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Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , prepared for the Supreme Council of the Thirty Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States. Charleston, 1871. Albert Pike, born December 29, 1809, was the oldest of six children born to Benjamin and Sarah Andrews Pike. Pike was raised in a Christian home and attended an Episcopal church. Pike passed the entrance examination at Harvard College when he was 15 years old, but could not attend because he had no funds. After traveling as far west as Santa Fe, Pike settled in Arkansas, where...

A few years ago I was told that at the ceremony of induction of the vicar of one of the local Anglican churches, the Bible which was handed to him had embossed on its front cover the emblem of the Freemasons, the square and compasses. It subsequently came to light that nearly all the male members of his Parochial Church Council were "on the square", and his predecessor as vicar had been a Mason as well. This is not a "low", or Evangelical, church, but very firmly in the Anglo Catholic tradition, where a number of clergy and lay people...

From a September 2006 article featured on the Our Sunday Visitor website:No pope has ever been a Mason. The Catholic Church has warily monitored Freemasonry from the time it penetrated Europe. In 1738, Pope Clement XII condemned the Craft for its dependence on mere natural virtue while ignoring Christ's unique role as Savior. He also denounced the rash oaths it demanded of members to protect trivial Lodge secrets. Catholics who joined the Masons were excommunicated, with reconciliation reserved to the pope. This decree had little effect, however, because it wasn't published in every land, nor was it always taken seriously...

Are you a Freeper Freemason? I am looking for others like me.

I have become very curious about the Freemasons and freemasonry in general. How does it "fit in" with the group of Christian religions...how about islam? What are the views and opinions of those at this site?

President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in Tuesday will incorporate several elements out of America's Masonic past. One-third of the signers of the Constitution, many of the Bill of Rights signers and America's first few presidents (except for Thomas Jefferson) were Freemasons, a fraternal organization that became public in early 18th-century England. Although it became fabulously popular in America, at one time encompassing 10 percent of the population, Pope Clement XII condemned Freemasonry in 1738 as heretical. The latest pronouncement was issued in 1983 by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - who called Masonic practices "irreconcilable" with Catholic doctrine. Still,...

Fifteen-month-old Addison Bryan just got her first pair of shoes. Because of her disability, she can't walk in them. Another year could pass before Addison takes her first steps. But today at least 50 people will be walking for her, all supporting the hospital that has cared for her since birth. Jeff and Julie Bryan of Rockwall organized the team that's participating in today's Mayor's Race, a 5K fun run accompanying the Dallas White Rock Marathon. Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children is the marathon's primary beneficiary.

  Current 2002 2001 2000 1990s     November   2000THE GREATEST CONSPIRACY THE EDITOR A few months back, during social chit-chat which turned with predictable concern to the modern plague of clerical apostasy, a venerable member of the Society of Jesus recounted various word of mouth histories of Communist infiltration of the Jesuits. These included two men sent to join the Society in Italy and Spain by their respective national Communist Parties - the former having left to return to the Party in the early 1950s after more than a dozen years of study and actual ordination; the...

There is a belief abroad in many conservative circles that the U.S. is "a Christian nation". This belief is found in perhaps its most extreme form in the Mormon doctrine that the Constitution of the United States is a divinely inspired document. Less extreme versions hold that Christian piety was an shaping influence on the thinking and writing of the Founding Fathers, and Christianity therefore has (or ought to have) a privileged position in the political and cultural life of the U.S. The Mormon doctrine is unfalsifiable. But claims about the beliefs and intentions of the Founding Fathers are not,...

WASHINGTON — Conspiracy theorists take note: The myths surrounding one of America's oldest and most enduring national symbols are about to be debunked ... if you believe the government, that is. The keepers of the Great Seal of the United States, the emblem on the back of the US$1 bill, want you to know what it is not. It is not a sign that Freemasons run the country, it has nothing to do with the occult, and it does not contain clues to a fabulous hidden treasure. It is rather the nation's stamp of authority, sovereignty and power, gracing cash...

Lesson 34: The First Commandment "Come let us praise the Lord with joy:  let us joyfully sing to God our savior.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to Him with psalms.  For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  For in His hand are all the ends of the earth:  and the heights of the mountains are His.  For the sea is His, and He made it:  and His hands formed the dry land.  Come let us adore and fall down:  and weep before the Lord that...

After decades of indirectly criticizing the Catholic Church through friendly media outlets, the powerful Mexican Masonry has now directly gone after Catholic bishops, accusing them of pretending to “control” Mexican politics by demanding the right to education and information. The previous Mexican Constitution, because of Masonic influence, stripped the Church of the right to own schools and communications media. Recently, the Mexican bishops announced they would begin a campaign to regain these rights. The Grand Lodge of the Valley of Mexico, which brings together 12,000 Masons, reacted to the proposal by calling a press conference in which Great Teacher Pedro...

