Index of Prohibited Books

Or simply "Index", is used in a restricted sense to signify the
exact list or catalogue of books, the reading of which was once
forbidden to Catholics by the highest ecclesiastical authority.
This list formed the second and larger part of the codex entitled
"Index librorum prohibitorum", which contained the entire
ecclesiastical legislation relating to books. (The "Index librorum
prohibitorum", as an integrant part of the prohibition of books,
has already been dealt with in the article CENSORSHIP OF BOOKS.)

A book was prohibited or put on the Index by decree of the Sacred
Congregation of the Roman Inquisition, of the Sacred Office, or of
the Index, which decree though approved by the pope (in form�
communi), always remained a purely congregational decree. It need
scarcely be mentioned that the pope alone, without having recourse
to any of the congregations, could put a book on the Index, either
by issuing a Bull or a Brief, or in any other way. Formerly it was
the rule that a book was examined by one of the Roman
Congregations only after complaint had been made to Rome. With
regard to the Congregation of the Index, however, Pius X, when
reorganizing the Roman Curia by the Constitution "Sapienti
consilio" (29 June, 1908), decreed as follows:

"Henceforth it will be the task of this Sacred Congregation not
only to examine carefully the books denounced to it, to prohibit
them if necessary, and to grant permission for reading forbidden
books, but also to supervise, ex officio, books that are being
published, and to pass sentence on such as deserve to be
prohibited. Its further task is to remind the bishops of their
sacred duty to combat the publication of pernicious writings and
give information about them to the Apostolic See, in accordance
with the Constitution Officiorum ad munerum of 25 January, 1897
(Acta S. Sedis, XLI, 432)."

In the reorganization of the Roman Congregations, Pius X did not
change the constitution or methods of the Congregation of the
Index, but rather confirmed anew Leo XIII's Bull "Officiorum",
together with Benedict XIV's "Sollicitae provida" sanctioned
therein. This Bull of Benedict XIV, published on 8 July, 1753,
regulated in detail the procedure of the Roman Congregations in
the examination of pernicious books. It strictly commanded that
the examination of a book be entrusted only to revisors well
versed in the particular language and branch of learning. They
were to be free from all partisanship and prejudice, and had to
pass judgment not according to their private predilections or the
tenets of any school but simply and solely according to the
general Catholic teaching and the dogmas of Holy Church.
Especially when examining books of Catholic authors of merit, they
were to allow them free circulation, if at all possible, in a
spirit of fairness and leniency. In no case was the book of a
Catholic author to be condemned on the strength of the verdict of
one revisor, not even when all the consultors agreed with him.
Together with the report of the first revisor -- who remained
anonymous - the book was given to another for a second revision,
and only when the second revisor's verdict was in agreement with
that of the first were both reports referred to the cardinals for
final decision. If, however, the second revisor thought that the
book ought not to be prohibited, a third would examine both
verdicts as well as the book itself, but without knowing the names
of the other revisors. If the opinion of the third coincided with
that of the first and with the general vote of the consultors, the
case could be passed on to the cardinals. Otherwise the consultors
were again to give their votes, whereupon the matter would be put
before the cardinals for final decision.

In the case of writings which, according to the decision of the
congregation, could be published in a revised edition, the
congregation was to try, if possible, to hear the author's own
defence or else appoint a consultor ex officio for the defence. If
the book had been forbidden with the clause "donec corrigatur"
(i.e. until corrected), and the author was willing to publish an
edition in keeping with the wishes and orders of the congregation,
the decree of prohibition was to be withheld, unless the
prohibited edition was already widely circulated and known. In the
latter case, when promulgating the decree, the new revised edition
was to be expressly mentioned as authorized. The secretary to the
Congregation of the Index was empowered to communicate the
strictures passed on censured books to the respective authors or
their representatives -- but to these only at the author's
request. Otherwise the official secret was to be strictly observed
by all who had taken part in the process. Books, which at first
sight were recognized as very dangerously heretical or immoral,
could be forthwith prohibited.

The first printed catalogues of forbidden books did not appear at
Rome, and, even after the institution of civil censorship, lists
of books and writings prohibited by the State continued to appear.
The first Roman "Index of Prohibited Books" (Index librorum
prohibitorum), published in 1559 under Paul IV, was very severe,
and was therefore mitigated under that pontiff by decree of the
Holy Office of 14 June of the same year. It was only in 1909 that
this "Moderatio Indicis librorum prohibitorum" (Mitigation of the
Index of Prohibited Books) was rediscovered in "Codex Vaticanus
lat. 3958, fol. 74", and was published for the first time in the
"Zentralblatt f�r Bibliothekswesen" (Leipzig, 1909-10). Concerning
the curious indexes of 1590 and 1593, which were printed but never
promulgated see Hilgers, "Der Index der verbotenen B�cher", 12
sq., 524 sqq., 529 sqq.

JOSEPH HILGERS
Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler


From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the  entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this  worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
mail at (knight.org/advent). For  more information please download
the file cathen.txt/.zip.

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