1852; _Le Juif Errant_, printed in 1845, prohibited in 1852. Later in
the same year, Sue’s name was placed upon the Index connected with
the term _Opera omnia_. In 1864, the list of French authors all of
whose works were prohibited includes the following names: Balzac,
Champfleury, Dumas the elder and Dumas the younger, Feydeau, Murger,
Sand, Soulié, and Stendhal. The name of Flaubert appears in the same
year in connection with two only of his romances. The volume of the
Abbé Michon, published anonymously under the title _Le Maudit_,
was prohibited in the year of its publication, 1864, and the later
volumes issued as by the author of _Le Maudit_ were prohibited as
they appeared. Since 1864, the compilers of the Index have given
comparatively little attention to French fiction.
In 1834, the _Chansons_ of Béranger were prohibited. Some of these
had been printed as far back as 1815. Additional titles from French
literature are as follows:
Lamartine, Alph. de, _Souvenirs d’un Voyage en Orient_, printed in
1835, prohibited in 1836.
Hugo, Victor, _Notre Dame de Paris_, printed in 1831, prohibited
in 1834; _Les Misérables_, printed in 1836, prohibited in 1864.
The famous volumes by Ferd. Fabre, _Lucifer_ and _L’Abbé Grand_,
curiously enough escape condemnation.
The selections of this period from German literature are
inconsiderable. They include:
Lessing, _Erziehung des Menschen-geschlechts_, prohibited 1835.
Heine, H., _Reisebilder_, printed in 1834, prohibited in 1836;
_De la France_, printed in 1833, prohibited in 1836; _De
l’Allemagne_, printed in 1835, prohibited 1836; _Gedichte_,
printed in 1844, prohibited in 1845.
In 1855, Mrs. Stowe’s _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ was prohibited, under
some special instruction, as far as its sale in the papal States was
concerned. The title does not find place in the Index.
The small group of Spanish and Portuguese works includes the following
titles:
Torres, _Quentos en verso Castilano del Remédo de la Melencholia_,
prohibited 1824.
Tressera, _El Judio Errante_, prohibited 1864.
The long series of anti-clerical romances by Benito, Perez, and Galdós
escape condemnation.
Stockler, _Poezias Liricas_, printed in 1820, prohibited in 1836.
The Italian list includes:
Foscolo, Ugo, translation of Sterne’s _Sentimental Journey_, printed in
1817, prohibited in 1819; _La Commedia di Dante_, illustrated, printed
in 1830, prohibited in 1845.
Zaccheroni, G., an edition of Dante’s _Inferno_ with notes, printed
in 1838, prohibited (as far as the introduction and the notes are
concerned) by the Inquisition in 1840. The larger number of the
commentaries on Dante are condemned as printed.
Guerrazzi, Dom., _L’Assedio di Firenze_, printed in 1830, prohibited in
1837. His later romances, _Isabella Orsini_ and _Beatrice Cenci_, were
prohibited promptly on publication, the former in 1844, the latter in
1854.
Niccolini, G. B., _Arnaldo da Brescia_, printed in 1844, prohibited the
same year.
Bossie, Conte Luigi, _Della Istoria d’Italia Antica e Moderna_, printed
in Milan, 1819–1822, in nineteen volumes, prohibited in 1824. The same
author produced a translation of Roscoe’s _Life of Leo X_, which was
promptly condemned some twenty years after the prohibition of the same
work in the original.
Botta, Carlo, _Storia d’Italia del 1729 al 1814_, ten volumes, printed
in 1824, prohibited in 1826. Botta had gained the name of “the Italian
Tacitus.” His son, Vincenzo Botta, was well known in New York as a man
of letters, between the years 1850 (he was one of the exiles of ’48)
and 1880.
Rossetti, Gabrielle, _Sullo Spirito anti-Papale_, etc., printed in
1832, prohibited 1833; _Iddio a l’Uomo_, printed in 1836, prohibited
1837.
The Spanish and Portuguese group of general literature of this period
includes the following titles:
Llorente, J. A., _Histoire Critique de l’Inquisition de l’Espagne_,
printed in Paris in 1820, prohibited in 1822. The author, who was the
Secretary-General of the Inquisition, had been banished from Spain in
1812. His history, written in Spanish, was translated under his own
supervision.
_Historia Completa des Inquisiçoes de Italia, Hispagnia e Portugal_,
printed (anonymously) in 1822, prohibited in 1825. This is probably
a translation of the _Histoire de l’Inquisition of Lavalée_ printed
in Paris in 1809, and prohibited in 1819. The histories of the
Inquisition, whether written from the Dominican point of view or from
that of their opponents, found their way in great part into the Index.
=26. The Synod of Pistoja, 1786.=--In 1794, the conclusions arrived at
by the Diocesan Synod held at Pistoja at the instance of Bishop Ricci,
were condemned by the Bull _Auctorem Fidei_ of Pius VI. In this Bull,
were censured specifically eighty-five propositions. The Pope condemns
and prohibits, under penalty of excommunication, the printing,
distribution, or reading of any editions or translations of the acts
of the synod and of all works written in defence of these acts. It
is doubtless through oversight that this very sweeping condemnation
does not find place in the Index. Certain publications reporting the
conclusions of the synod had been already specifically prohibited;
while certain further works, the subjects of which were connected with
the issues raised by the synod, were prohibited in later years, in
certain instances as late as 1817. For these later prohibitions, the
statement was added that the works were already condemned under the
Bull _Auctorem Fidei_.
=27. The Festival of the Heart of Jesus.=--In 1697 and again in 1729,
the Congregation of Rites recalled the authorisation for a specific
office for the Sacred Heart of Jesus; and in 1704, was prohibited the
treatise by the Jesuit Croiset, written in defence of this office.
Under Clement XIII in 1765, the office was again authorised, and
under Pius IX, the festival in honour of the Heart of Jesus was made
a general usage. This special act of adoration had originated with
the Jesuits; those who opposed it were classed as Jansenists. The
office came, however, into question with a good many Churchmen other
than Ricci and his friends; and a number of the most important of the
treatises written against it were published under Clement XIV in Rome.
=28. Theological Writings of French, German, and English Catholics,
1758–1800.=--But one important work of theology printed in France,
_Theologia Lugdunensis_, came upon the Index during the last
decade of the 18th century. From England, the single title of the same
period covers a book of worship, and from Germany, were prohibited,
in addition to the writings already referred to, a volume by Isenbiehl
and several treatises by Stättler, Meyer, and Oberrauch. During these
years, were published in England a number of works by Catholic authors
which had to do with the controversies of the time, such as the Oath
of Allegiance, the re-institution of the hierarchy of bishops, etc.,
but no one of these writings is recorded in the Index. The single
English work above referred to was published in London, in 1767, under
the title _The Catholik Christians’ New Universal Manual, being a
true spiritual guide for those who ardently aspire to salvation_.
The book contains the entry, _Permissu superiorum_, which did not
prevent its prohibition in 1770. On the other hand, the writings of
Charles Dodd, J. Berington, Alexander Geddes, George Cooper, and Bishop
Butler, the teachings of which would hardly have met the approval of
the Holy See, escaped condemnation.
=29. The French Revolution.=--The _Constitution Civile_ of the clergy,
framed in 1780, and the Defence of the same issued a year later by the
so-called Constitutional Bishops, were promptly condemned by briefs
of Pius VI, but they do not find place in the Index. The acts of the
national councils of 1797 and 1801 were condemned in like manner but
these titles also escaped the attention of the Index compilers. The
practice on the part of the Index editors in regard to the recording
of legislative acts appears not to have been consistent. In 1817, for
instance, a collection of the acts and declarations of the Italian
bishops and chapters, which had been printed in 1811, was placed upon
the Index although the subscribers and compilers of the same had made
recantation of the opinions expressed.
