If any sister presumes without an order from the Abbess to associate in any way with an excommunicated sister, or to speak with her, or to send her a message, let her incur a similar punishment of excommunication.

Since the time of Benedict the Catholic Church has endeavored to clarify the purposes and processes of excommunication.

Today excommunication by the Church is the formal communication of a preexisting condition. An act that spreads division and confusion among the faithful has, in effect, already separated the individual from the community.

The formal step of excommunication is not intended to be punitive, but medicinal in preserving the community and encouraging reconciliation by the one who has willfully separated himself or herself from the community.

The excommunicant continues to be considered a Christian and is actively encouraged to participate in the life of the community, though separated from the full benefits of community until repentance leads to reconciliation.