2. Forbidden Books.

Rule 4. General Rule.—Translations of a forbidden book into any language, if [54] ]they faithfully reproduce the original, are also forbidden.

A. The General Decrees Prohibit the Following Publications.

Rule 5, a. Books defending heresies, i. e. doctrines contrary to divine revelation.

b. Books derogatory to God, the Blessed Virgin, the Saints.

c. Books vilifying the sacraments, the clerical or religious state, the hierarchy, the Church.

Rule 6. Books professedly treating of, narrating or teaching lewdness and obscenity.

Rule 7. Books teaching or recommending sorcery, Spiritism, Christian Science, or other superstitions.

Rule 8. Books defending as lawful or harmless Freemasonry, divorce, Socialism, suicide, duelling.

Rule 9. Those newspapers and periodicals which, not only now and then, but regularly and of set purpose, attack religion or morality, or propagate anti-Catholic views.

[55]
]Rule 10. Episcopal approbation, to be printed in the beginning or at the end of the book, is required for all editions of the Bible or parts of the Bible in any language, likewise for all prayer books, books of devotion and of practical piety. Without episcopal authorization such publications are forbidden, though they may have been issued by the most learned and pious men.

Note 1. Leaflets which are so small that they cannot be called books, or even booklets or pamphlets, do not fall under this law. But if they are not approved by the bishop, the duty of making sure that they contain nothing erroneous devolves upon those who use them.

Summaries of indulgences, however, no matter how small, always need episcopal approbation and may not be circulated without it.

Note 2. All editions of the Bible, edited by non-Catholics, in ancient as well as modern languages, are permitted to those, and those only, who are engaged in serious theological or biblical studies, provided, however, that the PROLEGOMENA [56] ]AND ANNOTATIONS do not of set purpose impugn the Catholic faith. It is not enough that the text itself is faithfully and completely rendered.

Note 3. An exception has also been made in favor of those classics, ancient and modern, which on account of their obscenity fall under rule 6. In as far as they are models of style they may be read by persons engaged in teaching university or higher college classes of literature, by those who are preparing for such a position in the near future, and by those who, on account of their profession, e. g. as critics or authors of literary works, cannot well do without them. (See note 4 above.)

Whenever we know, or discover while reading, that a book undoubtedly belongs to any one of these classes, we may be sure that it is a work which our Holy Mother the Church does not wish to see in our hands, and we must then act according to the words of Christ: “He who heareth you, heareth Me, and he who despiseth you despiseth Me.” No need of first [57] ]looking up the catalogue of forbidden books; whether the volume in question is mentioned there or not, makes no difference. Nor does it matter what the literary character of the book is. An apparently learned history of the seizure of Rome in 1870, written with the obvious intention of maligning Pius IX, is forbidden just as well as a novel written for the same purpose, or the prayer book of some Protestant sect.

B. Books Forbidden by Particular Decrees.

The following list contains a number of titles which every English-speaking Catholic ought to know. All the books that have been put on the Index during the last few years have been mentioned, not so much for completeness’ sake, as because they contain the palmary error of our time, namely: Modernism, and among its doctrines especially the unchristian treatment of the Bible. None of these books are written in English. But some have been and others may soon be translated. Their [58] ]titles, as well as those of most other foreign books, are given in English.