The long series of revolutionary writings and of anti-Church writings
which came into print in France after 1789 were in large part recorded
by the Spanish Inquisition but in the Roman Indexes are represented by
only a few titles.
In July, 1797, the Congregation of the Index publishes its last
decree for the century. The authors whose books are condemned include
Stättler, Oberrauch, Tamburini, and Zola; in addition to these, there
is a series of German theological and juristical theses which the
students of Freiburg had defended between the years 1786 and 1794. The
last work prohibited by the Inquisition during the 18th century is a
treatise by Guadagnini.
The first prohibition of the 19th century condemns a monograph by a
Greek theologian, printed in Corfu in 1800. The Congregation of the
Index resumed its activities in 1804 after a suspension of more than
seven years. In decrees issued in 1804, 1805, 1806, and 1808 were
condemned a number of French and Italian writings that had to do with
the Revolution. The imprisonment in June, 1809, of Pius VII again
brought to a close the operations of the Roman Congregations. The Pope
returned to Rome in May, 1814, and in August, 1815, the Inquisition
resumed its supervision of literature. The work of the Congregation of
the Index was, however, not taken up till January, 1817. In this year,
a list of prohibitions was issued covering a number of works that had
been published in France and in Italy between 1796 and 1815.
The two briefs that Pius VI had issued in March and in April, 1781,
for the condemnation of the so-called Civil Constitution of the French
clergy, were declared by the “constitutional” party in the Church to
be apocryphal. It was pointed out that the second brief, while dated
in Rome, April 13th, was distributed in Paris April 14th, from which
detail, it came to be known as the “Miraculous Brief.” In a brief
issued in 1792, the Pope calls attention to this statement as one of
the insults coming from France. The Index of 1806 contains, printed as
an appendix, a list of the books prohibited from 1804 to 1806. The more
important names in this list are those of Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot,
Mirabeau, Dulaurens, and La Fontaine.
=30. The French Concordat of 1801.=--In August, 1801, a Bull of
Pius VII records the provisions of the Concordat that had been arrived
at between Napoleon and himself. Under the Concordat, the number of
the French bishoprics was reduced from a hundred and fifty-six to
sixty and a new division of the dioceses was provided for. In a brief
bearing the same date, the Pope calls for the resignation of all the
French bishops, and in November of 1801, he issues a second Bull,
declaring those bishops who had not resigned to be deposed, and fixing
the limits of the new bishoprics. In 1803, thirty-six bishops present a
protest against these regulations. This protest was widely circulated
and served as the text for a long series of monographs in which were
brought into discussion various questions relating to the Concordat.
In 1817, a second Concordat was put into force between the Papacy and
Louis XVIII. In 1822, a long series of writings which took ground
against the authority of this Concordat were placed upon the Index.
=31. Protestant Theological Writings, 1750–1884.=--The selections
for condemnation, in the last years of the 18th century and during the
first half of the 19th century, of works by Protestant theologians
appears to have been made with no greater consistency and with no
more assured principles than had been apparent in the selection of
Protestant writings of an earlier date. The following titles may be
noted:
Michaelis, J. D., _Introduction to the New Testament_, published
in 1750, condemned in 1827.
Strauss, _The Life of Jesus_ (_Das Leben Jesu_), published in
1835, prohibited 1838.
Bauer, _Streit der Kritik mit Kirche und Staat_, published in
1844, prohibited in 1845.
Bunsen, _Hippolytus and his Age_, published 1852, prohibited 1854.
Maurice, F. D., _Theological Essays_, published 1854, prohibited
1854 (the entry in the Index is under the word “Denison”).
Stroud, _The Physical Causes of the Death of Christ_, published
1847, prohibited 1878.
Morgan, Lady, _Italy_, prohibited 1822.
Waldie, _Rome in the Nineteenth Century_, published 1820,
prohibited 1826.
Blunt, James, _Vestiges of Ancient Manners and Customs in Modern
Italy and Sicily_, published 1823, prohibited 1827. The difficulty
with Mr. Blunt’s treatise was the connection made by him between
certain ceremonies and practices of the Roman Church and the earlier
Pagan usages.
Seymour, Hobart, _A Pilgrimage to Rome_, printed 1851, prohibited
1851. The title is entered under “Pilgrimage.”
Whately, Archbishop, _Introductory Lessons on Christian
Evidences_, an Italian version printed in 1850 and prohibited in the
same year.
The treatise by John Poynde, _Popery in Alliance with Heathenism_, the
publication of which (in 1835) brought out some sharp controversial
letters from Wiseman, escaped the attention of the Index compilers.
The more noteworthy of the French titles in the Indexes of this period
are the following:
Bruitte, Edouard, abbé and professor of philosophy, _Mes Adieux à
Rome_, published in 1844, prohibited in 1844.
Mourette, _Le Pape et l’Évangile_, published in 1844, prohibited
in 1845. This latter was also prohibited in Paris.
Coquerel, Athanase, (†1868), _Le Christianisme experimental_,
published in 1847, prohibited in 1850. No other of the series of
writings by this famous Protestant preacher nor any of those of his
son, Athanase Josue, find place in the Index.
Bugnoin, T. R., _Catéchisme de l’Église du Seigneur_, published in
1862, prohibited in 1863.
Martig, Emm., _Manuel d’Histoire religieuse a l’Usage des Écoles_,
published at Geneva in 1877, prohibited in 1878.
D’Aubigné, _l’Histoire de la Réforme du Seizième Siècle_, printed,
in an Italian edition, in 1847, prohibited in 1852.
The list of Italian and Spanish publications contains few names that
would be familiar to English readers.
Bianchi, Angiolo, _Biographia di Fra Paolo Sarpi_, printed (in
Brussels) in 1836, prohibited in 1844; _Del Pontificato di S.
Gregorio il grande_, printed (in Milan) in 1844, prohibited in 1853.
Boni, Filippo de, _Del Papato_, printed in 1850, prohibited in
1852.
Castro, Adolpho de, _Historia des los Protestantes Españoles_,
printed in 1851, prohibited in the same year.
=32. Writings concerning the Eastern Church.=--The larger number
of the works under this heading the titles of which come into the Index
of the 19th century, are the production of the “United Armenians.” The
addition of a group of monographs by Polish writers is doubtless due
to the fact that during the reign of Pius IX, the consultor of the
Congregation was a Pole, Peter Semenenko. The Bull issued by Pius IX
in July, 1867, under the title of _Reversurus_, in which it had
been ordered that the procedure of worship of the Armenians should be
reconstituted, resulted in a schism in this division of the Church.
Between the years 1872 and 1873, three monographs by Ormanian and one
by Casangian, written in opposition to this Bull, are placed upon the
Index. The list also includes the following:
Pichler, A., _Die kirchliche Trennung zwischen Orient und Occident_.
The Greek Church of Russia is represented in the Index of this time by
but one or two titles:
Tolstoy, Dimitri, _Le Catholicisme Romain ou Russe_, published in 1864,
prohibited in 1866. This work stands in the Index under the entry
“Dimitri.” The entry is connected with the reference _Opus praedamnatum
ex reg. II. ind._ This entry indicates that, prior to 1870, the
Russians were already classed as heretics.
Pociej, Joh. (Chancellor of the Cathedral at Chelm), _O Jezusie
Chrystusie_ (a study of the record of the early Christians), printed
in 1852 (with the approval of the Church authorities at Warsaw),
prohibited in 1857.
The record of the proceedings of a Synod of Melchites, held in 1810,
in Beyrout, with the approval of the papal delegate, Gandolfi, was
condemned in 1835 by a brief of Gregory XVI. The record had been
printed in Arabic and was not likely therefore to have secured an
extended circulation in Catholic States.
