INDIANAPOLIS, ARCHDIOCESE of—Abbey of S. Meinrado (20th century).
of anonymous works. Pius IV, then, accepting a petition from the Council of Trent, had the Index revised and updated, and published it with the constitution Dominici gregis of 24 March 1564. It consisted of two parts: the first contained ten rules, which subsequently appeared in all later editions up to 1929, establishing the categories of books prohibited by natural right or by general law; the second provided, in alphabetical order, the catalogue of books proscribed by special decree. But even the periodic compilation of a catalogue of prohibited books was no longer sufficient to stem the spread of an evil nourished by the new heresies and fostered by the dissemination of printing. Pius V therefore instituted, in 1571, the Sacred Congregation of the Index (v. SACRE).
The following editions of the Index of Forbidden Books have been published, in addition to that of Paul IV already mentioned: 1590, 1593, 1596, 1632, 1665, 1681, 1704, 1711, 1716, 1744, 1758, 1786, 1787, 1819, 1835, 1841, 1877, 1881, 1887, 1900, 1901, 1907, 1911, 1917, 1922, 1924, 1929, 1930 (in Italian and French), 1938, 1940, 1948. To these must be added several unofficial editions: 1580 (Parma), 1610 (Lyons), 1766 (Venice), 1783 (Parma), 1852 (Monreale), 1899 (Turin). Leo XIII, with the constitution Officiorum ac munerum of 25 January 1897, promulgated a genuine unified body of laws on the subject, which was subsequently incorporated into the CIC (Title XXIII of Book III).
These norms, however, are not a sufficient guide for the faithful either, and in concrete cases give rise to doubts and uncertainties, because they lack that definiteness (the conceptual fixity of legal philosophers) which is one of the characteristics of law. The Church therefore sometimes intervenes and prohibits, by specific decrees, certain books which in themselves would be prohibited ipso iure, entering them individually in the Index of Forbidden Books. For this reason the CIC obliges all the faithful, and especially clerics, particularly those who hold ecclesiastical dignity or are eminent for their learning, to denounce pernicious books to the local Ordinaries or to the Holy Office (can. 1397 § 1). It further reminds the Ordinaries of their
duty to supervise, directly or through suitable priests, the books printed or sold in their dioceses (can. 1397 § 4). Residential bishops, individually or assembled in council, have the right and duty to condemn bad books (can. 1395 § 1); but they must refer to the Holy See publications that require a difficult examination or that, because of their importance and circulation, can be effectively proscribed only by the supreme ecclesiastical authority (can. 1397 § 5).