Morals of the Church
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Article — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

Article II. On Books Prohibited by Particular Decree

1121.

What authority can prohibit books, we said in n. 1118. But here there is discussion only of books which are prohibited by the Apostolic See, and so are inserted into what is called the Index of Prohibited Books. Moreover, that Index, revised by Leo XIII and promulgated in the year 1900, was published several times and again in the year 1929. For the rest, note:

I. The Apostolic See prohibits books either by itself, i.e. through Apostolic letters of the Roman Pontiff, or with the help of a Congregation. Moreover, formerly this business belonged to the Congregation of the Index, but now to the Congregation of the Holy Office, which undertook that function after the prior Congregation was suppressed1 (can. 247, § 4).

II. With respect to the interpretation of particular prohibitions, note:

  1. Whenever all the writings of some non-Catholic author are prohibited, only those works are understood which either treat of religion, or have been proscribed by some general or special decree. Whenever all the writings of some Catholic writer are forbidden, only those works are touched by the prohibition which are prohibited by some general or special decree.2

  2. If the first or earlier volumes of some work are placed in the Index, and the later volumes have followed that decree of prohibition into public light; or if periodical booklets are proscribed which afterwards have been continued again and again; or if all the works of some writer are prohibited, and he has published other works after the decree was issued: in all these cases the volumes or booklets or works made public after the last special decree, although they are not comprehended by that special decree, nevertheless are held suspect, and are deservedly presumed to fall into the prohibition of some decree from the general ones, unless perhaps the author's recovery of sound sense is established.3

1 Motu proprio, 25 March 1917 (A. A. S. 1917, p. 167; cf. p. 162).

2 Cf. Preface of the Index of the year 1924, p. XIV.

3 Cf. Preface of the Index of the year 1924, pp. XVI-XVII.

Books Prohibited by Particular Decree