In 1851, was prohibited an Italian version of the _Critical History
of the Greek and Russian Church_ by Josef Schmitt, which had been
published in Mayence in 1840. In 1868, was prohibited a work by the
English writer, Edmund S. Ffoulkes, which had been published in London
in 1865 under the title, _Christendom’s Divisions, a Philosophical
Sketch of the Divisions of the Christian Family in East and West_.
The work had been sharply criticised by Manning, but it does not appear
that Manning had made any formal denunciation of the same to Rome.
=33. The Theologians of Pavia, 1774–1790.=--In 1774, the Austrian
Government instituted a theological faculty in the University of
Pavia. In 1783, the Emperor Joseph II transferred to Pavia, for use in
the newly instituted _Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum_, the
collections belonging to the old _Collegium Germanicum_ of Milan.
The divines of the theological faculty of Pavia came to be classed as
Jansenists. The classification appears to have been based not so much
upon their teaching of the Augustinian doctrine of Grace as upon their
own sharp antagonism to the theories and practices of the Jesuits.
These divines contended openly that the so-called Jansenist heresy
was a phantom, and they also undertook the defence of the Church of
Utrecht. They were, further, opponents of the doctrines taught by the
Jesuits in regard to morality; they were in sympathy with the claims
of the Gallican Church, and, finally, they maintained stoutly the
necessity for reforms within the Catholic Church on the lines indicated
by the Synod of Pistoja. In the years succeeding 1781, were placed
upon the Index the titles of a number of writings by these theologians
and by others who had accepted their views. Among these writers may
be mentioned the following: Pietro Tamburini, Giuseppe Zola, Count
Th. Trautmannsdorf, Canon Litta, and G. B. Guadagnini. The treatise
by Trautmannsdorf on Toleration, condemned in 1783, the author found
desirable to disavow in order to secure his appointment as bishop.
=34. French, Dutch, and English Writings, 1817–1880.=--In 1825, a
report was laid before the French Minister of the Interior concerning
certain writings classed as irreligious or immoral which had been
published between the years 1817 and 1824. The list included various
editions of the complete works of Voltaire and of Rousseau, together
with a number of issues of their separate volumes. There were no less
than eight editions of the _Système de la Nature_, by d’Holbach,
and four of the _Lettres Persanes_. It was complained that these
pernicious books were being sold so cheaply that they were brought
within the reach of the masses of the people and were bringing about
widespread evil. The _Tartuffe_ of Molière, sold for five sous,
had at once reached a sale of one hundred thousand copies. In 1821,
Étienne Antoine, Bishop of Troyes, in a pastoral letter writes: “We
renew all the censorship orders issued, between the years 1782 and
1785, by the clergy of France, and the individual orders issued by the
archbishops of Paris, in which these works were condemned as godless
and sacrilegious, and as tending to undermine morals and the State. We
prohibit, under the canonical law, the printing or sale of these books
within the territory of this diocese, and we charge the vicar-generals
to enforce this regulation and to see to the carrying out of the
necessary penances for all who make confession of disobedience to
these regulations.” The authority of the Church of France appears to
have been considered as sufficient for the control of the matter. No
application was made to have these books again placed upon the Index.
Dupuis, Ch. Fr., _Origine de tous les Cultes_, printed 1794,
prohibited, 1818. An abridgment of this work, printed in 1798 and
reprinted in a number of editions thereafter, escaped condemnation.
Volney, J. F., _Les Ruines ou Méditations sur les Révolutions des
Empires_, printed in 1799, prohibited in 1821. This book was also
strongly condemned in the Spanish Indexes. An Italian translation,
printed in 1849, escaped the Index.
Pigault, Le Brun, _Le Citateur_, printed in 1803, prohibited in 1820.
This work contains some bitter assaults on the Bible and on the dogmas
of Christianity. Reiffenberg states that, in 1811, Napoleon, in a state
of irritation with a brief of Pius VII, gave instructions for the
distribution to the public, free or at a nominal price, of ten thousand
copies of _Le Citateur_, but there is no record that these instructions
were carried out. A Spanish version of the book, printed in London in
1816, was prohibited in Spain in 1819.
_Essai historique sur la Puissance temporelle des Papes_, printed
in Paris in 1818, prohibited in 1823. No author’s name is connected
with any of the several editions of this treatise, but the introduction
to the original issue states that the work was translated from a
Spanish manuscript found at Saragossa.
After the Restoration, negotiations were in train during a series of
years for a modification of the provisions of the Concordat of 1801. A
series of controversial publications bearing upon the Concordat were
placed upon the Index as they appeared.
Constant, Benjamin, _De la Religion Considerée dans sa Source_, etc.,
printed in 1824–1831, in five volumes, prohibited in 1827.
Gandolphy, Peter, _A Defence of the Ancient Faith, or Exposition of
the Christian Religion_, printed (in London) in 1813, prohibited
in 1818. Gandolphy was a priest of the Catholic Church and at the
time of this publication had charge of the Spanish Chapel in London.
The book had been promptly condemned by Pointer, Apostolic Vicar in
London. Gandolphy journeyed to Rome and succeeded in securing for his
book the approval of the master of the palace and a certificate giving
him the authority to state that his book had been approved by the Holy
See. On the strength of this certificate, he placed copies again on
sale. Pointer secured from the Inquisition instructions to confirm the
prohibition, and as this was still ignored by Gandolphy, the latter was
suspended. After some years of controversy, the difficulty was finally
adjusted by the correction of the text according to the specifications
of Pointer.
Earle, Charles J., _The Forty Days, or Christ between His Resurrection
and Ascension_ and _The Spiritual Body_. These were printed in 1876 and
1878 and were prohibited in 1880. Earle had in 1851 been converted to
Romanism.
In 1857, an association was instituted in England “for the promotion
of the unity of Christendom.” Its special purpose was to bring
together the members of the Catholic, the Greek, and the English
Churches. The members of the society accepted the obligation to make
a daily prayer to this end. Cardinal Patrizzi declared in the name
of the Inquisition, in a letter addressed, September, 1864, to the
English bishops, that Catholics were forbidden to take part in this
association. In 1866, Archbishop Manning confirmed this prohibition.
Patrizzi had condemned in his first letter the _Union Review_, which
was the organ of the society, but the _Review_ was not placed on the
Index. A series of essays on the reunion of Christendom, written by
members of the society, and edited by F. G. Lee, was placed on the
Index in 1867.
=35. Writings of German Catholics, 1814–1870.=--During the 19th
century, were placed upon the Index a larger proportion than in the
earlier period of the writings of the Catholics of Germany, but the
selection of the works so distinguished appears as heretofore to have
been arrived at with no very definite policy or principle. It is
evident that the books were not selected on the ground either of their
relative heresy, of their scholarly importance, or of their popular
influence. It seems probable that the condemnation of any particular
work was dependent upon the accident of its title being brought to
the attention of the Congregation. The names of a few of the more
noteworthy authors in the list are specified below.
Wessenberg, Vicar-General of Constance, _Die deutsche Kirche_,
printed in 1806, condemned by a brief of Pius VII, in 1814.
Dannemayer, _Institutiones Historiae Ecclesiasticae_, printed (in
Vienna) in 1780, prohibited in 1820.
Rechberger, _Enchiridion Juris Eccles. Austriaci_, printed in
1809, prohibited in 1819.
Reyberger, _Institutiones Ethicae Christ._, printed in 1805–9,
prohibited 1834.
