Imprimi potest is a declaration by a major superior of a Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 religious institute

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...

 that a book on questions of religion or morals written by a member of the institute may be printed. Superiors make such declarations only after censors charged with examining the books have granted the nihil obstat

Nihil obstat

Nihil obstat is a declaration of no objection to an initiative or an appointment....

, a declaration of no objection. Final approval can then be given through the imprimatur

Imprimatur

An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...

("let it be printed") of the author's bishop or of the bishop of the place of publication.

External links

• Code of Canon Law, The Means of Social Communication and Books in Particular (canons 822-832)