From dlupher@ups.edu Sun Nov 11 13:15:12 2001 Received: from mailscan4.cac.washington.edu (mailscan4.cac.washington.edu [140.142.33.15]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.11.6+UW01.08/8.11.6+UW01.10) with SMTP id fABLFBn145064 for ; Sun, 11 Nov 2001 13:15:11 -0800 Received: FROM mxu1.u.washington.edu BY mailscan4.cac.washington.edu ; Sun Nov 11 13:15:07 2001 -0800 Received: from mail.ups.edu (mail.ups.edu [192.124.98.111]) by mxu1.u.washington.edu (8.11.6+UW01.08/8.11.6+UW01.10) with ESMTP id fABLF7B13544 for ; Sun, 11 Nov 2001 13:15:07 -0800 Received: from [207.207.116.56] (wyatt1dhcp56.ups.edu [207.207.116.56]) by mail.ups.edu (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id fABLD9u16642 for ; Sun, 11 Nov 2001 13:13:09 -0800 (PST) X-Sender: dlupher@mail.ups.edu Message-Id: In-Reply-To: <001701c16a05$40893880$c9b01fc4@al40> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 13:15:06 -0800 To: classics@u.washington.edu From: David Lupher Subject: Re: serpere in Bellarmine Terrence Lockyer writes: >Ratzinger is presently head of the Congregatio de propaganda fide >("Congregration for the Propagation of the Faith" is what a relative, who is >ordained in the OMI, called it, so I presume that is still the standard >English designation). [snip] I'm neither ordained nor a relative of TL's nor even a Catholic at all, but I believe that there are two errors here. The current (as of 1966) name of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith is Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (sorry, I don't have the Latin name handy). And Cardinal Ratzinger is not the head of this, but, since 1981, of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which is, as JFG has pointed out, the current name for the Inquisition. Here are the various names under which that latter body has operated: - Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition: 1542 (Paul IV) - Sacred Congregation of the Holy Inquisition: 1588 (Sixtus V) - Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office: 1908 (Pius X) - Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: 1967 (Paul VI) (Since the mid-80's, the "Sacred" has been dropped. My source for all this is the entry on the Congregation in the "Encyclopedia of Catholicism," ed. by Richard McBrien, Harpers, 1995, p. 354.) As for the Index of Forbidden Books, which is where I think this thread started, I'm a bit fuzzy on the original relationship between the Inquisition and the Index. The first general Roman index, that of Paul IV in 1559, was produced by the Inquisition, but I gather that a separate curial department called the Congregation of the Index existed until 1917, when Benedict IV made it a subsection of the Holy Office. The Index was declared to no longer have the force of ecclesiastical law on June 14, 1966 (see the entry on "Index of Forbidden Books" in the "New Catholic Encyclopedia, Supplement 1967-74"). Nevertheless, Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "has oversight of publications of that deal with faith and morals, including oversight of documents touching on these matters that are published by other departments of the Roman Curia. It investigates and reproves writings that seem contrary or dangerous to the faith, after affording the authors the opportunity of an explanation and after appropriate warning to the competent ordinary, i.e. diocesan bishop or other religious superior." (Elizabeth McDonough, in the above-cited entry on Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in "Encyclopedia of Catholocism") I gather that the difference between what Ratzinger's Congregation does with "reproved" writings and what the Index used to do is that the current system is meant to "nip in the bud," as it were, to oversee the theological correctness of books written by priests (e.g. ordained college professors at Catholic universities), whereas the now-defunct Index focused on the publishers and readers, rather than on writers. Presumably, if a Catholic theologian manages to publish a book that displeases Cardinal Ratzinger and his Congregation, a Catholic reader may in good conscience (i.e. by following the guidance of natural law) read the book without formal censure. But the *author* of the book may nonetheless find himself in deep do-do. I don't know if any catalogue of the books falling afoul of the Congregation's "oversight" is issued--- or, if so, whether or not it's called the "Index." But if it is, it is not binding upon readers, who, since 1966, have been allowed to exercise their "mature conscience" in the selection of reading material. (See, again, the 1967-74 supplement to the "New Catholic Encyclopedia.") By the way, I have had recent occasion to consult some superb volumes providing very full documentation on the various indexes, both the general Roman indices and the various local ones (including those of the Spanish Inquisition). It is the "Index des livres interdits," edited by J.M. de Bujanda and a raft of assistants, and it is published for the Centre d'Etudes de la Renaissance of the University of Sherbrooke by Librairie Droz, Geneva. The eleven volumes for the 16th century appeared in the mid-1980's (for the Roman indices, see vols. 8-10). I don't know if they've gone on to cover later centuries. It includes photographic reproductions of the original indices, and it has catalogues of publication information, etc., on the prohibited books. It's a very impressive and useful project, and it saved my life in the nick of time. David Lupher Classics Dept. Univ. of Puget Sound .