Scottish bishop excommunicates rector of Redemptorists after illicit ordination
Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen declared Father Michael Mary Sim excommunicated for schism after Sim’s illicit ordination. Sim’s participation in the unauthorized ordination was deemed a clear break with the Church. The excommunication bars Sim from holding ecclesiastical office and from celebrating Mass or sacraments. Gilbert urged the diocese’s faithful to refrain from any dealings with Sim or his congregation.
4 xhur ilu
The Diocese of Aberdeen announced that Bishop Hugh Gilbert has formally excommunicated Father Michael Mary Sim, the rector of the Redemptorist congregation, after Sim participated in an ordination that the bishop deemed illicit and a clear act of schism 1
Bishop Gilbert declared Father Sim “guilty of the charges brought against him, most notably that of schism,” and pronounced him excommunicated, dismissed from ecclesiastical office, and barred from celebrating Mass or any sacraments 1
The excommunication follows Sim’s involvement in an ordination that was not authorized by the Catholic Church. Gilbert described the ceremony as “a clear break with the Church,” indicating that Sim and his community have removed themselves from communion with Rome 1
In a statement released on July 25, the bishop warned the faithful of the diocese to avoid any dealings with Sim and his congregation, emphasizing that they have “removed themselves from the communion of the Catholic Church” 1
The decree underscores the Diocese of Aberdeen’s commitment to uphold canonical discipline and protect the integrity of sacramental ministry. Parishioners are instructed to refrain from interacting with the Redemptorist community involved in the illicit ordination 1
The same news brief also reported on other Catholic events worldwide, including the evacuation of Augustinian nuns from a Spanish monastery due to wildfires, a call for prayers from a Gaza priest amid a fuel crisis, and pastoral guidance from Caribbean bishops on sexual and gender identity. These items illustrate the broader context of challenges and pastoral responses facing the global Church 1
Excommunication as remedy for illicit ordinations within Catholic clergy
Excommunication can function as a remedy (censura medicinalis) for grave, externally manifest offenses such as illicit episcopal consecrations—i.e., consecrations of bishops without the required pontifical mandate—because such acts seriously rupture communion with the Roman Pontiff and require the Church to safeguard unity, discipline, and the faithful’s clarity.
In Catholic canon law, the clearest case where the Church uses excommunication as an automatic (latae sententiae) penalty is when a bishop consecrates someone as a bishop without a pontifical mandate, and when the person receives that consecration.
Canon law states that:
The 2011 Declaration of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts explains why: such consecrations “break communion with the Roman Pontiff” and violate ecclesiastical discipline in a grave way.
The same 2011 Declaration connects the offense to the Church’s doctrine and current law that:
The key point is not only that excommunication is a penalty, but what kind of penalty it is and what it is meant to accomplish.
The 2011 Declaration explicitly calls the penalty medicinal: it is meant “to move the offender to repentance,” and once the offender shows sincere repentance, he acquires the right to be absolved from the excommunication.
It also emphasizes where absolution lies: because it is reserved to the Apostolic See, only that authority can grant absolution and reconcile the offender with the Church.
A further therapeutic aspect is the Church’s concern to prevent scandal and confusion among the faithful. The 2011 Declaration notes that performing an externally punishable act “spontaneously” provokes reactions—including scandal and confusion—so the involved bishops must recover authority through “signs of communion and penance.”
The 2011 Declaration recalls that canon 1331 §1 indicates that, to an excommunicated person, it is prohibited (starting ipso iure at the moment the latae sententiae penalty is incurred) to:
Importantly, the 2011 Declaration addresses a common misconception: even in those illicit circumstances, acts deriving from the power of orders may be valid, though they occur under conditions of sacrilege.
So, excommunication is not primarily used to “cancel sacramental reality,” but to correct the grave breach of communion and discipline, and to call the offender back to full ecclesial unity.
The Church treats episcopal consecrations without papal mandate not as a minor irregularity, but as a matter threatening the Church’s unity.
This is why excommunication is not simply about “rule-breaking,” but about protecting the Church’s visible communion structure.
Even though the penalty is latae sententiae, the Church can still intervene authoritatively in certain circumstances.
The 2011 Declaration explains that the Holy See may need to:
A 2026 decree of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith declares that Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta incurred ipso facto the penalties foreseen by canons 1387 and 1364 §1, and it states that the decree makes clear the legal effects of the latae sententiae censures for named clerics who participated in or benefited from the illicit episcopal consecrations.
This illustrates how the Church may publicly confirm the juridical situation, especially when clarification is needed for the faithful.
Your question refers generally to “illicit ordinations within Catholic clergy,” but the sources provided here most directly treat illicit episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate (canons 1382/1387)—which specifically attach latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
The provided sources do not give a full canon-law map for every type of illicit ordination (e.g., illicit priestly ordinations, lacking dimissorial letters, defective requirements, etc.). Therefore, the explanation above should be read as focused on the canonical remedy structure for the episcopal-consecration case treated in these documents.
For illicit episcopal consecrations done without the required pontifical mandate, Catholic canon law uses excommunication not only as a penalty but as a medicinal remedy: it is automatically incurred, reserved to the Apostolic See, intended to drive the offender toward repentance and reconciliation, and designed also to protect the Church from scandal and confusion while preserving the distinction between validity of orders and their lawfulness.