Bolzano Bernhard (professor of geology in Prague), _Stunden der
Andacht_, printed in 1813, prohibited in 1828. It was largely
on the ground of this work, which was published anonymously,
that Bolzano was deposed from his professorship. _Lehrbuch der
Religions-Wissenschaft_, printed in 1813, prohibited 1838.
Brendel, Sabold, professor of law in Würzburg, _Handbuch des kath.
und protest. Kirchenrechts_, etc., printed in 1823, prohibited in
1824. Brendel retained his professorship but was later ordered to give
up instruction in canon law.
Theiner, Anton., _Die katholische Kirche in Schlesien_ (published
anonymously), printed in 1826, prohibited the same year.
Müller, Alexander, _Handbuch des kath. und protest. Kirchenrechts_,
printed 1829–1832, prohibited in 1833. It would appear that very few
of the treatises on canon law or ecclesiastical jurisprudence were so
written as to meet the approval of the Index authorities.
Hirscher, J. B., a treatise on the mass, entitled _Missae Genuinam
Notionem Eruere_, etc., printed in 1821, prohibited in 1823.
Drey, G. S. von, a treatise on confession, entitled _Diss. Hist.
theol. Originem et Vicissitudinem_, etc., printed, in 1815,
prohibited in 1823.
Gehringer, _Liturgik und Theorie der Seelsorge_, printed in 1848,
prohibited in 1850.
Hermes, George, _Die philosophische Einleitung in die christ.
katholische Theologie_, printed in 1819, prohibited in 1831.
The other writings by this author, together with a long series of
treatises by his followers, were for the most part prohibited. It was
contended by the Hermessians, as it had formerly been contended by
the Jansenists, that the specific errors on the ground of which the
condemnations had been arrived at did not as a matter of fact exist
in the writings of Hermes. In May, 1837, six years after the death
of Hermes, Professors Braun and Elvenich journeyed to Rome for the
purpose of securing a fresh examination of the works of Hermes and of
establishing their orthodoxy, but after a series of conferences, they
failed to secure the recall of condemnation.
Günther, A., _Peregrins Gastmahl, Janusköpfe für Philosophie und
Theologie_, and a group of similar writings published between 1830
and 1843, were condemned together in 1857. The Congregation of the
Index began in 1851 to give special attention to Günther. In 1852,
instructions were given by Pius IX to the bishop of Wurzburg to
prohibit the teaching of the theories that had become known as the
philosophy of Günther.
Trebisch, Leop. (classed as a follower of Günther), _Die christliche
Weltanschauung in ihrer Bedeutung für Wissenschaft und Leben_,
printed in 1858, prohibited in 1859.
Frohschammer, J., _Ueber den Ursprung der menschlichen Seelen_, printed
in 1854, prohibited in 1857. The work of Frohschammer was brought upon
the Index by the influence of the Jesuit Kleutgen. It is recorded
that the secretary of the Congregation asked Dr. Döllinger, who was
at the time in Rome, to induce Frohschammer to submit himself and to
recall his treatise, but no such action was taken by the author. His
later treatises, _Einleitung in die Philosophie_, _Der Grundriss der
Metaphysik_, and _Ueber die Freiheit der Wissenschaft_, were prohibited
together in 1862. He was suspended from his functions in 1863, and in
1871, placed under excommunication. In the introduction to the papal
brief of 1863, Pius writes that he had learned with great sorrow that a
number of the theologians and instructors in philosophy having chairs
in the Catholic institutions of Germany had permitted themselves to
bring into their teachings an unwarranted license of thought and of
expression. The works through which these teachings were distributed to
the general public were in many cases carrying most pernicious errors.
These works, in so far as they had been examined and reported upon, the
Pope had therefore ordered to be placed on the Index.
Oischinger, Paul J. N., who appears to have belonged to the same
theological group with Frohschammer, is recorded as the author of a
long series of philosophical works, only one of which was placed upon
the Index: _Die spekulative Theologie des H. Thomas von Aquin_,
printed in 1859, prohibited in 1859. Oischinger maintains that Thomas
had wrongly comprehended a number of the most important divisions of
the dogma of the Church.
Pichler, Aloys, _Geschichte der kirklichen Trennung zwischen dem
Orient und Occident_, printed in 1865, prohibited in 1866. _Die
Theologie des Leibnitz_, printed in 1869, prohibited in 1870.
=36. La Mennais.=--The writings of Abbé La Mennais had, even
before 1830, brought out in France some measure of criticism. They
had, however, secured the approval of Leo XII. After the Revolution
of July, 1830, the opinions of La Mennais and his associates were
condemned in Rome as in more ways than one pernicious. In August, 1832,
Gregory XVI, in the encyclical entitled _Mirari_, condemned the
ecclesiastical and political opinions presented in the journal issued
by La Mennais and his associates under the title _L’Avenir_. No
one of the writers was mentioned by name, but in a letter by Cardinal
Pacca accompanying the encyclical, they were informed that the
condemnation applied to their work. They all submitted themselves to
the authority of the Church. After some negotiations, La Mennais, in
December, 1833, gave his signature to a formula which had been sent
from Rome for the purpose. A few months later, however, he brought into
print a monograph entitled _Paroles d’un Croyant_, through the
declarations in which he made a direct breach with Rome. In June, 1834,
he received, through a separate encyclical, sharp condemnation. A year
later, the Congregation placed on the Index the treatise _Affaires de
Rome_ and the subsequent writings were prohibited promptly on their
appearance. The earliest publication of La Mennais, issued in 1809
under the title _Réflexions sur l’État de l’Eglise en France pendant
le XVIII^{me} Siècle et sur la Situation actuelle_, was promptly
suppressed by the imperial police, but was not placed upon the Index.
The _Essai sur l’Indifférence en matières de Religion_, published
in 1817–1820, was sharply criticised in France but was not condemned in
Rome. The monograph _De la Religion Considérée dans ses Rapports avec
l’Ordre Politique et Civile_, printed in 1826, was condemned by a
number of the bishops and the author was sentenced by the courts to the
payment of a large fine.
The journal _L’Avenir_, previously referred to, had for its
purpose the maintenance of the independence of the Gallican Church
against the encroachments of the Ultramontanes, and also the final
separation of Church and State. The publication of the journal was
suspended by the Government in 1831, and Lacordaire and Montalembert
journeyed to Rome to present the case of its editors. A _Mémoire_
written by Lacordaire was delivered in February, 1832, to Cardinal
Pacca. In this, the memorialists asked the pope to have thorough
investigation made of their purpose and actions and to give permission
for the continuation of their work. After some weeks, Pacca gave
decision on behalf of the pope that, while the good service rendered
in the past by the memorialists was fully acknowledged, he found
ground for grave disapproval of their later actions in stirring up
controversies which tended to bring the authority of the Church into
disrepute. While the matter was under consideration, an appeal came
to Rome from thirteen of the bishops of France, asking the pope to
confirm the condemnation of _L’Avenir_ and specifying fifty-six
propositions which were in themselves sufficient ground for its
condemnation. This memorial secured later the support of fifty further
French bishops. In September, 1832, La Mennais and his associates sent
to Rome an acknowledgment of the decision of the pope and made promise
that the journal _L’Avenir_ should no longer be printed. In May,
1833, the pope sent to the Archbishop of Toulouse a brief in which he
made reply to the memorial of the bishops. He pointed out that in the
encyclical he had presented the sound and final doctrine of the Church
and that he had taken measures to prevent the further circulation of
the pernicious opinions complained of by the bishops.
