Sacrilege is a term related to religion that describes the profanation of places of worship and activities related to religion.
In the Catholic Church, sacrilege is defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. As we read:
"Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things and places consecrated to God."
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Is sacrilege a sin?
As a rule, sacrilege committed knowingly is a sin for which excommunication (exclusion from church life) will be imposed atae sententiae - By law alone at the time the profanity was committed.
Is sacrilege a crime?
There is a provision in Polish law that defines insulting religious feelings. It is not a crime, but a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to 2 years.
Unconscious sacrilege
In Catholicism, a grave sin is, as a rule, a knowing and willful violation of a commandments Divine or ecclesiastical.
Thus, if the reception of Holy Communion took place without the awareness that a grave sin is weighing on the conscience, then there is no sacrilege, and therefore it is not burdened with the conscience grave sin.