Latae sententiae and ferendae sententiae

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Latae sententiae (Latin meaning: "of a judgment having been brought") and ferendae sententiae (Latin meaning: "of a judgment having to be brought") are ways sentences are imposed in the Catholic Church in its canon law.^[1]

A latae sententiae penalty is a penalty the liability for which is imposed ipso facto, automatically, by force of the law itself, at the very moment a law is contravened; the fact that the offender is subject to the penalty is thus axiomatic. A ferendae sententiae penalty is a penalty that is imposed on a guilty party only after a case has been brought and decided by an authority in the Church.^[2]

The 1983 Code of Canon Law, which binds Catholics of the Latin Church, inflicts latae sententiae censures for certain forbidden actions. The current canon law that binds members of the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, does not include latae sententiae penalties.^[3]

The application of a latae sententiae penalty requires no intervention by a judge. It falls therefore mainly to individual faithful who, if they have committed a crime for which a latae sententiae penalty is envisaged, must conscientiously assess the existence of some mitigating circumstance.^[4]