Formal act of defection from the Catholic Church

A formal act of defection from the Catholic Church (Latin: actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia catholica) was an externally provable juridic act of departure from the Catholic Church that existed between 1983 and 2010. The act was recognized from 1983 to 2010 in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as having certain juridical effects enumerated in canons 1086, 1117, and 1124.