PUBLISHERS, MORALITY OF. — The publisher does not merely engage in an industrial activity, for his purpose is the dissemination of thought, achieved through the medium of the book. The ideas propagated by this means may be good or bad. The publisher, whose primary task is to select the works to be published—even if he does not himself inspire their composition—is directly responsible for the harm that may be spread through his publications.
There is no possibility of moral compensation between good or harmless books and those that are pernicious, published by the same publishing house. The harm caused by immoral books is not in any way annulled by other publications, according to a principle common to all moral agents. Moreover, there is no possibility of directly repairing the harm done through books. Indeed, even if it were hypothetically possible to restore moral integrity to those who have lost it because of bad reading, those who have suffered such harm remain forever unknown to those who caused it: authors, publishers, booksellers.
The best guide for a publisher who wishes to orient his house in accordance with the doctrine of the Church is the Index of Forbidden Books (v.).
In it are listed the works expressly forbidden by the Church, as well as the categories of books whose reading, though not nominally condemned, is equally prohibited. The Index also sets forth all other norms pertaining to this matter and indicates the penalties incurred by those who fail to observe these norms.
The works that should not be published, which most frequently come under an editor’s purview in the normal exercise of his activity, are the following: a) those that, from a scientific standpoint, attack and contradict the dogmas of the faith; b) those that defend and exalt ideas and programs condemned by the Church; c) those—especially novels—that depict evil in a way that perniciously influences their readers. In this field, the worst of all are works that attempt to justify guilt by inverting the very meaning of the terms “good” and “evil.”
It should be noted that the description of moral evils and sins is not in itself blameworthy, not least because, within certain limits, knowledge of danger can serve to avoid II. When such narratives do not involve arousing descriptions, are conducted in a way that inspires repulsion for the evil described, and contain at least an implicit condemnation of it, they may sometimes even have the value of true moral defenses. Exemplary in this regard, even under this aspect, is the masterpiece of Manzoni.
Even the reading of a single perverse book does not always determine an entire existence. Young people, in particular, are susceptible to the influence of reading, and this is because, although all readers are generally in a position of inferiority vis-à-vis the author—who has at his disposal carefully elaborated arguments and the art to present them in a thousand attractive ways—young people possess to a lesser degree than other readers the necessary experience to distinguish falsehood from truth and the strength to resist the attraction usually exerted by unhealthy reading.
The claims of art, so often invoked by the designers of bad reading, even in the rarest cases in which one might speak of true art, must take second place to the far more important considerations of the spiritual health of readers, who in those cases are not attracted by art—which can be found in so many works of literature from every age and country—but by the pernicious way in which the artist has employed his talent.
It is therefore necessary that every publication be accepted by the publisher only after careful examination, carried out by him personally or at least by someone who, in addition to editorial and literary competence, possesses sufficient moral sensitivity. It is clear that in cases where ecclesiastical approval is required by the Church, such approval removes all responsibility from the publisher. When doubts exist regarding the legitimacy of a publication, the publisher may seek, even outside the publishing house, the opinion of experts, whose collaboration is easily obtained today, given the existence of qualified bodies capable of providing reliable moral judgments on the works submitted to them.
When a work is judged morally unsuitable for publication and can be modified so as to remove every negative element, the publisher may invite the author to make such changes. Classical works, even those expressly condemned by the Church, may be published, provided that suitable prefaces and notes are added to highlight the passages in which the errors that constitute the grounds for the condemnation are manifested or defended, and the reasons for the condemnation are given. Passages condemned for their sensuality must, in any case, either be suppressed or summarized. Editions of condemned works published in this manner must be approved by the Ordinary of the place where the publishing house is located. No notice of this approval need be given in the edition.
Works that do not present moral dangers for all readers but only for certain ones may be published, provided they are directed at broad categories of the public. Publishers of such works must, however, take care, as far as possible, to group them into well-defined collections, specifying in each case, on the books themselves and in the catalogues, for which readers such works are suitable, so that parents, educators, and booksellers themselves may know with certainty their content and intended audience. Even in religious literature, works of this kind are not lacking.
There exist, for the use of publishers, booksellers, readers, and libraries, excellently compiled publications that periodically provide all information of a moral nature on new books. These constitute a precious collaboration and a sure aid for publishers who, conscious of the importance of their mission, wish to cooperate in the cause of true good.