A hot and fetid June night on the small Mediterranean island of Malta, and a Christian sentry patrolling at the foot of a fort on the Grand Harbour had spotted something drifting in the water. The alarm was raised. More of these strange objects drifted into view, and men waded into the shallows to drag them to the shore. What they found horrified even these battle-weary veterans: wooden crosses pushed out by the enemy to float in the harbour, and crucified on each was the headless body of a Christian knight. This was psychological warfare at its most brutal, a...

What's true and what's not about the Masons is the topic of a recent book by an expert in the history of religions. Father Manuel Guerra Gómez, who is an author of 25 books on sects and other topics, recently released "La trama masónica" (The Masonic Plot), published in Spanish by Styria. Father Guerra is a diocesan priest of Burgos, and a retired professor of the Burgos headquarters of the Faculty of Theology of Northern Spain. In this interview with ZENIT he says that "the Masonic method, atheistic in nature, reflects historical relativism and leads to the socio-cultural relativism that...

Weekend Edition Saturday, May 5, 2007 · In the 18th century, the word on the cobblestone street was that Freemasons were an occult group promoting a pagan agenda through the American government. After all, members themselves call Masonry "the craft." And the Masonic founders of America built the roads around the U.S. Capitol in the form of a five-pointed star – a pagan symbol. Then there is that "seeing eye" pyramid on the dollar bill – a known Masonic symbol. Some conspiracy theorists have argued that the pyramid is evidence of a Masonic cabal within the U.S. government. (Historians pooh-pooh...

Says Its Philosophies Are Incompatible With Church ROME, MARCH 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church has not changed its ruling on Catholic membership in the Masons, said the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti made this statement Thursday at a conference on the topic of Freemasonry held at the St. Bonaventure Pontifical Theological Faculty. The bishop presided over the congress held in cooperation with the Socio-Religious Research and Information Group of Italy. Officials of Masonic associations and grand masters also took part in the meeting. Bishop Girotti reminded his listeners that the Church has always criticized the concepts and...

We have to issue an occult watch -- perhaps "warning" is more like it -- for a new self-help trend that apparently is sweeping or beginning to sweep segments of America.   The "method" is now on DVD as a movie called The Secret, and has been featured, among other places, on Oprah and Larry King Live.   We are reluctant to readily dismiss innovative spiritual means, and always urge openness in the supernatural realm, which is so often beyond human reckoning.   But in the case of The Secret, a warning is especially needed because its claims and temptations are especially potent:...

COMMENT: In April of 1977, Smithsonian Magazine printed this picture, entitled "An Unconventional portrait of Pope Paul VI is accepted by the Vatican." A special prize will be awarded to the Freeper who can correctly identify the most Masonic symbols! Marks, get set, go! "An Unconventional portrait of Pope Paul VI is accepted by the Vatican." Smithsonian Magazine, April, 1977, Page 60-61 "Those great patrons of the arts, the Renaissance popes, usually commissioned the artist in their employ - Raphael, Titian, Velazquez - to paint their portraits. The result was some of the greatest paintings ever produced. "Since then the...

Q: A member of the RCIA program was told by another member of the parish that if they were going to become Catholic they needed to terminate their involvement with the Masonic lodge before they could join. Is this still the case in the United States? -- T.N., Howard City, Michigan A: This question is more canonical than liturgical. The Church's position with respect to membership of Masonic lodges, even though canon law no longer explicitly mentions the Masons, has not substantially changed. The new code states in Canon 1374: "A person who joins an association which plots against the...

The cameras are rolling. Michael Richards is ad-libbing. "You ought to read Hinomaus," he informs a stunned actor. Behind the monitors, the production crew is in stitches. "Hinomaus?" Like so many of Richards' impromptus, it's ridiculous, and real, and funny at the same time.

Congratulations to Craig Heimbichner who identified the most Masonic symbols in the creepy and twisted "portrait" of Paul VI presented to, and accepted by, Paul VI in the 70's. (Hit the link for the original post and the picture printed by Smithsonian Magazine in April of 1977.) And the symbols are: 1. Three pillars 2. Two columns 3. Cresent moon 4. Various Pentagrams 5. Sphynx at the top of the pillar 6. The columns and angles combine to form a square and compass 7. The point within the circle at the top is an old Illuminati symbol 8. Above Paul...

