Question about priests/ religious order members getting imprimaturs, imprimi potest, and nihil obstat

[Tis_Bearself]

I have some simple questions that have come up lately regarding theological books written by priests.

1. Does a priest have to get an imprimatur on a Catholic book which he plans to publish?
2. Does a member of a religious order have to get the imprimi potest in order to publish a Catholic book? Is this the same as the imprimatur?
3. When would a priest or a member of religious order have to get a nihil obstat on a book they were publishing?

Would like to get answers from a priest or a publishing expert if at all possible.

The context in which this has come up is that a priest who is to my knowledge in good standing has published a theological work without getting either an imprimatur or an imprimi potest (there is some debate as to whether he’s a member of an order or not) and someone else is claiming he didn’t apply for one because he knew he could not get one.

The book in question is not anything that has some big clear error of teaching in it, in other words it’s not about gay marriage or reincarnation or anything that would pop out at me as being suspect. Any issue with it is so deep in the theological weeds that it would likely be beyond my grasp to see the problem.

I am wondering whether to read the book. Several people I know have already read it.

 

[acanonlawyer]

I’m not a priest nor a publishing expert but I’ll give some answers anyway.

Does a priest have to get an imprimatur on a Catholic book which he plans to publish?

This would depend on what the book is about, exactly, as well as what his superior(s) require. The Code of Canon Law has some general legislation at canons 822 and following. A bishop/major superior/constitutions of an order can (should) have more particular law.

Does a member of a religious order have to get the imprimi potest in order to publish a Catholic book? Is this the same as the imprimatur?

This, too, depends on the subject matter of the book and the requirements of the religious order. The imprimi potest would come from his own superior while the imprimatur would come from the local ordinary (the diocese, in other words). The rationale behind granting (or not) both is basically the same but the person granting each is different.

When would a priest or a member of religious order have to get a nihil obstat on a book they were publishing?

Again, it depends on content and requirements made on the individual. Getting this declaration is the initial step in getting the imprimi potest/imprimatur. Even if the nihil obstat is not written out in a book next to the imprimi potest/imprimatur, every time an imprimi potest/imprimatur is granted, there has to have been a prior nihil obstat given by the censor of books employed by the ordinary.

Dan

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Thanks very much. I read the sections of 822 and this book would seem to fall in the category of theology book that is not being used as a textbook. If I’m reading right, the imprimatur in this case would be a “nice to have” but not a requirement.

So here is my follow-on question.
The book in question is the author’s doctoral thesis from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He published it as a book. The beginning of the book contains an approval from the University, which reads: “Ecclesiastical Approbation: The Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome, authorized by the Holy See” and also contains a note in Latin further down the page certifying that the author was granted his doctorate from that University.

The author’s position is that the Pontifical Gregorian University approved the thesis and he doesn’t need to seek other approvals.

Is this a valid position?

 

[acanonlawyer]

The author’s position is that the Pontifical Gregorian University approved the thesis and he doesn’t need to seek other approvals.

Is this a valid position?

In my view, the “approval” of a thesis is certainly not the same as the approval of a censor of books and a hierarchical superior.

Dan

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Thanks. I did suspect that the critic is correct, that if the author tried to get an actual imprimatur, it might well be denied, so that sort of confirms it in my mind. I may read the book anyway, but I just need to know these things so I can take the book in the right frame of mind.