New censorship rules

from MICHAEL WILSON In ROME
The Vatican has simplified and liberalised the regulations concerning official church prepublication approval of books on basic subjects of a religious nature.
At the same time it has set down specific guidelines for literary publication by priests, religious and laymen and hardened its stand on publications displayed in churches.
An official decree, drafted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and ratified by Pope Paul, issued here last week, lays down norms and limits on what should or should not be written.
By this decree the categories needing episcopal approval by imprimatur and nihil obstate are reduced to three. The intention is not so much to ban as to call upon the author's individual sense of responsibility in other categories of writing.
The three categories are: Editions or Sacred Scripture but
not, however, exegetical or interpretative works on Scripture. Liturgical texts and books of private devotion.
Catechisms and other works of a catechetical instructional nature; texts used in schools from the elementary to the university levels regarding religious and moral teaching, and especially those dealing with scripture, theology, canon law and Church history.
Such works must have the imprimatur before they can be disseminated in churches or used as textbooks in schools.
The decree lays down that it is "strongly recommended" — not mandatory — that priests or religious should obtain prior approval from their local bishop, and superior where needed, before publishing any works on religious subjects.
Laymen are only "recommended" to obtain such approval. Again, the former rigid ban On lay Catholics contributing to publications which "manifestly wish to attack the Catholic religion or morals" has been lifted in part.
Catholic authors may contribute to such publications for a "reasonable and just cause," which is not defined, and no examples are given.
A clause described as "completely new" in this decree is that placing a ban on "exhibiting, selling or distributing in church or oratories books or other writings" dealing with religious or moral issues unless they have an imprimatur.
Significantly, the new rules do not prescribe any specific penalties for those who should disobey the new orders, but left what are obviously wide gaps of
discretion up to individual sense of responsibility and conscience.
In presenting this decree, Fr Roberto Tucci, Director of Vatican Radio, said: "The Church more and more is putting her trust in the maturity of the faithful."
A prelate in the Doctrinal Congregation told me: "This new decree can be seen as a liberalisation of the Church's attitude towards writers recording matters of faith and morals.
"But it is primarily intended to reassert that textbooks on the Catholic Faith need an imprimatur and to end the confusion that has reigned in classrooms during the postVatican Council II days, with all kinds of books being written and used by every man who thinks that he knows the Faith better than his bishop."