Differentiate between automatic excommunication (latae sententiae) and excommunication imposed after due process.

• A. Automatic excommunication attaches by the offense itself; excommunication requires a tribunal's decree after due process
• B. They are the same
• C. Automatic excommunication requires due process; excommunication by offense itself
• D. Both require papal approval

Answer: (A)

In canon law, there are two paths to excommunication: automatic (latae sententiae) and ferendae sententiae (imposed after due process). The automatic type attaches right away by the very act of committing a specified offense; no formal tribunal decision is required for the penalty to take effect. The person is excommunicated by the offense itself, though the penalty can later be lifted or mitigated by proper authority in certain circumstances.

The other type, by contrast, is not triggered automatically. It depends on a formal process: a competent ecclesiastical authority investigates, conducts due process, and, after a decree or sentence following that process, imposes the excommunication. In other words, a tribunal or equivalent body must declare the penalty.

So the best description is that excommunication can attach automatically by the offense, whereas excommunication after due process requires a tribunal’s decree following formal proceedings. The idea that both are the same or that one requires due process for automatic excommunication, or that both require papal approval, does not fit the distinction.