To defrock a priest is to deprive him of the right to exercise the functions of the priestly office. Various religions with priests have different procedures for doing this. Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ...

Roman Catholicism

The Council of Trent (session XIII, canon IV) declared that the sacrament of ordination, imbues the recipient with an indelible "priestly character". Therefore the return of an ordained priest to the lay state is absolutely impossible. However, laicization, which takes from a priest the licit (authorized) use of his powers, and other rights, can occur by various means.dhahgaahgghagaga The Council of Trent (Italian: Trento) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in discontinuous sessions between 1545 and 1563 in response to the Protestant Reformation. ... The practice of the Roman Catholic Church includes seven sacraments. ... This article is about the sacrament. ... According to the Tridentine dogmas of Catholicism, a sacramental character is an indelible supernatural mark made on a persons soul by any of three of the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, and Holy Orders. ...

A priest is automatically laicized when he marries or joins the military without permission. A priest may be voluntarily laicized by his superiors at his request. A priest may be involuntarily laicized for wrongdoing. Minor clerics, including priests, are laicized through the "penalty of degradation". Major clerics can be laicized by the Holy See.

Laicized priests are forbidden to wear clerical habit, identify themselves as priests, or administer the sacraments. The only exception would be to hear a confession in an emergency situation. They are required to continue practicing celibacy, although dispensations can be made. By laicization a priest loses the right of benefice, which in modern times means he will not be supported by the Church even after retirement. In criminal proceedings, a confession is a document in which a suspect admits having committed a crime. ... A vow of clerical celibacy is the promise of a Christian priest or bishop to remain unmarried, or, in some churches, of a deacon or priest not to remarry if his wife dies. ... Originally a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward (beneficium) for services. ...

A laicized priest still has the power to confect the Eucharist but cannot use it licitly. The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ...

In recent years, ordained men who have proven to have engaged in the sexual abuse of children are defrocked. In these cases the bishops apply to the Vatican to have these men laicized. An example of this was former Boston priest John Geoghan—whose activities ignited the 2002 abuse scandal. Prior to his criminal conviction, he was defrocked. Sexual abuse is physical or psychological abuse that involves sexual behavior. ... City nickname: Beantown, The Hub, The Athens of America Location in the state of Massachusetts Founded September 17, 1630 County Suffolk County Mayor Thomas Menino (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 232. ... Father John J. Geoghan (about 1935 - August 23, 2003) was a key figure in the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandals that rocked the Boston Archdiocese in the 1990s and 2000s, and eventually led to the resignation of Bernard Cardinal Law on December 13, 2002. ... In the late 20th century, and especially at the turn of the 21st, the Catholic Church in several countries was confronted with a series of allegations concerning sexual abuse of children under the legal age of consent ¹ by Catholic clergy, the overwhelming majority of whom are priests. ...

Eastern Orthodoxy

In Eastern Orthodoxy, the laicization of a priest or monk, tied to the infringement of a sacred vow or unrepentant heresy, goes hand in hand with an anathema. This not only defrocks the former cleric but also banishes him from entering a holy shrine (Orthodox one most commonly), receive the Eucharist or be blessed by a priest. ... An anathema is anything laid up or suspended; hence anything laid up in a temple or set apart as sacred. ... The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ...