RAPE. — In canon law, rape (s.) refers to the carnal oppression of a virgin woman; moralists, however, extend the definition to include the carnal oppression of any woman, regardless of her state of virginity; Italian criminal law further broadens the scope to include persons of both sexes (art. 519, para. 1).
Under Italian law, the following are considered victims of violence, even if they consent to carnal intercourse:
1) those who have not yet reached the age of 14 (art. 519, para. 2, no. 1);
2) those who have not yet reached the age of 16, if the perpetrators are their ascendants, guardians, or others entrusted with their care, education, instruction, supervision, or custody (ibid., no. 2);
3) the mentally ill or those in such a state of psychological or physical inferiority that they are unable to resist, even if the impairment is not the fault of the perpetrator (ibid., no. 3);
4) those deceived into believing the perpetrator was another person (ibid., no. 4).
The *Codex Iuris Canonici* (CIC) also considers the following as victims of rape: persons incapable of consent at the time of the act, such as those intoxicated, asleep (whether naturally or artificially induced), insane, or intellectually disabled, etc. Rape is never possible between spouses under canon law; it is possible under Italian criminal law only when the spouses are legally separated. It is also possible (though only under Italian criminal law) between persons of the same sex; in canon law, this remains an aggravating circumstance of homosexuality.
The penalties for rape under Italian criminal law include imprisonment from three to ten years (art. 519, para. 1), and the possible loss of parental authority over the victim (art. 541, para. 1). However, the penalty is not applied, or is extinguished if, during execution, the perpetrator marries the victim (art. 544). Under the CIC, those legitimately convicted of rape incur infamy by law, while other penalties are left to the discretion of the Ordinary (can. 2357 § 1). For minor clerics, in addition to the aforementioned infamy, other penalties may be imposed at the Ordinary’s discretion, up to dismissal from the clerical state (can. 2358). For clerics in sacred orders, various penalties apply (suspension, infamy, deprivation of office or benefice, etc., up to deposition), though these are not incurred unless actually imposed by the Ordinary (can. 2359 § 2).