Book Review: The Catholic Church and Censorship in Literature, Books, Drama, and Film

Abstract

Introduction:  Who among us was not at least slightly offended when we saw the news clips of the Taliban blowing up the statues of the Buddha? Who among us was not outraged as we saw the scenes of the tanks of the Chinese Army rolling into Tiannamen Square in the midst of student protestors? Who among us didn’t recoil at least slightly when we learned of the death sentence issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini to Salman Rushdie after the publication of his book, Satanic Verses? These dramatic actions of censorship towards art, free speech, and literature strike us as perhaps repressive, puritanical, and unenlightened. But as offensive as these acts of censorship might seem to us, do they necessarily lead us to the conclusion that all forms of censorship are wrong, unjust, and intolerable?