Definition of excommunication | Bee Dictionary of English

n the state of being excommunicated
n the act of banishing a member of a church from the communion of believers and the privileges of the church; cutting a person off from a religious society

When the Pope lifted the excommunication of four ultra-conservative Roman Catholic bishops earlier this year, he was plunged into one of the worst controversies of his pontificate .
He declared liable to excommunication: 1) Catholic Government employes who, as members of the National Revolutionary Party, sign documents denying the truth of revealed religion.
Controversy burns on a week after Pope Benedict XVI reversed the excommunication of the four bishops of the breakaway Lefebvrite movement, including a vocal Holocaust denier .

Dissident Irish priest fears excommunication over views on women priests
Outspoken Irish cleric Father Tony Flannery has admitted he faces excommunication from the church for backing the rights of women to become priests. The 66-year-old priest has told a Dublin press conference that he is considering legal action against the Vatican after he was silenced.
June 29, 2013 - Irish Central
Newest Vatican document is last straw for women
The latest document from the Vatican - Normae de Gravioribus Delictis - has caused worldwide outrage after it prescribed automatic excommunication for anyone found to be involved in the ordination of women.
June 29, 2013 - Irish Central
Church's double standards over barred nun in abortion scandal
The media and public are speaking out on the hypocrisy within the Catholic Church that has been clearly illustrated by Sister Margaret McBride’s excommunication from the Church.
June 29, 2013 - Irish Central

Pope Benedict XVI in Evening Bulletin
Yes, this excommunication was not an arbitrary one but is allowed by Canon law which says the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with receiving Communion, which is receiving the body of Christ,stated Benedict.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in Los Angeles Times
Certainly, excommunication is a very harsh deterrent that the church has used to deal with the most serious crimes in its history, from the very first centuries,Bertone said when asked if the censure would be appropriate.
Ronald S Lauder in Ynetnews
Lauder said: "The Vatican was badly advised to revoke the excommunication of the four bishops. Unfortunately, there is evidence that Bishop Williamson's blatant anti-Semitism is not an isolated case within the Pius X Brotherhood. Therefore, we call...