certain exceptions allow for baptism, Anointing of the Sick, and sacraments on Christian holidays.

Interdiction was used by the Pope during the Middle Ages as a way to influence rulers. For example, Pope Innocent III placed the kingdom of England under an interdict for seven years between 1208 and 1215 after King John refused to accept the pope's appointee as Archbishop of Canterbury.

An interdict can also be a penalty against a specific individual or group. It is like excommunication in that the person is barred from receiving the sacraments and participating in public worship, but it does not bar the person from continuing to hold and exercise ecclesiastical office. For a lay member of the church, it is basically equivalent to excommunication.

Certain offenses incur an automatic (latae sententiae) interdict:

Physical violence against a bishop (canon 1370 §2)
Attempting to preside over or concelebrate in Mass while being a deacon or lay person (canon 1378 §2 1°)
Hearing and/or attempting to absolve confessions while being a deacon or lay person (canon 1378 §2 2°)
Falsely accusing a priest of soliciting adultery while in confession (canon 1390 §1)
Attempting to marry while having a perpetual vow of chastity (canon 1394 §2)

Other offenses may incur an interdict:

Public incitement against the Apostolic See or the local ordinary (canon 1373)
Promoting or directing a prohibited association (canon 1374)
The crime of simony (canon 1380)

In Malta in 1961, Bishop Michael Gonzi interdicted those who favoured the opinions of the Malta Labour Party. Their burial had to be done in unconsecrated land, and their marriages in sacristies. This was due to the controversial proposal of integrating Malta with the United Kingdom and fear that the Malta Labour Party was becoming socialist or communist. This interdict condemnation was removed in 1969, when the Malta Labour Party and Maltese Roman Catholic Authorities reached a truce.