Section 1: The Preventive Censorship of Books

I. The preventive censorship of books consists in an examination made before they are published, followed by a judgment of approbation or condemnation.

1. The previous permission of the Holy See is required for the publication of a) Any authentic collection, in whatever language, of prayers and pious works to which the Holy See has attached indulgences; and of b) Any list of Apostolic indulgences, or summary of indulgences, whether collected at some former time and never approved, or newly collected from diverse documents;¹ also of c) Any vernacular translation of Holy Scripture without notes drawn from the writings of the holy Fathers and of Catholic theologians;² with the possible exception of certain devotional parts of the Bible, which are apt to kindle the piety of the faithful, such as the Psalter, the Sunday gospels, etc.; these, according to a probable opinion,³ the bishop can permit without notes.

¹ C. I. C., can. 1388, § 2.

² C. I. C., can. 1391.

³ Ferreres, Compend. Theol. Mor., Vol. I, p. 632.

2. The permission of the Sacred Congregation of Rites is required for the publication of anything and everything pertaining to the beatification and canonization of saints.⁴

⁴ C. I. C., can. 1395 sq.

3. The permission of the prefects of the various Roman congregations is necessary for reprinting the decrees of the respective congregations in new editions.⁵

⁵ C. I. C., can. 1389.

4. The permission of the diocesan Ordinary, that is, the bishop of the diocese in which the author lives, or in which the book is printed or published, is required for the publication of a) Any book, pamphlet, summary or leaflet containing indulgences,⁶ and of b) All books of Holy Scripture, or notes or commentaries on the same,⁷ or translations or paraphrases of such books in the vernacular with notes from the Fathers and approved theologians,⁸ or books which treat of Sacred Scripture, revealed or natural theology, Church history, Canon Law, ethics, and other religious and moral disciplines;⁹ and of c) Books or pamphlets containing prayers, devotions or instructions on religious, moral, ascetical, mystical or similar subjects, even though they appear to promote piety;¹⁰ and of d) Any other writings having special reference to, or involving the interests of, faith or morals;¹¹ and of e) Sacred images or pictures, no matter how manifolded, with or without prayers attached.¹²

⁶ C. I. C., can. 1388, § 1.

⁷ C. I. C., can. 1385, § 1, n. 1.

⁸ C. I. C., can. 1391.

⁹ C. I. C., can. 1385, § 1, n. 2.

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ Ibid.

¹² Can. 1385, § 1, n. 3.

5. No cleric may publish books on profane subjects, or write for newspapers or magazines, or edit any periodical publications, without the permission of his Ordinary.¹³

¹³ C. I. C., can. 1386, § 1.

6. Religious, besides the permission of the diocesan Ordinary, must have also that of their major superior in order to publish any of the things listed under n. 5 and n. 4, b, c, d, and e.¹⁴

¹⁴ C. I. C., can. 1385, § 3; can. 1386.

Except for a just and reasonable cause, approved by the Ordinary of the diocese, neither clerics nor laymen are allowed to write for newspapers, reviews, or magazines that habitually attack Catholic faith or morals.

The permission of the Bishop (imprimatur) must be printed in the beginning or at the end of the book or picture thus approved, and must contain the name of the Ordinary or his representative, together with the place and date when the permission was granted.¹⁵

¹⁵ C. I. C., can. 1391, § 1.

A new imprimatur is required for the translation of an approved book into some other language and for each new edition of the book itself, but not for articles or excerpts reprinted from periodicals.¹⁶

¹⁶ C. I. C., can. 1392.

No episcopal imprimatur is necessary for reprinting liturgical books or any parts thereof, or litanies approved by the Holy See, but the Ordinary of the diocese where they are printed or published must certify that the text conforms to the originals.¹⁷

¹⁷ C. I. C., can. 1390.