The Council of Trent seems to justify its own authority by saying that it is “lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, the same legates of the apostolic see presiding, adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the unanimous teaching of other councils and of the Fathers” (Voorst 359). The Council of Trent adds canons on the Holy sacraments of the church in order to “destroy the errors and extirpate the heresies that in our stormy times are directed against the most holy sacraments, some of which are a revival of heresies long ago condemned by our Fathers, while other are of recent origin, all of which are exceedingly detrimental to the purity of the Catholic Church and the salvation of souls” (Voorst 358).

The council understands the origins of the sacraments (the seven, baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order and matrimony) all coming from Jesus Christ. The significance of these holy sacraments is an addition for salvation, meaning the sacraments are another part to the full aspect of salvation. So for those men who have obtained from God through faith, and faith alone, the grace of justification, they must also need the sacraments of the new law for salvation. Only those who believe the sacraments of the new law grace is conferred through Christ’s work and those who have a certain spiritual and indelible mark that cannot be repeated imprinted on the soul a character through baptism, confirmation and order. Ex opera operato is the sacraments deriving from Christ’s work and conferring power inherent in the sacrament itself while ex opera operantis is the value and role of the recipient’s or minister’s moral condition in causing or receiving sacramental grace. Not all Christians have the power to administer the Word and all the sacraments. A minister, who is in mortal sin, even if he observes all the essentials that pertain to the conferring of a sacrament, affects his sacrament. The validity of the council comes when it says that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church accustomed to be used in the administration of the sacraments may not be omitted by ministers without sin and at their pleasure. Canon 1 brings on more sacraments than the Protestant Church because it says there are seven sacraments and just seven, when the Protestant Church observes two of those seven and not all. The two that are considered sacraments in the Protestant church are communion (The Eucharist) and baptism. Canon 4 is a direct refutation of the Protestant ideals because the Protestant Church believes in salvation and justification through faith and faith alone, not with a combination of sacraments. Also, Canon 8 is a refutation of Protestant church ideals because it says that grace is achieved through works. It also says in Canon 10 and 12 (which is also a refutation of the Protestant Church) that not any Christian can administer sacraments and that priests who marry cannot confer sacraments.

So in short, the Index of Prohibited Books says that the church claims that any book that goes against or even appears to challenge the doctrines of the Catholic Church is an inauthentic book. The books are identified and classified by (local) bishops, inquisitors, and theologians who are approved by the local bishop. The church identifies books from heresiarchs such as Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, etc. and automatically forbidding them, labelling them as inauthentic. Books of other heretics, which deal with religion are also absolutely condemned and labelled inauthentic. Those books that do not deal with any religion and by bishops and inquisitors been examined by Catholic theologians and approved by them are allowed. Catholic books written by those who later fell into heresy and those who fell but returned back to the Catholic Church “may be allowed if they are approved by the theological faculty of a Catholic university or by the general inquisition” (Schroeder 365). The translations of writers are permitted if they provide nothing contrary to sound doctrine. Books such as biblical translations and manuals can be used as support material to the Vulgate as long as they are allowed by the Catholic Church. The biblical translations of the Old Testament can be allowed to learned and pious men only, provided that they are only used as elucidations for the official Bible of the Catholic Church (Vulgate). The biblical translations of the New Testament “made by authors of the first class of this list shall be permitted to no one, since great danger and little usefulness usually results to readers from their perusal” (Schroeder 365). But if with particular translations with the Vulgate edition are circulated, these may also, after the suspected passages have been taken out by the theological faculty of a Catholic university or by the general inquisition, may be permitted to those who the translation is permitted for. The Index of Prohibited Books was released at a time when the printing press was still relatively new. This meant that information could be spread much easier and faster than the time before the printing press. By having almost every book published by or at least approved (or banned) by the Catholic Church meant that there was a complete control on what would be circulated and be seen in society, specifically the Christian community. The Catholic Church would even keep regulations and restrictions on the ideas that were not directly religious in foundation. The level of details within the document showed the unsteady time the Catholic Church was in and how they went to extreme measures to keep control over the spread of ideas in Christian society.