Sacrilege: A sin of irreverence, mistreatment of sacred realities

By Fr. Richard Mwebe

The core of all religions and cultures is the sense of the Sacred. Many religions and cultures confess that sacred realities are to be related to with a deep sense of reverence and respect and when it comes to God Himself, reverence and respect alone are not enough.

Worship is demanded as the most appropriate response to His presence. In all religions, idolatry, disrespect, irreverence and profanation (mistreatment) of sacred realities are abhorred as abominable and are categorized among the terrible sins committed in religion with various punishments attached some even prescribe death if this profanation is constituted as blasphemy.

In the Ganda culture, there is a proverb which brings out this reality: Nanyini Kiggwa yakiwebuula nga aliramu emmwanyi i.e. the care taker of the shrine is one who brings to it a bad name by eating coffee beans in it. The Baganda considered such an act as an abomination. Also, if one beat up a Kabona (a priest) of a given shrine, he is understood to have committed a terrible crime called "ekivve." Sins of irreverence and mistreatment (profanation) of sacred realities occur in all cultures, all religions and also in the Catholic Church. When they do happen they are called "sacrilege."

Therefore, "sacrilege" is not only a reality in our cultures and in other religions but it is also a reality in the Bible and in the Catholic Church.

The Biblical foundation and Catholic Church's teaching on "Sacrilege"

There are some preachers who say that the Catholic Church's teaching on Sacrilege has no biblical and doctrinal foundation. They claim that it is a concoction with no basis what so ever in the scriptures. In this article the writer intends to deprive such preachers of their ignorance and to reassure the reader that sacrilege is a reality which exists in Bible.  In this attempt the writer will dig into the etymologically construction of the word so as to prove this fact.

The term "sacrilege"

Etymologically the term sacrilege is from Latin sacrilegium which means "robbing a temple", from sacer, sacred, and legere, to purloin i.e. to steal or to use without permission.

Sacrilege in the Bible

In 2 Maccabees 4:39 we read "Many sacrilegious thefts…" The words "rob Temples" in Romans 2:22 and "robbers of the Temple" in Acts 19:37 suggest the fact that the notion and content of sacrilege exists in the Bible. So the word Sacrilege exists in the Bible explicitly and implicitly.

Meaning of Sacrilege from the Catholic Church's Teaching Point of view:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church article 2110 in explaining what a sacrilege is cites Exodus 20: 1-5, in which quotation we find the first commandment "You shall have no other Gods before Me." So the first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his People. It forbids us against two sins: superstition and irreligion. God's first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion which include: tempting God, in words or deeds; sacrilege and simony.

As far as Sacrilege is concerned, the Catechism of the Catholic Church article 2120, defines sacrilege as profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as things, places or persons consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body and Blood of Christ is made substantially present for us. The 1983 codex Iuris Canonici, lists some of these sacrileges in Canon 1367 "one who commits a sacrilege against the Body and Blood of Jesus is punished"; Canon 1370 "a person who attacks the Pope, the Bishop, a cleric or religious commits a sacrilege" i.e. ekivve and is to be punished.

Sacrilege as Handed down by the Fathers of the Church:

It is customary to enumerate three kinds of sacrileges: personal, local, and real. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that a different sort of holiness attaches to persons, places, and things. Hence the irreverence offered to any one of them is specifically distinct from that which is exhibited to the others.

Personal sacrilege

Personal sacrilege means to deal so irreverently with a sacred person that, whether by the injury inflicted or the defilement caused, there is a breach of the honor due to such a person.  This sacrilege may be committed chiefly in three ways: by laying violent hands on a cleric or religious. Such a violation is punished with the penalty of excommunication (Can. 1370); or by any sin against the vow of chastity on the part of those who are consecrated to God. Such a sacrilege is punished in accordance to the statutes of that particular congregation.

Local sacrilege

Local sacrilege is the violation of a sacred place. Under the designation "sacred place" is included not only a church properly so-called even though it be not consecrated, but merely blessed, but also public oratories as well as cemeteries canonically established for the burial of the faithful. Local Sacrilege include: the theft of something found in and specially belonging to the church; the infringing of the immunity attached to sacred places in so far as this prerogative still prevails.

Real sacrilege

Real sacrilege is the irreverent treatment of sacred things as distinguished from places and persons. This can happen first of all by the reception of the sacraments (e.g. Holy Eucharist) in the state of mortal sin. Likewise, conscious maltreatment of sacred pictures or relics or perversion of Holy Scripture or sacred vessels to unhallowed uses. Sometimes the guilt of sacrilege may be incurred by omitting what is required for the proper administration of the sacraments or celebration of the sacrifice, as for example, if one were to say Mass without the sacred vestments.

Conclusion

Cardinal Robert Sarah's book published on 3rd October 2016 entitled "the Strength of Silence and the Dictatorship of Noise", in which book he affirms the victory of silence over noise, can be of use to such preachers who tread in areas in which they have no competence. In those matters, it is better to remain silent than make unfounded noise.

The writer is a Catholic priest, lecturer at St Mary's National Seminary Ggaba