In August, 1833, La Mennais sent to the pope through the Bishop of
Rheims a letter in which he protests against the strictures expressed
in the papal brief. He professes himself prepared to give the fullest
possible acceptance to all provisions of the Holy See which have
to do with matters of doctrine and of morals. He asks the pope to
indicate the expressions occurring in his writings which are open to
condemnation. In October, 1833, the pope replies to the Bishop of
Rheims, pointing out certain statements by La Mennais the purport of
which tends to undermine the authority of the Church. La Mennais had
taken the ground that he was not undertaking to interfere with purely
ecclesiastical questions. While in such matters he gave the fullest
acceptance to the authority of the pope, he was not prepared to accept
the judgment of the pope in matters that seemed to him to be outside of
the proper authority of the Holy See.
In 1834, La Mennais published, under the title of _Affaires de Rome_,
a report concerning his correspondence and relations with the Holy
See. This was duly prohibited by the Congregation in 1835. _Le Livre
du Peuple_, printed in 1837, was prohibited in 1838. The same course
was taken with his later writings, appearing between 1841 and 1846. La
Mennais died in February, 1854. The set of his works in five volumes,
published after his death, 1855–1858, does not appear in the Index.
=37. The Roman Revolution of 1848.=--The operations of the Index
Congregation were not intermitted on the ground of the absence of
Pius IX from Rome, from November 25, 1848, to April 12, 1850. During
this period, three sessions were held in Rome and two in Naples,
and judgment was passed upon a number of the more important of the
publications of the day. Among those condemned the following titles may
be noted:
Rosmini, Antonio, _Die fünf Wünder der h. Kirche_, and _Die Verfassung
gemäss der socialen Gerechtigkeit_.
Gisberti, V., _Der moderne Jesuit_.
Ventura, G., _Discorso funebre dei morti di Vienna_, etc. (The three
titles in German are recorded in Italian.)
A few months before the condemnation of the two treatises of Rosmini,
his name had been under consideration with the pope for appointment
as cardinal. His theological and philosophical writings had been
denounced by his theological opponents as early as 1841, but, in 1843,
Gregory XVI had ordered the controversies concerning the doctrines of
Rosmini to be brought to a close. In 1850, the denunciation of the
writings of Rosmini was renewed. The Congregation of the Index caused
an examination of the works to be made by a number of consultors and,
in 1854, the judgment was given that they were not to be disapproved,
_dimittantur opera_. This continued controversy concerning the
philosophical and theological teachings of Rosmini brought about, in
1880, an authoritative definition of the formula _dimittantur_.
In November, 1848, Pius IX took refuge in Gaeta. Rosmini followed the
Pope thither, but finding that the influence of his opponent, Cardinal
Antonelli, was still controlling, he returned without securing any
personal consideration. A series of negotiations, controversies,
and correspondence followed, but it was not until 1854 that his
works finally secured quittance. The question then placed before
the Congregation was whether, as the writings of Rosmini had been
thoroughly examined and had been shown to be free from errors in
matters both of doctrine and morality, the prohibition that had been
placed upon them ought not to be cancelled. The Jesuits were still
unwilling to give up their contest against the teachings of Rosmini.
They pointed out that the Inquisition held higher authority than that
of the Congregation, and that in a number of instances books which had
been passed with approval by the Congregation had been condemned by
the Inquisition. Cornaldi, in a treatise printed in 1882, contended
that the philosophy of Rosmini was distinctly opposed to the doctrines
of St. Thomas. Leo XIII, in a brief addressed, in January, 1882, to
the Bishops of Milan and Turin, reproves the attempts to renew the
controversies concerning Rosmini and calls attention to his encyclical
in which he had indicated the way by which all devout philosophers
could arrive at a harmony of conclusion.
=38. Traditionalism and Ontology, 1833–1880.=--In 1833, Abbé
Bautain of Strasburg was responsible for the initiating of certain
controversies, in part philosophical and in part theological,
which appear to have turned upon the proper interpretation of the
doctrines so-called of Traditionalism and Ontologism. In 1870, these
controversies were revived in Louvain and in Paris with the result of
bringing out certain condemnations from the Congregation and from the
Inquisition. In 1840, Bautain was compelled to subscribe to certain
propositions formulated by the Congregation, and in 1855 his associate
Bonnetty took the same course. In 1861, the Inquisition declared seven
propositions, selected from the writings of Ubagh and other French
Ontologists, to be heretical. Ubagh was compelled to correct certain
treatises of his own according to specifications laid down by the
Index; and, in 1866, after lengthy negotiations, his friends in Louvain
were obliged to declare their acceptance of the reproval and of the
conclusions of the Congregation and of the Inquisition. Ubagh held in
the University of Louvain the chair of philosophy and logic.
=39. Attritio and the Peccatum Philosophicum.=--In addition to
the Inquisition’s decrees in which whole series of propositions were
condemned, certain decrees were issued in which consideration was
given to one or two propositions. In May, 1667, Alexander VII issued
a decree in which, while not undertaking to decide the issue that had
arisen concerning the sufficiency of incomplete repentance to secure
absolution, he prohibited any writings which maintained that one view
or the other of the matter was in itself heretical. In August, 1690,
a decree of Alexander VIII condemns the two propositions, first, that
the love of God is not requisite for the leading of a proper life, and,
second, the theory that a sin which has been committed by some one who
does not know God, or committed during a moment in which the sinner is
not thinking of God, (the so-called philosophical sin as distinguished
from the theological sin) is not to be classed as a mortal sin. These
two definitions of the Inquisition resulted in the prohibition of a
number of writings upon the questions. The most important of these was
the _Amor poenitens_ by Johannes Mercassel, Bishop of Castro,
which, after a long series of investigations, was finally condemned in
1690, with a _d.c._
The Council of Trent[54] had declared that the perfect repentance
which has its motive in the love of God (_contritio caritate
perfecta_) can secure reconciliation with God before the sacrament
of confession may be received, but it does not free the believer from
the requirement for this sacrament. The instruction says, further, that
the incomplete repentance, the so-called _attritio_, which arises
from a consideration of the shamefulness of the sin or is produced
by a fear of the punishment of hell and which is therefore connected
with the will to refrain from sin with the hope for forgiveness, can
not of itself and without the sacrament of confession, bring about a
reconciliation with God. Such a condition in the believer places him,
however, by means of the sacrament of confession, in a position to
secure grace. The doctrines presented in these instructions were, as
above indicated, the texts for a long series of writings, many of which
failed to secure with the Index authorities approval as orthodox.
=40. Communism and Socialism, 1825–1860.=--The selections from the long
lists of works of those classed as socialists are but inconsiderable
and, as in the case of certain other important divisions of literature,
it is difficult to trace any plan or principle upon which they have
been based. Proudhon is distinguished by having his entire series of
works included in the Index, while of Saint-Simon (†1825) not a single
volume has been condemned. Of the works of Charles Fourier (1768–1837),
one book only has been selected for prohibition, _Le Nouveau Monde,
Industriel et Sociétaire_, printed in 1829, prohibited in 1835.
Étienne Cabet (1788–1856) is represented in the Index by one only of
his long series of treatises, _Le Vrai Christianisme_, printed in 1846,
prohibited in 1848.
Esquiros, H. A. (†1876), has, next to Proudhon, the longest list in the
Index of works belonging to this class. Of these the most important is
_L’Évangile du Peuple_, printed in 1840, prohibited in 1841. This is
followed by three socialist tracts entitled _Les Vierges Martyres_,
_Les Vierges Folles_, _Les Vierges Sages_, printed in 1841, prohibited
in 1842.
Further titles in this group are:
Constant, L. A., _La Bible de la Liberté_, printed in 1841, prohibited
in the same year. The author was condemned to imprisonment for his
works.
Chevé, Ch. Fr., _Le Dernier Mot du Socialisme, par un Catholique_,
printed in 1848, prohibited in 1852.