Is Masonry just a harmless fraternity?In the past century, enrollment in the group has plunged in both Europe, where it was once a huge threat to Catholicism, and the U.S., which now has over half of the world's Masons (despite the closing of its halls in many cities).  It is not a movement on the upswing. And the average member of Freemasonry, as it is more formally known, is not aware of the deeply occultic origin of its rituals. Many don't even know that the Catholic Church has consistently condemned them. Freemasonry had its origins in masons who built the...

Is the Devil in the Details of D.C. Streets?Laris Karklis -- The Washington Post

COMMENT: New-Church Catholics who have fully embraced the ecumenical, Romasonic Catholic creed will be shocked to learn that the "naturalism" or "universalism" preached by Masonry was condemned for centuries by the real Roman Catholic Church. Since the Grand Lodge started claiming Popes as enrolled members, the condemnations have all but ceased. For Freepers wondering what the big deal is about Fez bedecked men driving in go-carts, you're driving in the wrong direction... ### FORWARD TO THINGS CATHOLICS ARE ASKED ABOUT, by MARTIN J. SCOTT : Outside the Catholic Church there is at present very great interest in things Catholic. Sincere...

Taking heterodoxy to new levels, so-called 'Catholic' DePaul University recently provided the facilities for the installation of 235 Scottish Freemasons at their annual meeting held in Chicago. (www.supremecouncil.org/newsEvents/AnnMtgPressRelease2006.asp) Freemasonry, which cloaks itself in seemingly benign good works, has for centuries targeted the destruction of the Catholic Church by preaching a religion of universalism. It has long been their tradition that "Masonic knee bends at all altars" including Satan's. At the upper levels of Masonry, the truth that is revealed to "candidates" for illumination is an anti-Catholic mindset and agenda that focuses Masons on the secular world, and firmly away from...

In a poll of 20th century Christian personalities as to their favorite composer. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would probably win in a landslide. Protestant theologian Karl Barth once said that when he arrived in heaven he would seek out Mozart, a Catholic ahead of Luther or Calvin – for the ultra-Protestant Barth, perhaps the highest compliment imaginable. Liberal Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Küng wrote a paean to Mozart titled “Traces of Transcendence,” and his more conservative Swiss counterpart Hans Urs von Balthasas said Mozart’s music evokes the risen Christ. Jesuit Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini uses Mozart in morning prayer. Now hobbled...

[John] Wayne, arguably the No. 1 all-time cinema hero, bought into the most valuable tenets of the Shriners' fun brand of freemasonry – friendship, morality and brotherly love. Who wouldn't want to join a fraternity with tenets like those? Apparently, a lot of us these days don't. In 1975, the same year Universal Pictures released "Rooster Cogburn," the Shriners opened Afifi Shrine Temple next to the Scottish Rite Temple, on nearly 20 acres in Tacoma's West End. They needed more space to accommodate a growing membership that numbered roughly 8,700 Afifi Shriners plus their circus calliope, old clown jalopies, parade...

The Man Who Stepped Out of LineIn this post-feminist age where men are still learning remedial masculinity, we have a model of manhood lived heroically which we would do well to emulate. In the early twentieth century Poland gave us that manly priest, John Paul II, but also his hero, Maximilian Kolbe, priest, missionary, spiritual father and martyr of brotherly love. St. Maximilian’s feast day is August 14th, the vigil of his beloved Virgin Mary’s Assumption and the day which commemorates the conquest of virile love over the totalitarian creeds of his generation. As men, we could all learn a...

IS THE NEW CATHEDRAL TO PADRE PIO IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO ACTUALLY A "MASONIC TEMPLE"? I have just received and am in the process of studying a special issue, #381 (March 2006), of the Italian religious magazine “CHIESA VIVA”. It is my understanding that in March 2006 this special issue was sent by the publisher/editor of “Chiesa Viva”, Dr. Monsignor Luigi Villa, to Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary. This entire special issue deals with only one subject, that being the inauguration in July 2004...

To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See. The race of man, after its miserable fall from God, the Creator and the Giver of heavenly gifts, "through the envy of the devil," separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ; and those who desire from their heart to be united with...

With virtually no mention in the mainstream media, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez convened on June 15, the first meeting of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), an apparently extra-constitutional advisory group organized by the Department of Commerce (DOC) under the auspices of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). A March 31 press release on the White House website, under the title “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: Progress,” announced the formation of the NACC. The press release noted that the NACC would meet annually “with security and prosperity Ministers and will engage with senior government officials on an...

