PART III
THE REMEDIES FOR MODERNISM
I. RULES RELATIVE TO STUDIES
II. CHOICE OF THE DIRECTORS AND PROFESSORS FOR SEMINARIES AND CATHOLIC INSTITUTES
III. RULES RELATIVE TO STUDENTS
IV. RULES CONCERNING THE READING OF BAD BOOKS
V. INSTITUTION OF DIOCESAN CENSORSHIP
Q. What is the duty of the Bishops with regard to the publication of books, etc.?
A. It is not enough to hinder the reading and the sale of bad books; it is also necessary to prevent them from being published. Hence, let the Bishops use the utmost strictness in granting permission to print.
Q. Ought the Bishops to institute official censors?
A. Under the rules of the Constitution Officiorum, many publications require the authorization of the Ordinary, and in certain dioceses (since the Bishop cannot personally make himself acquainted with them all) it has been the custom to have a suitable number of official censors for the examination of writings. We have the highest esteem for this institution of censors, and We not only exhort, but We order, that it be extended to all dioceses. In all Episcopal Curias, therefore, let censors be appointed for the revision of works intended for publication, and let the censors be chosen from both ranks of the clergy secular and regular men whose age, knowledge, and prudence will enable them to follow the safe and golden mean in their judgments.
Q. What shall be the duties of these censors?
A. It shall be their office to examine everything which requires permission for publication according to Articles XLI. and XLII. of the above-mentioned Constitution. The censor shall give his verdict in writing. If it be favourable, the Bishop will give the permission for publication by the word Imprimatur, which must be preceded by the Nihil Obstat and the name of the censor.
Q. Must censors be appointed in the Roman Curia?
A. In the Roman Curia official censors shall be appointed in the same way as elsewhere, and the duty of nominating them shall appertain to the Master of the Sacred Palace, after they have been proposed to the Cardinal Vicar and have been approved and accepted by the Sovereign Pontiff. It will also be the office of the Master of the Sacred Palace to select the censor for each writing. Permission for publication will be granted by him as well as by the Cardinal Vicar or his Vicegerent, and this permission, as above prescribed, must be preceded by the Nihil Obstat and the name of the censor.
Q. May mention of the censor sometimes be suppressed?
A. Only on very rare and exceptional occasions, and on the prudent decision of the Bishop, shall it be possible to omit mention of the censor.
Q. What precaution must be taken for the protection of the censor?
A. The name of the censor shall never be made known to the authors until he shall have given a favourable decision, so that he may not have to suffer inconvenience either while he is engaged in the examination of a writing, or in case he should withhold his approval.
Q. On what condition may a censor be chosen from among the members of a religious Order?
A. Censors shall never be chosen from the religious Orders until the opinion of the Provincial, or, in Rome, of the General, has been privately obtained; and the Provincial or the General must give a conscientious account of the character, knowledge, and orthodoxy of the candidate.
Q. What approbations must books have that are published by religious?
A. We admonish religious Superiors of their most solemn duty never to allow anything to be published by any of their subjects without permission from themselves and from the Ordinary.
Q. May the censor rely upon his title to defend his personal opinions?
A. Finally, We affirm and declare that the title of censor with which a person may be honoured has no value whatever and can never be adduced to give credit to the private opinions of him who holds it.
VI. PARTICIPATION OF THE CLERGY IN THE MANAGEMENT AND EDITORSHIP OF NEWSPAPERS