The Catholic Church and Censorship — The Index of Forbidden Books, Imprimaturs, and Book Burnings — addressed in two parts.
“A forbidden book is one which, without due permission, may not be published, read, retained, sold, translated, or in any manner whatsoever communicated to others.” (Canon 1398, 1917 Code of Canon Law)
The Index of Forbidden Books
Around the time of the Council of Trent, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“List of Prohibited Books”) was first published in 1560, which set to ban many works for heresy and blasphemy. The Index would ultimately be revised a number of times with the 20th, and final, edition published in 1948. It would eventually contain thousands of works from philosophers to theologians to novelists.[1] Sometimes the entire body of work of an author would be condemned and other times just certain works.[2] However, with the proliferation of works, keeping the list up to date became impossible as the centuries progressed.
In 1966, Paul VI chose to discontinue the Index. Yet, even with its withdrawal from use, the principles remained as affirmed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in 1966 – though they are never discussed by priests. In the “Notification”, Cardinal Ottaviani stated:
“To respond to the above-mentioned questions, this Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after having asked the Holy Father, announces that the Index remains morally binding, in light of the demands of natural law, in so far as it admonishes the conscience of Christians to be on guard for those writings that can endanger faith and morals. But, at the same time, it no longer has the force of ecclesiastical law with the attached censure.” [emphasis added]
In a 1985 letter, then-Cardinal Ratzinger, who was then prefect of the CDF, again confirmed this moral force as binding.
Imprimaturs and Nihil Obstats
This principle remains and manifests itself in the issuance of imprimaturs.
On March 19, 1975, the CDF issued a statement stating in part: “The Pastors of the Church have the duty and the right to be vigilant lest the faith and morals of the faithful be harmed by writings; and consequently, even to demand that the publication of writing concerning the faith and morals should be submitted to the Church’s approval, and also to condemn books and writings that attack faith or morals.” This is likewise mentioned in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
An author of a doctrinal book would begin the process of obtaining an imprimatur by submitting a manuscript to the censor deputatus for his diocese who would read the book and, if the work were without doctrinal errors, issue a nihil obstat (“nothing stands in the way”). The book would then be sent to the bishop who, after further review of it, would issue an imprimatur (“let it be printed.”). For members of a religious Order, their superior would also read and approve the work before its submission to the bishop. Contrary to popular opinion, an imprimatur is not an endorsement.
In practice, however, obtaining imprimaturs since Vatican II has been extraordinarily difficult. A number of dioceses have a blanket policy of not issuing them. Other dioceses ask an individual’s parish priest to first approve the submitted work; however, priests are not always willing to put their stamp of approval on such things. And with the doctrinal crisis in the Church where many priests are even at odds with the Church’s official teachings, it is nearly insurmountable to get an imprimatur for a printed work in most dioceses.
I have seen, firsthand, imprimaturs denied for authors affirming the necessity of Jews to convert to the Faith or for authors referencing the Baltimore Catechism. I have also seen authors denied imprimaturs for prayer books with the purported reason being that such words are “out of scope”. I have known authors who were told that the diocese is too busy to consider imprimaturs for an indefinite timeframe, and even heard an author told by one diocesan official that “we do not do those anymore.”
Imprimaturs are also offered only for printed works. They cannot be granted to digital media like websites, articles printed online, online courses, videos, or audio sermons. If we do find imprimaturs on books issued in the decades before Vatican II, those can be further reassurance for us that the book will not subject the reader to false doctrine. However, the lack of an imprimatur, due to these limitations, should not prevent us from reading good and holy books published in our day.
Tomorrow we will continue studying this topic by asking if it is ever proper to ban, or even burn, books.
Editor’s Note: Authors listed on the Index include Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. All these men are considered founders of Modern Philosophy. Instead of rejecting their writings as counseled by Holy Mother Church, the world at large has heeded their opinions. This has led to the grave problems we see in the world today. Sadly, many so-called Catholic theologians and periti (experts) at the Second Vatican Council also adopted their errors.
[1] A listing of some of the works on the Index can be found in English at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authors_and_works_on_the_Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum
[2] Not every condemned work was placed on the Index since the Index primarily concerned works of heresy and blasphemy; for this reason, the writings of Karl Marx and Charles Darwin were not placed on the Index even though they are incompatible with the Faith.