=41. Magnetism and Spiritualism, 1840–1874.=--From the year 1840,
the Inquisition published a series of decrees or opinions in regard to
the theory of animal magnetism, but did not undertake to lay down any
final conclusions. Certain expressions of opinion were also given in
regard to the theories grouped under the name of spiritualism, but for
this subject also there is wanting from the censorship authorities any
authoritative or final word of counsel. From the long list of writings
by the spiritualists of the time, only about a dozen were formally
condemned. The list includes:
Kardec, Allan, _Revue Spirite, Journal d’Études Psychologiques_,
1858–1864; _Le Spiritisme à sa plus simple Expression_, printed in
1862, prohibited in 1864; _Le Livre des Esprits_, printed in 1863,
prohibited in 1864.
Guldenstubbe, L. V., _Positive Pneumatologie_, printed in 1870,
prohibited in 1874.
Under magnetism may be noted:
Cahagnet, L. A., _Guide du Magnétiseur; Le Magnétisme
Spiritualiste_.
With this group may also be classed the Memoir of Swedenborg by the
Protestant theologian, J. Matter of Strasbourg, _Swedenborg, Sa Vie,
ses Écrits et sa Doctrine_, printed in 1863, prohibited in 1864.
=42. French Authors, 1835–1884.=--Among the more important of the
books by French authors which are represented in the Index during this
half-century may be noted the following:
Ségur, Mgr. L. G. de (1881), _La Piété et la Vie Intérieure_,
printed in 1864, prohibited in 1869. The name of the author is not
recorded in the Index and it is stated that the omission was due to
personal consideration for him. Ségur states, in an article printed
in 1860, that the monograph, before being brought into print, had
been passed upon with approval by a number of devout scholars. He said
further, that seventeen thousand copies had been distributed and that
during the five years since the publication no criticism concerning it
had come to him. He yields himself now to the authority of the Holy See
and recalls the work from circulation.
Cloquet, Abbé. This author comes into the Index in 1864, on the ground
of a series of monographs having to do with the subject of indulgences.
Alletz, P. A. (†1785), _Dictionnaire Portatif des Conciles_, printed in
1758 and reissued in 1822, first prohibited (with a _d.c._) in 1859.
Caron, L. H., Abbé, _La Vraie Doctrine de la Sainte-Église_, printed in
1852, prohibited in 1856.
Siguier, Aug., _Christ et le Peuple_, printed in 1835, prohibited in
1836.
Marne, M. G. de la, _La Religion Défendue contre les Préjugés et la
Superstition_, printed in 1823, prohibited in 1843.
Quinet, Edgar (1803–1875), _Ahasuérus_, printed in 1833, prohibited
in 1835; _La Génie de Religion_, printed in 1842, prohibited in 1844;
_L’Allemagne et l’Italie_, printed in 1839, prohibited in 1848; _La
Révolution_, printed in 1865, prohibited in 1866.
Michelet, J., _Mémoires de Luther_ (a translation from the German),
printed in 1835, prohibited in 1840; _Du Prêtre_, _De la Femme_, _De
la Famille_, _L’Amour_, _La Sorcière_, _La Bible_, _De l’Humanité_,
printed between 1845 and 1864, prohibited promptly after publication.
Mickiewicz, Adam (1798–1855), _L’Église Officielle et le Messianisme_,
printed in 1843, prohibited in 1848.
Renan, E. The writings of this author ought properly to have come into
the Index under the specification _Opera omnia_. The Congregation
appears to have taken prompt action concerning each book as soon as
information of the publication came to hand, but a few titles escaped
attention. The more important of those recorded are the following: _Le
Livre de Job_, _Étude d’Histoire Religieuse_, _Origine du Langage_,
_Histoire des Langues Sémitiques_, _Averroés et l’Averroisme_, _Vie de
Jésus_, _L’Antéchrist_, _Les Évangiles_, _La Mort de Jésus_. (These
books appeared between the years 1858 and 1884.)
Pêyrat, Alphonse, _Histoire Élémentaire de Jésus_, printed in 1864,
prohibited the same year.
Soury, Jules, _Jésus et les Évangiles_, printed 1878, prohibited 1878.
Scholl, _Le Procès de Jésus_, printed in 1878, prohibited 1878.
Havet, E., _Le Christianisme et ses Origines_, printed 1873, prohibited
1878.
Aube, B., _Histoire des Persécutions de l’Église_; _Histoire de
l’Église_; _La Polémique Paienne à la fin du deuxième siècle_; _Le
Christianisme dans l’Empire Romain_, printed 1876–1880, prohibited as
published.
Larroque, P., _Examen des Doctrines de la Religion Chrétienne_;
_L’Esclavage chez les Nations Chrétiennes_, printed in 1859–1864,
prohibited as published. Later writings by this author were also placed
on the Index, apparently in so far as their titles were brought to the
attention of the Congregation.
Jacolliot, L., _La Bible dans l’Inde_; _Vie de Jezeus Chrishna_, an
identification of Christ with the Chrishna of the Hindus, printed in
1869, prohibited the same year. A group of later writings by this
author were also promptly condemned.
Rodrigues, H., _Les trois Filles de la Bible_, printed in 1865; _Les
Origines du Sermon de la Montagne_, printed in 1868; _La Justice de
Dieu_, printed in 1869; _Histoire du Premier Christianisme_, printed
in 1873. The above books were prohibited together in 1877 with the
specification: “these works are condemned in accordance with the
Constitution of Clement VIII, issued in 1592, on the ground of their
presenting Jewish writings which contain heresies and errors tending to
undermine Christian doctrine.”
Lajollais, Mlle. Nathalie de, _Le Lime des Mères des Families sur
l’Éducation Pratique des Femmes_, printed in 1845, prohibited (with a
_d.c._) in 1846.
Gréville, Mme. Henri, _Instruction Morale et Civile des Jeunes Filles_,
printed in 1882, prohibited the same year.
Bert, Paul, _L’Instruction Civile à l’École_, printed in 1883,
prohibited the same year. The volume of Bert had been officially
adopted for use in the schools of Paris and also in certain other
of the large cities. The decree of the Index was published by the
Archbishop of Albi and by the Bishops of Annécy, Viviers, Langres,
and Valence. The ecclesiastical authorities were sharply reproved by
the magistracy for their interference in the matter and for their
undertaking to criticise the action of the Government in a matter
which, as it was claimed, belonged to the temporalities. In May, 1883,
Minister Ferry, speaking in the Senate, says:
“We will never recognise as binding in a matter of this kind
the conclusions or judgments of the Congregation of the Index.
We propose to maintain free from interference the Gallican and
the French tradition of the independence of the civil power. How
is it possible to conceive that a Frenchman would be prepared
to accept conclusions of a body like the Congregation which has
in past years seen fit to condemn and to attempt to repress
great spirits of humanity like Descartes, Malebranche, Kant,
Renan, Bouillet?... I understand that a manual by Compayré was
condemned because the author says that it is more important for
a child to know the names of the Kings of France than those of
the Kings of Judea.... This Index decree is sent out over the
heads of our ambassador in Rome and of the Papal Nuncio in Paris
in such manner as to arouse needless antagonism in France.”
=43. Italian Writings, 1840–1876.=--Of the works by Italian authors
condemned during this period, the following may be noted as indicating
the policy of the Congregation.
Lazzeretti, David, _Opuscula omnia quocumque Idiomate edita_, printed
in 1876, prohibited in 1878. Lazzeretti represented a mystic school of
thought. He had for a time been in favour with Pius IX.
Gravina, D. B., _Su l’Origine dell’ Anima_, printed in 1870,
prohibited in 1875.
Nuytz, G. N., _Juris ecclesiastici Institutiones_, printed in
1844, prohibited in 1851. In this condemnation, the critics have
taken the pains to specify certain propositions which are considered
pernicious.
