Should One Ban and Burn Books?

Read Part I: The Index of Forbidden Books 

Sacred Scripture Sets the Example

Ephesus was a major cosmopolitan city in the ancient world and a center of various pagan cults. Saint Paul established the Church there through powerful preaching, miracles, and the giving of the Holy Ghost through the imposition of hands. A rarely-mentioned incident is the following:

“And this [miraculous exorcism] became known to all the Jews and the Gentiles that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many of them that believed, came confessing and declaring their deeds. And many of them who had followed curious arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all; and counting the price of them, they found the money to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God, and was confirmed.” (Acts 19:17-20)

Thus we see that St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Ghost, approved of the burning of books filled with errors, deceits, immorality, and occultism because they led souls away from God. In response, the Faith spread, the Church grew stronger, and God was glorified.

 

Why Ban Books? 

Contrary to popular opinion, the Church is not set on a ruthless censorship crusade to keep its members from learning the “truth” and leaving. Like a good parent, the Church has for centuries restrained Her members from reading works corrupted with doctrinal errors, as a good mother would forbid her children from eating poisoned food or worm-invested apples. The purpose of the Index was to safeguard the minds of the faithful. 

For this reason, the Church permitted Cardinals and bishops to read forbidden books as they should not be prone to fall into the errors promoted by the works. And the 1917 Code of Canon Law also permitted individuals to request permission to read such works if they had a justifiable reason for doing so. Students engaged in theological and biblical studies were permitted to read any translations of the Scriptures as long as they were complete and did not attack Catholic dogma in its notes and commentaries. 

Professors were permitted to read significant passages from forbidden books to students for the purpose of refuting them, bookbinders were permitted to bind them for those who had permission to read them, and book sellers were permitted to keep forbidden books if they received the Holy See’s permission. All these rules, as specified by the great Moral Theologian Fr. Heribert Jone in Moral Theology, illustrate the Church’s concern for the laity underpinned by the Index – not a Nazi or Communist mentality that sought to promote ignorance or destroy all traces of the past.

 

What Kind of Books Should Catholics Not Read?

Drawing from Fr. Jone’s work, he identified 12 primary types of works that are forbidden (exceptions aside, as mentioned above):

  1. Non-Catholic translations or versions of the Sacred Scriptures;
  2. Any books that defend heresy or schism;
  3. Any books that attack faith or morals;
  4. Books of non-Catholics on religion, unless they contain nothing contrary to the Catholic Faith;
  5. Books published without ecclesiastical approval that comment on Sacred Scripture, or those which contain new unapproved apparitions, revelations, prophecies, or devotions;
  6. Books which ridicule Catholic dogma or defend errors denounced by the Holy See;[1]
  7. Books that teach superstition, fortune telling, magic, or occult practices;
  8. Books which support or approve of duels, suicide, divorce, freemasonry, or any other secret society;
  9. Books which teach or describe lewd matters, including birth control;
  10. Liturgical books containing unapproved changes to the Rites;
  11. Books which contain apocryphal indulgences or those which have been revoked by the Holy See;
  12. Any images of Our Lord, Our Lady, or the saints that are not in accordance with the sentiments and decrees of the Church.

Exceptions aside, the reading of such works is “gravely sinful if the amount read would constitute a great danger for many people, even though it be harmless to the one reading,” as Fr. Jone states. And regarding owning such works, “To retain forbidden books is a mortal sin if one [knowingly] keeps them for more than a month…” (exceptions aside).

 

Remove Bad Books from Circulation

With the invention of the printing press, the false ideas of Martin Luther and his peers quickly spread throughout Europe. The Index was an attempt to slow and prevent false ideas such as these from corrupting the hearts and minds of souls. For the same reason, we have a responsibility to ensure our children and students are not exposed to false doctrine. I have long advocated for Catholics to visit secondhand bookstores and buy any used books contrary to the Faith. Take them home and have a bonfire with them.[2] Since the funds do not directly support the authors or the publishers, buying secondhand works by atheistic, Hindu, Mormon, and Protestant authors, helps prevent the souls of those seeking the Truth from being led into error.

 

Catholic Treatment of Protestant Bibles

Under Canon 825 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, all translations of Scripture must be approved. And while there is no clear canonical penalty in the 1983 Code imposed on people who read unapproved translations of the Scriptures, the moral principle underpinning the Index requires us to completely reject unapproved (e.g., Protestant) Scriptures. In fact, this was clearly specified in the Catechism of St. Pius X:

32 Q: What should a Christian do who has been given a Bible by a Protestant or by an agent of the Protestants?

A: A Christian to whom a Bible has been offered by a Protestant or an agent of the Protestants should reject it with disgust, because it is forbidden by the Church. If it was accepted by inadvertence, it must be burnt as soon as possible or handed in to the Parish Priest.[3]

33 Q: Why does the Church forbid Protestant Bibles?

A: The Church forbids Protestant Bibles because, either they have been altered and contain errors, or not having her approbation and footnotes explaining the obscure meanings, they may be harmful to the Faith. It is for that same reason that the Church even forbids translations of the Holy Scriptures already approved by her which have been reprinted without the footnotes approved by her.

This teaching cannot be properly understood if one does not realize that a “Protestant Bible” does not truly deserve the name ‘Bible.’ It is in fact not the Divinely-revealed Word of God because it has been altered by men. It may contain portions of the Sacred Scriptures, yet it also contains error. We would not imbibe a drink laced with arsenic even though the vast majority of the drink was nutritious.

While it may be difficult to understand, and not even always intentional, the objective truth is that ‘Protestant editions’ are actually attacks upon the Sacred Word of God. Every Catholic should know that the Catholic Church has never advocated “burning Bibles” but rather in destroying books which contain grave errors and which will likely lead souls away from Truth. It is important for us to be accurate in our speech and use words according to their precise meaning.

 

Conclusion

While few Catholics have heard of the Index of Forbidden Books, the prohibition on Protestant Bibles, or related matters, we have a responsibility to observe and teach others that the moral obligation remains even though the Index is no longer published. With so many anti-Catholic works published today, we have a grave responsibility to ensure that what we are reading is appropriate, and parents and teachers have a greater responsibility to do the same. 

May Our Lady, Exterminatrix of heresies, help us to recover the sacred and save souls from error!


[1] Here is an example of Fr. Jone’s insightful commentary when on just this point, he writes: “Therefore, a book is forbidden which contains a collection of defamatory accounts concerning various popes or of the priestly or religious states, not, however, if the person of one individual pope or a certain religious Order is disparaged.”

[2] For this purpose, a simple prayer for such a book burning can be found at https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2013/10/prayer-for-book-burnings.html

[3] Nowadays, when so few priests would probably dispose of the Protestant Bible, it would likely be more prudent for Catholics familiar with the issue to quietly dispose of the Protestant Bible at home.

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