Standing behind the stormy campaign around the Da Vinci Code are Masons whose aim is to marginalize the Christian Church Deacon Andrey Kurayev, professor at Moscow Theological Academy and well-known Orthodox theologian, sought to dispel some of the myths underlying and referred to in the Da Vinci Code novel, in an interview to Interfax-Religion. - The stormy campaign around the Da Vinci Code, unexpected but also intriguing for many, has unwittingly put in one’s head the thought about its possible instigators. Simply speaking, qui prodest – who benefits from it? - The Da Vinci Code is a typical conspiracy work...

The minutes from Aitchison's Haven - which could be the oldest recorded stonemason lodge in the world. DAN BROWN'S next book The Solomon Key is said to speculate on the role and influence of Freemasonry. In much the same way that The Da Vinci Code has its climax in Rosslyn Chapel, it may well be that the best-selling author's latest work will also find its roots in Scotland. For if Brown's new novel is looking at alleged Masonic conspiracy in the US, then there is a strong and vocal body of Masonic historians who believe that the whole of...

When Mozart Stunned Rome; God at the Pub Wolfgang's Memory Caught a Pope's Attention ROME, JAN. 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- As any good music aficionado knows, 2006 marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Opera houses worldwide are featuring "Don Giovanni" and "Figaro," while Mozart biographies and boxed sets of concertos and sonatas proliferate in music stores. Even Rome was enchanted by this great composer and, indeed, the child prodigy from Salzburg was warmly received in the Eternal City during his brief sojourn here in 1770. Mozart is often associated with the Freemasons -- he joined the...

Pope was investigating Knights Templar before his election "The Insider" mailing list article, 30 April 2005. *** The new Pope, Benedict XVI, was actively investigating secret societies including the Knights Templar and the Illuminati, it was revealed yesterday. Details were exposed by a local newspaper in Hertfordshire, England. Cardinal Ratzinger was head of the Inquisition, the arm of the Church set up to investigate, persecute or eliminate heretics. But the curious thing is, we now know that he started his investigation shortly before he was elected as the new Pope. Did he know something? He certainly made no secret of...

Today, Catholic priests are in short supply throughout the entire world. However, with the nation’s highest ratio of priests to Catholics, the Diocese of Lincoln has managed to avoid this problem. According to the Official Catholic Directory of 2005, the authoritative guide to the Catholic Church in the U.S., there are 121 active diocesan priests in Lincoln and 89,236 Catholics. Those numbers indicate there is one priest for every 737 Catholics, which is far greater than the total national statistic of one priest for every 4,723 Catholics. The New York Times reported Oct. 7 that in 2003, there was nationally...

National Disaster Relief for Hurricane Katrina Grand Lodge of Louisiana Disaster Relief for Hurricane Katrina Brother Hagan: We are accepting contributions to our Grand Lodge Disaster Relief Fund at: P.O. Box 12357 Alexandria, LA 71315 Also, blankets, towels, pillows,toothbrushes, toothpaste and other toilet articles may be shipped to: Grand Lodge of Louisiana, 5800 Masonic Drive, Alexandria, LA 71301. Thank you for your concern. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. T. J. Pitman, Jr., PGMGrand Secretary

Cuban Freemason Dr. Alfredo Manuel Pulido Lopez is being held prisoner in Cuba. My name is William John Hagan and I am an American Journalist who is working to get Brother Pulido freed from his political prison in Cuba. If any Brother reading this is are in the employ of a government or agency which could put gentle pressure on getting Castro to free Brother Pulido then please contact me at: William_Hagan@excite.com Or visit me on the web at http://williamjohnhagan.blogspot.com This man will soon die without our help. Below is a letter from his wife regarding this matter. Freeing Brother...

So I get home last night and in the mail is an 8 page letter addressed to me with an invitation to join a "secret society". It seems I have been identified by some secret group of famous people who must remain anonymous right now as having "traits" that they are looking for to join their group. This must be something REALLY special, because they apparently only open themselves for new members every 7 years. Not only that, there is no cost to join. All I have to do is respond and I get a free book that details all...

Gelli probed in Calvi murder Ex-head of shady lodge thought to have ordered Mafia hit (ANSA) - Rome, July 19 - Former right-wing subversive Licio Gelli is under investigation in the murder of 'God's Banker' Roberto Calvi . Gelli, 86, is suspected of commissioning the murder . Also joining four suspects facing trial is former smuggler Silvano Vittor, police said on Tuesday . Gelli's lawyer said his client was "amazed" at press leaks of a questioning session earlier this month . The lawyer denied Gelli's alleged statement that police should "look to Poland" for those who ordered the banker's murder...