Zobi, Ant., _Storia civile della Toscana_, 1737–1848, prohibited in
1856.
Amari, Mich., _Storia dei Musulmani in Sicilia_, volume one, printed in
1845, prohibited in the same year. The following volumes of this work
escaped condemnation.
Rusconi, Carlo, _La Repubblica Romana del 1849_, printed in 1849,
prohibited in 1850.
Leva, Jus. de, _I Jesuiti e la Repubblica di Venezia_, printed in
1866, prohibited in 1873.
Cantu, E., _Storia Universale_, printed in 1858, prohibited in 1860.
Torti, Giov., _Un Abisso in Roma_, printed in 1864, prohibited (by
the Inquisition) in 1865.
=44. American Writings, 1822–1876.=--The first work by an American
author which finds place in the Index is a monograph by W. Hogan,
a priest in Philadelphia, having to do with a controversy that had
arisen concerning the Church of Saint Mary which Bishop Henry Conwell
proposed to have consecrated as a cathedral. The action of the Bishop
was contested in some fashion by the trustees acting on behalf of Hogan
who wanted to retain his pastorate. Hogan’s pamphlet was condemned
in 1822. Hogan finally gave up the contest and at the same time left
the Catholic Church and married. In 1864, was placed upon the Index
a translation, printed in New York, of a monograph by Fr. Hollick,
entitled _Guia de los Cassados o Historia Natural de la Generacion_.
Draper, J. W., _History of the Conflict between Religion and Science_,
printed (in New York) in 1874, prohibited (in a Spanish version) in
1876.
Canada is represented in the Index of this period by the titles of
two year-books issued by a literary association in Montreal, which,
printed in 1858–9, were prohibited in 1864. In the year 1858, at which
time the association contained seven hundred members, a proposition,
submitted at the instance of certain ecclesiastics in the membership,
was brought up for consideration, under which all non-Catholic members
were to be excluded and two Protestant journals were to be removed
from the reading-room. This proposal was voted down, and on that
ground and also on the further complaint that the library contained
pernicious literature, the Catholic members were called upon to leave
the association. One hundred and fifty left and instituted a Catholic
French-Canadian institute. The majority of the original association
issued a statement declaring that the library contained no unworthy
books and that, in any case, the decision concerning its literature
rested with the managers of the association. In April, 1858, Bishop
Bourget issued a pastoral brief in which he reminded the members of
the old association that the reading or possession of heretical books
involved the penalty of excommunication, and that any books recorded in
the Index were to be classed as heretical. The institute was instructed
to recall its action, and if it refused, the Catholic members were
ordered to resign, under penalty of excommunication. Two hundred
Catholics disregarded the command of the Bishop and remained members.
They explained that they did not assert the right to read forbidden
books, but they did maintain their right to remain members of a society
in whose collections such books might be contained. In 1864, these
Catholic members took the pains to place before the Bishop a catalogue
of the library with the request that he would indicate the books
classed as pernicious and with the suggestion that these books should
be placed in a separate collection. To this proposition the Bishop paid
no attention, whereupon seventeen of the members made direct appeal to
Pope Pius IX. From the Pope they received no reply, but in July, 1869,
the Bishop, then in Rome, sent to Montreal a pastoral brief in which
he reported that the Inquisition declared the work of the institution
to be pernicious. He reported, further, that the annual volume of the
Canadian institute for 1868 (in which volume were contained certain
addresses on toleration and freedom of conscience) had been condemned
and that any person possessing or reading this year-book or remaining
in the institute had come into mortal sin and must be refused the
sacraments. Later in the year, a second memorial was addressed to the
prefect of the Propaganda by the Catholic members of the institute, in
which they stated that they accepted without question the condemnation
of the year-book. To this memorial no reply was received. The Bishop,
however, declared in a report to the vicar-general that the submission
rendered in this memorial was inadequate because the writers remained
members of an institute in which was maintained the righteousness of
religious toleration. In November, 1869, died a distinguished Catholic
member of the institute named Guibord, a man whose life had been above
reproach. The pastor and the other authorities refused to make burial
of the body even without religious ceremonies. The widow secured a
provisional interment in unconsecrated ground. She then instituted a
suit demanding the right of burial in consecrated ground. The suit
continued until after her death in 1873. In November, 1874, the
judicial committee of the priory council in London decided that the
body was entitled to burial in the consecrated ground of his pastoral
church and decided further that the Church authorities must provide for
the very considerable expenses of the suit. The re-burial took place
in November, 1875, after the Church authorities had filed a protest
and had ordered faithful Catholics to take no part in the ceremonies.
The record is of value in the history of censorship proceedings as an
example of the overriding by the authority of the State of a decision
of the Church, in regard to a matter which had heretofore been held
as belonging strictly within ecclesiastical control, namely the right
of burial in consecrated ground. In 1870, a later annual giving
the record of the conclusion of the process, was condemned by the
Inquisition.[55]
The contributions to the Index from the literature of South America are
for this period more considerable than those from the United States and
Canada. The following titles indicate the direction of the censorship.
Vidaurre, Manuel Lorenzo de, _Proyecto del codigo eclesiastico_,
printed (in Paris) in 1830, condemned in 1833. The author, a doctor
of law of the University of Lima, was Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Peru. His “project” proposed certain rather radical changes
in ecclesiastical regulations. _Tratado sobre Denaciones_, printed (in
Madrid) in 1820, prohibited in 1833. In the same year were placed upon
the Index three monographs by Vidaurre, one on the Bishop of Rome and
the condition of the Church, the second on Celibacy, and the third on
Confession.
Vigil, Francisco P. G. de, _Defensa de la Autoridad de los Gobiernos
y de los Obispos contra las Pretenciones de la Curia Romana_, printed
(in Lima) in 1848, prohibited in 1851. The author was a priest and at
the time of his death Curator of the National Museum at Lima. The work,
issued in six volumes, octavo, gives consideration to almost every
detail of the organisation of the Church. _Manual de Derecho Publico
Eclesiastico, and Dialogos sobre la Existencia de Dios y la Vida
futura, á la Juventud Americana_, printed (in Lima) in 1863, prohibited
in 1864. Vigil died in June, 1875. He had declined to submit himself to
the condemnation of the Church and he was therefore refused the last
sacraments. The Congress of Peru directed, however, that he should have
the honour of a public funeral.
La Riva, J. F., _El Espiritu del Evangelio comparado con las Practicas
de la Iglesia Catolica_, printed (in Lima) in 1867, prohibited in the
same year.
Fotvárad, Carlos H. de, _O Casamento civil_, etc., printed (in
Rio Janeiro) in 1858, prohibited in 1859. This monograph was written
in reply to a treatise, published in Rio in 1858, by Canon de Campo.
The author undertook to maintain the exclusive authority of the Church
(as against the State) in all matters connected with marriage. _Las
Biblias falsificadas_, etc., printed (in Rio) in 1867, prohibited in
1869. This was a further criticism of the utterances of de Campo.
D’Aranjo, M. R. (Bishop of Rio), _Elementos dé direito Eclesiastico
publico_, etc., printed (in Rio) in 1857, prohibited in 1869.
_Compendio de Theologia Moral_, printed (in Oporto) in 1858, prohibited
in 1869.
Monte, Carmelo J. de, _O Brazil Mystificado na Questao religiosa_,
printed in 1875, prohibited in 1876.
Mexico is represented in the Index of the period by a treatise entitled
_Conducta_, the work of D. J. C. Portugal, Bishop of Michoachon,
printed (in Mexico) in 1835, prohibited in 1840; and by two treatises
of N. Pizarro, _Catecismo Politico Constitutional_, and _Catecismo de
Moral_, printed in 1867, prohibited in 1869.
