Random Question About Excommunications

[Byzantine]

Let's say I was the Byzantine Catholic bishop of Pittsburgh and there was a Roman Catholic in my territory who was (insert crime worthy of excommunication here). Would I be able to excommunicate him? (Note: I'm not a bishop. I'm not even old enough to be a bishop.)

[CatherineM]

Nope. You only have jurisdiction over your own people. Of course, if something is that bad, it could cause excommunication [i]latæ sententiæ. [/i]An example would be participating in a abortion. Bishops rarely hand out excommunications themselves. Most come from an ecclesiastical court. If a bishop could excommunicate people outside their jurisdiction, I know of a couple of bishops who would have excommunicated every pro-choice politician in Washington.