by Sue Ann Whitston
MALS program, University of Michigan Dearborn
download a copy of this paper: The Index of Banned Books
image courtesy the Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University
The Index of Banned Books [editor: Index librorum prohibitorum] saw conflicts and misunderstandings during its history. Though Galileo’s Dialogue did not appear on the list until 1664, the Index of Banned Books began as the Muratorian Canon in C. AD. 170. The Canon declared which New Testament books would be excluded from liturgical usage. Two sources provide conflicting origins. One source, the New Catholic Encyclopedia, placed the composition date during the pontificate of Pius I (AD 14-155) because of the poorly phrased Latin, suggesting a translation from Greek.1 In the second source, Roy Hoover stated Marcion believed the Jewish scriptures should be eliminated from the Christian institutions following the Bar Kochba Rebellion. This kindled the church to determine which secular writings should be placed in the Canon. Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, selected twenty books. The number fluctuated until 631 C.E. when the Roman Emperor Constantine sent a letter to Eusebius to print fifty Bibles. This action settled the debate of what would appear in the New Testament, culled from gospels, dialogues/revelations attributed to Jesus, Jesus’ birth, Acts of the Apostles, homilies and other secular material. The Council of Trent accepted the official Roman Catholic Canon April 8, 1546.2 Since the Protestant Canon differed from the Catholic Canon, a conflict in ideas continued into the present. Essentially, the Muratorian Canon was the first Index of Banned Books. The Inquisition under Pope Paul IV in 1557 wrote the first Index. In 1571, a committee of cardinals and a prelate, under Pope Pius V, established The Assembly on the List of Banned Books. Starting with 22 rules, the committee drafted sixteen, divided into four groups: books written against the Catholic faith, books on superstitions and false moral values, books by anonymous authors and printers whose content could damage the Christian faith, and books inflicting damage on ecclesiastical or civilian reputations.3 In other words, The Assembly scrutinized what people could read, avoiding anything detrimental to what the Catholic Church believed at the time. This was wrong. Unless there were changes, the Index of Banned Books could wield an injustice on people learning.
There were two notable changes during the years before the Index was dissolved. One, the Holy Office permitted book publication teaching the earth’s motion in 1822.4 A date given but no scientific or technological evidence to suggest a reason for adopting books teaching the Earth’s motion. Thirteen years later in 1835, the books written by Galileo, Kepler and Copernicus were removed. The second notable change occurred during the Vatican Council I meeting in 1870. They requested a revision to the church’s policy on restricting the number of books explicitly condemned.5 Time for a change because The Assembly had made a formidable list? A long list might leave authors and publishers feeling nothing was good, leading to frustration. In 1966, the Index was dissolved and became a historical document. Thus, the church declared,
In the aftermath of the Modernist crisis, the bitter controversy that arose from the intensified effort to suppress open investigation and inquiry in theology, biblical studies, and the philosophy drew attention to the appropriateness of the Index of Prohibited Books as part of the Church’s apostolic mission within modernity.6
Evidence of a change, it was time to accept misunderstandings as one cause of injustice for the sake of religion over science.
After abolishing the Indices, the hardship that had wrought widespread dissatisfaction among the Catholic leaders and harsh restrictions on the citizens changed attitudes. Authors and printers need not fear excommunication because they were caught publishing heretical books. Booksellers no longer had to maintain an exact list of their stock and be prepared for impromptu inspections. When a book was on the Index, readers were more determined to keep their books and risk being punished.7 Thus, the end of the Index of Banned Books made people relax without worrying about misunderstandings when they reached for a book.
[Editor's note: the University of Pennsylvania has a list of banned books, edited by John Mark Ockerbloom.
1 “Muratorian Canon.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. (The Gale Group, Inc. 2003) 64
2 Hoover, Roy W. “How the Canon Was Formed,” The Fourth R Vol.5, 1 January/February 1992 Accessed 25 Mar 2006 <www.westarinsitute.org>
3 “Index of Banned Books.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. (The Gale Group, Inc. 2003) 389-391
4 Sobel, Dana. Galileo’s Daughters: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love. (Walker and Company, New York. 1999) Sobel Timeline
5 Ibid.
6 “Index of Banned Books.” 391
7 Alvarez, Jorge Garibay. “Banned Books.” Mexico Desconocido. Accessed 12 Feb 2004. <http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx>