=45. Periodicals, 1832–1900.=--In 1832, the Congregation of the
Index issued a declaration stating that the regulations of the Index
of Trent (renewed in the succeeding Indexes) concerning ecclesiastical
censorship, covered material printed in journals as well as that
published in books. After the year 1848, however, the attempt to
enforce in Rome ecclesiastical censorship, over the contents of
journals as given up was impracticable. It was pointed out that no
advantage could be secured in placing upon the Index journal issues of
a back date, the reading of which had already been completed.
During the 18th century, however, various attempts were made to
control the literary policy of journals the managers of which were
within reach of ecclesiastical authority, and during the 19th century,
censorship decrees were issued in regard to a number of journals which
concerned themselves with ecclesiastical subjects. The only practicable
measure to take against journals the articles in which are judged to
be pernicious in their influence is to prohibit the faithful from
reading or from possessing copies of the same. It has, however, been
found convenient, in the cases in which such prohibitions appeared
to be called for, to have the same issued and enforced, not by the
Congregation, but by the local authorities.
After 1850, the Minister of the Interior in the papal States printed
lists of the foreign journals the reading of which was forbidden.
1862. December. Adames, Apostolic Vicar of Luxemburg, declared in a
pastoral letter that the publisher of the _Courier de Luxemburg_ and
his editors were excommunicated. The subscribers and readers of the
journal were to be excluded from the sacraments on the ground that they
were helping to support a work of Satan. The publisher took the matter
into the courts, but the judges dismissed the complaint against Adames,
taking the ground that his action was within his ecclesiastical and
legal rights. (Vering, _Archiv_, X, 422, XII, 172.)
In 1863, the Patriarch of Venice and the ten Venetian bishops, in a
pastoral letter, prohibited the reading of three journals specified.
1870. Melchers, Archbishop of Cologne, published an instruction
against the _Rheinische Merkur_, with which instruction the Bishop of
Mayence and the Capitular-Vicar of Münster concurred. The Bishop of
Paderborn issued an edict forbidding, as a mortal sin, the possession
of a copy of the journal. No action appears to have been taken by the
publishers, possibly because the circulation of the _Merkur_ was not
seriously affected by these episcopal fulminations.
1871. Under instructions of Pius IX, a circular letter was issued by
Cardinal Vicar Patrizzi to the pastors or parish priests directing
them to forbid to their parishioners the reading of certain Roman
journals. The list included _La Libertà_, _Il Capital_, _Il Tempo_,
_La nuova Roma_, _La Vita Nuova_, and six others. Disobedience to this
order was to be classed as a grievous sin. In 1873, a papal brief gave
certain general instructions in regard to journals. It pointed out
that these were covered by rules 2 and 7 of the Index. Papers were to
be considered sheet by sheet, simply as open books. Permission might
be accorded to a person to whom the information was necessary, to read
in heretical or dangerous papers the political or financial articles,
but the permission should be strictly limited to these portions of the
journal.
In 1882, September, the Patriarch of Venice prohibited in like manner
the reading of _Il Veneto Christiano_, and of _Fra Paolo Sarpi_, as
“godless, blasphemous, and heretical productions.” The Patriarch
declared that the publisher and those who read these journals with
belief were excommunicated.
1885. February. The Archbishop Magnasco, of Geneva, condemned the
_Epoca_. Editor, publisher, distributor, and readers were alike
condemned to excommunication. Whoever buys or reads a number, or gives
it to another, has committed mortal sin.
=46. The Roman Question, 1859–1870.=--Between the years 1859–1861,
a number of monographs and volumes, chiefly by French writers, were
brought into print that had to do with the question of the political
authority of the Papacy. These French theories brought out a full
measure of criticism and condemnation. Among the works thus reproved
was a treatise by La Guérronnière, _La France, Rome et l’Italie_,
printed in 1861, in regard to which Cardinal Antonelli issued a
specific condemnation. No single title of the group is, however, to
be found in the Index. The monograph by La Guérronnière expressed, as
was well understood, the views of the Emperor Napoleon III, and had
probably been written at the Emperor’s suggestion. A companion volume
was published about the same time by Edmund About and this also was
sharply condemned not only by Cardinal Antonelli but also by a number
of the French bishops, including Dupanloup. The list of the Italian
controversial publications on this question is also considerable. The
earlier works had to do simply with the political authority of the
pope, but since 1870, a number of writers have given attention to the
desirability, on the ground of the welfare of Italy and also of that
of the Church universal, of the reconciliation of the Papacy with the
Government of the United Italy. These writings were met with sharp
condemnation on the part of Pius IX and Leo XIII and of the supporters
of the civil authority of the Papacy, but in only few instances was
action taken in regard to them by the Congregation of the Index.
=47. The Council of the Vatican, 1867–1876.=--The conclusions reached
by the council held in the Vatican in 1867 resulted in the publication
of a number of controversial works of which certain titles found their
way into the Index. The more important of these are the following:
Michelis, Fr., _Fünfzig Thesen über die Gestaltung der kirchlichen
Verhältnisse der Gegenwart_, printed in 1867, condemned in 1868.
Renouf, Le Page, _La Condamnation du Pape Honorius_, printed in
1868, prohibited in the same year.
“Janus” (the name adopted for the moment by Döllinger) _Der Papst und
das Concilium_, printed in 1869, prohibited in the same year.
Wallon, Jean, _La Vérité sur le Concile_, printed in 1872, prohibited
in 1873.
Dupanloup, Archbishop, _Testament Spirituel de Montalembert_, and _La
Cour de Rome et la France_, printed in 1871, prohibited in 1872.
Pressensé, _Le Concile du Vatican_, printed in 1872, prohibited in 1876.
In 1870, the general Congregation published a protest, signed by a
number of members of the council, calling for the specific condemnation
of a series of newspapers, articles, and pamphlets in which the work
of the council had been criticised. The secretary of the Congregation
of the Index reported, however, that it did not seem wise to take
action. During the years 1871 and 1872, were, however, condemned by
the Inquisition a number of periodical articles on the work of the
council by such authors as Lord Acton, Berchtold, Friedrich, Ruckgaber,
Schulte, Zirngiebl, and others.
=48. Example of a License.=--A license given by the inquisitor-general
of Spain to Dr. Andrew Sall in June, 1652, states that he was
permitted to keep and to read prohibited books for use in connection
with the writing of any doctrinal or devotional books or treatises.
The holder of the license was charged with the duty of giving
information to his Grace of any censurable propositions that he might
find in books, ancient or modern, which might not already have been
comprehended in the expurgatory Index. The license was marked as
duly entered in the record of licenses, the page (Number 138) giving
indication of a considerable series of licenses outstanding. These
instruments were renewed from year to year. Dr. Sall relates that with
the second grant came a complaint that he had reported no censurable
propositions. He had excused himself by saying that he had not had
in his hands any Protestant books; but he gave specification of some
perverse and apparently heretical doctrines he had found in certain
books which were approved and were much in use with themselves. He gave
as an example citations from the Commentaries on Esther by de Murcia:
_Etiam Deus Op. Max. proposita ante oculos morte in meliora contendat_;
and
_Etiam demon morte ante oculos constituta contendit in meliora_.[56]
Sleumer gives the following example of the form in force to-day (1906)
for an application for the permission to read forbidden books.
“To the very reverend Vicar-General of the diocese: The undersigned
respectfully request permission for the reading of certain books which
have been specifically forbidden in the Index or which in their class
come under the general provisions of the Index. The requirement is
based upon the following grounds:...
“The undersigned feels assured that the proposed use of this forbidden
literature may be made by him on these grounds without any undermining
of his faith or any interference with his conscientious duty to the
Holy Church.”[57]