I'm sure that many of you have now read "Angels & Demons". It answered for me (a Canadian) a question I'd always had about the American dollar bill ... "what in hell is that pyramid with the big eyeball on it on the back of the bill ???" It's a Masonic symbol. But the questions STILL remain: 1/Why do Americans have a Masonic symbol on their currency? Do most Americans even have a clue what the Masons stand for? 2/ How do Americans reconcile themselves with the two contradictory messages on the back of the bill: Novus Ordo Seclorum (New...

Folks, Zenit.Org is featuring an interview with Massimo Introvigne, director of the Turin-based Center for Studies in New Religions, regarding the existence of the so-called "Illuminati," and their links to the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, etc., as well as the resurgence of their myth in Dan Brown's "historical" novels, Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code. This is my favorite quote:Those who want to persuade us that a secret Illuminati cabal did lead the world from the Renaissance to the 19th century, and continues to do so today, have a very difficult burden of proof, and never even came close...

Saying that the Joint Chiefs and combatant commanders “strongly support” ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated that the measure “ensures the ability of the US Armed Forces to operate freely across the vast expanse of the world’s oceans under the authority of widely recognized and accepted international law.” [1] But would our military leaders support the treaty if they knew that the activists behind it were also instrumental in promoting the International Criminal Court (ICC), which could prosecute and imprison American troops and military...

This evening I had the distinct pleasure of initiating an outstanding discussion with Br. Harold Camping; a globally syndicated Bible Teacher, with whom I agree on many points ( but notably differ on the important tenets he promulgates on the present nature of the Church ). Toward the beginning of the nine o'clock hour (EDT) Camping entertained a call on Freemasonry. He told the caller that Freemasonry should be withdrawn from, as should the Church in his teaching, because it is religious. His exact words were that it has "chaplains and burial rites" which typify religious institutions. I went on...

She is a national hero in her homeland, hailed for plucking her little sister from their family home as it was consumed by flames. Now, Nastya Ovchar, her body burned extensively during the rescue of her sister, lies in a room at Shriners Burns Hospital Boston, half a world away from her home in the Ukraine. If they made a movie about Nastya, they could well call it ''The President and the Little Girl," for it was the intervention of a national leader who had endured his own share of physical suffering that assured the 5-year- old could receive lifesaving...

The last crusade of the Templars By Ruth Gledhill The knights want a Papal apology nearly 700 years after they were disbanded and hounded into exile THE VATICAN is giving “serious consideration” to apologising for the persecution that led to the suppression of the Knights Templar. The suppression, which began on Friday , October 13, 1307, gave Friday the Thirteenth its superstitious legacy.A Templar Order in Britain that claims to be descended from the original Knights Templar has asked that the Pope should make the apology. The Templars, based in Hertford, are hoping for an apology by 2007, the 700th...

As long as I am confessing less than elevated interests today, I might as well admit that I really enjoyed the new film National Treasure. This is probably the first Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie I have ever praised, unless you count Team America, which is a parody of his extravagent explosion-filled action movies, acted by puppets. Sure, it is a highly-implausible adventure film, but it has a number of redeeming values. It is first-rate storytelling, with nary a dull moment, and a mostly coherent narrative line. It is basically a treasure hunt, comparable in many ways to Raiders of the Lost...

Rarely does one connect Chivalry with Freemasonry, yet there is one branch of the fraternity which places great stress on Christian Chivalry and those virtues which go to make up chivalric character. We refer to that great Order known as Knights of the Temple, or Knights Templar. The original Knights of the Temple were Christian warriors; they were men of Faith, inspired with love of God and the Church. The story of their exploits, their adventures, their self-sacrifice, and their accomplishments, read as a page from a story book. There is nothing so appealing in all history as the story...

Vatican II and the Gospel of Man Part Three: An Anthropocentric Church? That Vatican II represents a true revolution in the Church and is thereby unlike every other ecumenical council in the entire history of the Catholic Church, is seen, for instance, by the frequent dictum that so-and-so is "pre-Vatican-II" and book/media titles such as Faithful Revolution (which, by the way, is a video tape set put out by Thomas More publishing, glorifying Vatican II). This attests not only to the fact that Vatican II was a rebellion against Catholic doctrine and discipline, but it also shows just how unique...

Seattle Catholic(www.seattlecatholic.com / seattlecatholic@hotmail.com) June 14, 2004 Ideas Have Consequences by Thomas A. Droleskey Although it has become au courant to minimize the influence of Freemasonry in American politics and culture, the evidence for the overwhelming influence of the ethos of Freemasonry in this country is massive. The essence of Freemasonry is as follows: that it is necessary to convince men of "good will" that denominational religion in general-and Catholicism in particular-is divisive. Men must see each other as brothers, working by means of natural virtue to pursue the common good without doing or saying things that might divide a...