APPENDIX I
SUMMARY OF COMMON LAW ON PROHIBITION OF BOOKS (Holy Office, 17 Apr., 1943) [placed at end of Volume I, after section 1625, in print edition]
Seeing that delays and omissions in denouncing the books frequently occur, and that many of the faithful are in a state of deplorable ignorance regarding the denunciation and prohibition of harmful books, the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office deems it appropriate to call to mind the principal provisions of the sacred canons on this subject; for it is beyond doubt that bad or harmful writings expose purity of faith, integrity of morals, and the very salvation of souls to the greatest dangers.
Certainly the Holy See cannot by itself, with adequate care and in due time, prohibit the numberless writings against faith and morals which, especially in our time, are being published almost daily in various languages all over the world. Hence it is necessary that the Ordinaries of places, whose business it is to preserve sound and orthodox doctrine and to protect good morals (C, 343, Sec.1), should, either personally or through suitable priests, be watchful as to the books which are published or sold in their territory (C. 1397, Sec.4), and forbid to their subjects those which they judge should be condemned (C. 1395, ASec.1). The right and duty to forbid books for just cause belongs also to an Abbot of an independent monastery and to the Superior General of a clerical exempt Institute acting with his Chapter or Council; nay, in case of urgency, it belongs also to the other Major Superiors with their proper Council, it being understood, however, that these must as soon as possible report the matter to the Superior General (C. 1395, Sec.3). Nevertheless, books which require a more expert scrutiny, or in regard to which, for salutary results, the judgment of the supreme authority seems to be required, should be referred by the Ordinaries to the judgment of the Holy See (C. 1397, Sec.5).
It is, of course, the duty of all the faithful, and especially of clerics, to denounce pernicious books to the proper authority; but this duty is especially incumbent on clerics who have some ecclesiastical dignity, such as the Legates of the Holy See and the Ordinaries of places, and on those who are eminent in doctrine, as for example the Rectors and Professors of Catholic Universities.
The denunciation is to be made either to this Congregation of the Holy Office or to the Ordinary of the place, giving by all means the reason why it is thought the book should be forbidden. The persons to whom such a report is made have a strict duty to keep secret the names of those who make it (C. 1397, Sec.1, 2, 3).
Finally, Ordinaries of places and others who have the care of souls should duly inform the faithful of the following:
a) The prohibition of books has the effect that, unless due permission is obtained, the forbidden book may not be published, nor republished (without making the corrections and obtaining due approbation), nor read, nor retained, nor sold, nor translated into another language, nor in any way communicated to other persons (C. 1398, Sec.1, 2);
b) Books condemned by the Holy See are considered as forbidden everywhere and in whatever language they may be translated (C. 1396);
c) The positive ecclesiastical law forbids not only those books which are individually condemned by a special decree of the Holy See and placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, or which are proscribed by particular Councils or Ordinaries for their subjects, but also the books which are forbidden by the common law itself, that is, in virtue of the rules contained in Canon 1399, which forbids in a general manner nearly all books which are bad and harmful in themselves;
d) The natural law forbids the reading of any book which occasions proximate spiritual danger, since it forbids anyone to place himself in danger of losing the true faith or good morals; accordingly, permission to use forbidden books, from whomsoever it be obtained, in no way exempts from this prohibition of the natural law (C. 1405, Sec.1).