Infamy,
in common usage, is the notoriety ga
ined from a negative
incident or reputation (as opposed to
fame). The word stems from the
Latin infamia, antonym of
fama (
in the sense of "good reputation").
In canon law
Infamy is a term of art
in Roman Catholic Canon Law. According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913,
infamy
in the canonical sense is def
ined as the privation or lessening of one's good name as the result of the bad rat
ing he has, even among prudent men. It constitutes an irregularity, a canonical impediment that prevents one being orda
ined or exercis
ing such orders as he may have already received.
There are two types of
infamy:
infamy of law (
infamia juris) and
infamy of fact (
infamia facti).
Infamy of law
Infamy of law is contracted
in one of three ways. Either the law itself attaches this juridical
ineligibility and
incapacity to the commission of certa
in crimes, or makes it cont
ingent upon the decision of a judge, or f
inally connects it with the penalty imposed by the judge. This k
ind of
infamy is
incurred chiefly by those guilty of
duelling (whether as principals or seconds),
rape (as likewise those who co-operate
in it), attempt to marry dur
ing the lifetime of the actual consort,
heresy, real
simony, etc.
Infamy of law may be removed either by canonical purg
ing or by application to the
Holy See.
Infamy of fact
Infamy of fact is the result of a widespread op
inion, by which the community attributes some unusually serious del
inquency, such as
adultery or the like, to a person. This is more of an unfitness than an irregularity properly so called, unless
sentence in court has been pronounced. It ceases therefore when one has shown by a change of life extend
ing over a period of two or probably three years that his repentance is s
incere.
A crime consist
ing
in acts which society not only forbids but also considers as highly immoral and particularly dishonor
ing, as def
ined (variously)
in certa
in legal systems, as
in Poland;
in its orig
in,
in Ancient Rome,
infamia was the mark of disapproval of the
censors on moral grounds - often such 'legal
immorality' is largely def
ined according to the state - or de facto dom
inant religion.
In the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth infamy (
infamia) was a more severe form of
exile sentence. A noble who has been sentenced to
infamy, known as
infamis lost the protection of the law and there was a reward for his death (this was similar to the common law concept of
outlawry).
In addition, a banished noble (
banita) who killed an
infamed one could expect his exile sentence to be revoked.