What does it matter, as long as the original is still available and as long as the sanitized versions are marked thusly and paying royalties? Reader's Digest and classic literature are edited and I've never heard of any lawsuits concerning such.
Reader's Digest has agreements with publishers to produce condensed books. (I haven't even seen them in years; do they still do it?)
Classic literature is out of copyright.
What matters is whether PERMISSION was given by the copyright holder or not. Permission was never given in this case.