Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur

[landon13]

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of different book reviews lately online about some more “modernist” or “liberal” Catholic books that I have recently bought used and put into my “other” section on my religious bookshelf.

Namely, one book that has caught a lot of strife in the Catholic community called “Catholicism: Study Edition” by: Fr. Richard McBrien. (Ph.D. in Theology)

I understand that this book shows a more theologically “open” view to different Catholic viewpoints and is not just the cookie-cutter Catechism of doctrine. I am not advocating this book or its theologies but I feel that for anyone to truly be firm in Catholicism they should also be able to study a wide variety of non-Catholic or more heterodox Catholic doctrines and be able to prove these wrong i.e., (Richard Dawkins, Martin Luther, Calvin, &c.,)

So, let me get down to my main question: I have seen so many times that Catholics will not even pick up a book that has anything to do spiritually with the Faith unless it has either a Nihil Obstat or an Imprimatur or both. Why is that?

God bless!

 

[Joe_5859]

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of different book reviews lately online about some more “modernist” or “liberal” Catholic books that I have recently bought used and put into my “other” section on my religious bookshelf.

Namely, one book that has caught a lot of strife in the Catholic community called “Catholicism: Study Edition” by: Fr. Richard McBrien. (Ph.D. in Theology)

I understand that this book shows a more theologically “open” view to different Catholic viewpoints and is not just the cookie-cutter Catechism of doctrine. I am not advocating this book or its theologies but I feel that for anyone to truly be firm in Catholicism they should also be able to study a wide variety of non-Catholic or more heterodox Catholic doctrines and be able to prove these wrong i.e., (Richard Dawkins, Martin Luther, Calvin, &c.,)

So, let me get down to my main question: I have seen so many times that Catholics will not even pick up a book that has anything to do spiritually with the Faith unless it has either a Nihil Obstat or an Imprimatur or both. Why is that?

God bless!

I think it’s correct that some Catholics would benefit from reading these types of books in order to be able to respond to them (I own the book you are talking about myself). But I don’t think all or even most would so benefit.

Not everyone is called to be a theologian. Not everyone is equipped to sift out the often very subtle errors. And most people simply don’t have much time to devote to theological reading. So why spend what little time they have on books that they cannot trust? Better to stick to books that they know to be worthwhile.

 

[floresco]

I think it’s correct that some Catholics would benefit from reading these types of books in order to be able to respond to them (I own the book you are talking about myself). But I don’t think all or even most would so benefit.

Not everyone is called to be a theologian. Not everyone is equipped to sift out the often very subtle errors. And most people simply don’t have much time to devote to theological reading. So why spend what little time they have on books that they cannot trust? Better to stick to books that they know to be worthwhile.

Excellent response, Joe. I recommend that anyone who does think he should be reading suspect books should have a spiritual director or some other form of accountability. It is spiritually dangerous work and those who do it need “safety equipment.”

 

[thistle]

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of different book reviews lately online about some more “modernist” or “liberal” Catholic books that I have recently bought used and put into my “other” section on my religious bookshelf.

Namely, one book that has caught a lot of strife in the Catholic community called “Catholicism: Study Edition” by: Fr. Richard McBrien. (Ph.D. in Theology)

I understand that this book shows a more theologically “open” view to different Catholic viewpoints and is not just the cookie-cutter Catechism of doctrine. I am not advocating this book or its theologies but I feel that for anyone to truly be firm in Catholicism they should also be able to study a wide variety of non-Catholic or more heterodox Catholic doctrines and be able to prove these wrong i.e., (Richard Dawkins, Martin Luther, Calvin, &c.,)

So, let me get down to my main question: I have seen so many times that Catholics will not even pick up a book that has anything to do spiritually with the Faith unless it has either a Nihil Obstat or an Imprimatur or both. Why is that?

God bless!

Most books of my favourite Catholic authors Bishop Fulton Sheen, Father Benedict Groeschel, Peter Kreeft, and Eugene Kennedy have no Imprimatur or Nihil Obstat.

 

[Bonnie]

Most books of my favourite Catholic authors Bishop Fulton Sheen, Father Benedict Groeschel, Peter Kreeft, and Eugene Kennedy have no Imprimatur or Nihil Obstat.

That is true. The Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat are also no longer a guarantee that material are free from error. When my children were still in religious ed, I noticed that the materials - which had both the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat - had some doctrinal errors. I pointed this out to our priest, he read them over and discontinued the parish subscription of the materials.

I think that most dioceses no longer have the funds or manpower to read everything that’s published.

 

[malphono]

That is true. The Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat are also no longer a guarantee that material are free from error.

Actually, it was never the case that a “Nihil Obstat” and/or “Imprimatur” was a guarantee that the contents were free of any error. It simply meant (and means) that those who gave their approbation did not determine that anything was objectionable. But, as with so many things, such determination can be quite subjective.

 

[floresco]

Most books of my favourite Catholic authors Bishop Fulton Sheen, Father Benedict Groeschel, Peter Kreeft, and Eugene Kennedy have no Imprimatur or Nihil Obstat.

Father McBrien is not comparable to these authors. He does not simply lack a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. The book in question has been explicitly disapproved by the USCCB.

from Wikipedia:

McBrien’s two volume work, Catholicism, does not bear a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur declarations from the Church that state the book is free of moral or doctrinal error. It was officially disapproved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the grounds that many of its statements are “inaccurate or misleading,” that it exaggerates “plurality” within the Catholic theological tradition, and that it overemphasizes “change and development” in the history of Catholic doctrine, even though official dogmas of the Catholic Church are, according to the Magisterium, unchangeable truths.

 

[thistle]

Father McBrien is not comparable to these authors. He does not simply lack a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. The book in question has been explicitly disapproved by the USCCB.

from Wikipedia:

I’m not disputing that. I’m saying that having no imprimatur or nihil obstat does not mean a book should not be read.
Personally, I would not buy a book by someone I did not know without first researching about the author and his works.

 

[floresco]

I’m not disputing that. I’m saying that having no imprimatur or nihil obstat does not mean a book should not be read.
Personally, I would not buy a book by someone I did not know without first researching about the author and his works.

I agree about the need for research. The lack or presence of the imprimatur and nihil obstat do not, on their own, give enough information to make a decision.

 

[getysbg]

I recently purchased a book on the early Church fathers in a Catholic store. . I was intriqued by the covers ( kudos to the marketing people) and failed to check for either approval. If I had, I wouldn’t have purchased it as there were none. Sixty pages into it I discovered error, found out it wasn’t a Catholic book and headed back to the store. Boy, were they embarassed. I consider myself to be fairly intelligent but I do not have the time to waste like that. I want info I can rely on.

 

[Bonnie]

I consider myself to be fairly intelligent but I do not have the time to waste like that. I want info I can rely on.

If a title and/or cover look Catholic, I check the publisher. I don’t have a list of all publishers memorized, but I know, for instance, that Harvest House will be anti-Catholic. And publishers like Ignatius are definitely Catholic.

 

[Chatter163]

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of different book reviews lately online about some more “modernist” or “liberal” Catholic books that I have recently bought used and put into my “other” section on my religious bookshelf.

Namely, one book that has caught a lot of strife in the Catholic community called “Catholicism: Study Edition” by: Fr. Richard McBrien. (Ph.D. in Theology)

OK, but please know that this book was written nearly thirty years ago, in Fr, McBrien’s heyday, and during a period (70s/80s) when radical theology was in full swing in this country. While this school of thought is far from dead, it has been slowly dying since the 90s, as a new generation of priests who do not carry such baggage takes the center seat.