What is laicization?

• A. The promotion to clerical rank.
• B. Temporary suspension from duties.
• C. Excommunication.
• D. The removal of a cleric from the clerical state, returning him to lay status under canonical procedures.

Answer: (D)

Laicization is the formal removal of a cleric from the clerical state and a return to lay status under canonical procedures. It ends the cleric’s official identity and faculties as ordained, so he may no longer exercise priestly or sacramental powers unless special permission is granted later. This is distinct from a temporary suspension (which is temporary) or excommunication (a penal sanction), and it is not a promotion. The act is a canonical process carried out by the appropriate ecclesiastical authority, and after laicization the person practices as a layman within the Church’s rules.