Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons

Telegraph (UK) ^ | 20/04/2003 | Chris Hastings and Elizabeth Day

[nickcarraway]

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has been forced to apologise to Britain's 330,000 Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had rejected them from senior posts in his diocese.

Dr Williams has written to Robert Morrow, the Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England, in an attempt to defuse the row prompted by comments he made last year. In his letter, the Archbishop apologises for the "distress" he caused and discloses that his own father was a member of the Craft.

Freemasons, many of whom are active members of the Church of England, reacted angrily to his disclosure that he "had real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession" and by his admission that, as Bishop of Monmouth, he had blocked the appointment of Freemasons to senior appointments.

His comments about Freemasons were in a private letter leaked to the media shortly after Downing Street confirmed his appointment as head of the Church of England.

Subsequent attempts by his advisers to defuse the row only caused further offence. A spokesman said the Archbishop was worried about the ritual element of Freemasonry, which has been seen as "satanically inspired".

In his letter of apology, Dr Williams tries to distance himself from his own reported comments. He claims that his views were never meant to be public and were distorted by the media.

He wrote: "I have been sorry to learn of the distress of a considerable number of Freemasons . . . In replying to private correspondence, I had no intention of starting a public debate nor of questioning the good faith and generosity of individual Freemasons and I regret the tone and content of the media coverage."

He added: "The quoted statements about the 'satanic' character of the Masonic ceremonies and other matters did not come from me and do not represent my judgment. Since my late father was a member of the Craft for many years, I have had every opportunity of observing the probity of individual members."

Dr Williams does not, in his letter, deny that he has misgivings about the role of Freemasons within the Church.

He wrote: "Where anxieties exist, however, they are in relation not to Freemasonry but to Christian ministers subscribing to what could be and often is understood [or misunderstood] as a private system of profession and initiation, involving the taking of oaths of loyalty."

He ends his letter by stating that Freemasons' commitment to charity and the community is beyond question.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

The fourth oath taken by a Knight Kadosh focuses again on the "cruel and cowardly Pontiff, who sacrificed to his ambition the illustrious order of those Knights Templar of whom we ar the true successors."

I'm not sure if this is part of the ritual or not.

It is not part of the ritual.

[Heyworth]

We did just want the apartment block.

[nhbob1]

Thanks. BTW great job defending the Craft from the assaults of the ignorant. It never ceases to amaze me how people can have such hatred for an organization devoted to good. Kudos Brother!

[Cap'n Crunch]

Have I ever been to a Masonic lodge meeting? No, and I never intend to. The 33rd degree who wanted me to join (one day when I was working the paddy wagon with him) took me inside the Masonic hall in our city (which is now shut down and used as a boxing gym) the place gave me the creeps. He took me in the main room which had what looked like a throne at one one end and what looked like a globe in the center and benches against one wall.

Place made me very uneasy. I don't even like to go in there now that it is a gym.

[Cap'n Crunch]

patent said it all, no need for me to reiterate.

[Cap'n Crunch]

So, I guess your saying that the animosity of the Masons toward the Catholic Church is justified? In which case why wouldn't I believe the rituals they perform?

Can you list the rituals and oaths for us?

[Cap'n Crunch]

"defending the Craft from the assaults of the ignorant."

Shouldn't you say "from the assaults of the profane."

Profane would be the appropriate term.

[narses]

What defense? No questions were answered by any self proclaimed mason, insults were directed at those who asked polite questions and grievous and scandalous insults against the Catholic Church levelled in a pathetic effort to avoid answering those self same, simple questions. What about those questions scare Masons so much? Why deny Albert Pike and his book? Why pretend that the "craft" is compatible with Christianity when so many organized bodies of Christians claerly outline why the "craft" is incompatible with Christ and His Church? Why tell self-evident lies like the claim that the Christian Bible is the foundation of the "craft"?

FYI the Vatican has spoken clearly on sex abuse. It is a crime and a sin. It is opposed to Christ and His Church. The FACT is that out of over 50,000 priests in the US, only a few hundred have even been accused of sexual misconduct with minors and less than 100 convicted. Your attempts to use the scandal as a diversion to avoid answering the questions is noted as prima facia evidence that you are trying to conceal the truth about your beloved "craft". Why?

[Pharmboy]

George Washington had a full Masonic funeral.

[Little Bill]

Clinton was never a Mason.

[Pharmboy]

Click here for a good book

[Pharmboy]

Again, George Washington--one of the best humans who EVER walked this Earth--had a totally Masonic funeral. I continue to await your comment after you had negative things to say about Masonic funerals (and I am not a Freemason; I am a Freeper).

[anniegetyourgun]

If you look at my post, you'll see it isn't about Masonic funerals, per se. And, while I agree that Pres. Washington was a great man (and probably a deist), you must certainly know that many non-Christians are some 'of the best human beings who ever walked the earth.' However, Christianity isn't about our righteousness.

[narses]

Being a Mason doesn't make you a "bad" person. It does act against the Christian faith in a number of severe ways. Geo. Washington has been claimed by the Christian community and by the deist community and by the atheist community. He clearly was not Catholic and he may well have stopped taking Communion in his own Church (I vaguely recall that from usenet debbates in college). The issue, at least to me, isn't about "bad" people, rather it is about an organization whose members here are unwilling to answer simple questions without resorting to ugly attacks.

[Pharmboy]

You: That relative is now deceased, but thankfully his pastor refused to perform a Masonic funeral. I can only hope that my relative saw and accepted the true Light of the world before he passed - rather than the so-called light promised in Masonic ritual.

You again: If you look at my post, you'll see it isn't about Masonic funerals, per se.

Naahh. Case closed.

[anniegetyourgun]

Well, if you insist on missing the point of my original post....

[sitetest]

Dear narses,

I assume you have called me here so that I might comment upon the subject matter. Okay.

I have no direct knowledge whatsoever of masonry, per se. It is enough for me to know that as a devout Catholic, I may not be a mason. The penalty for masonic membership by a Catholic layman is interdict. In other words, one is forbidden the sacraments until one expunges one's membership from masonic organizations. The penalty for a cleric is a little more, but I've forgotten it offhand.

I know that in the past, especially in the late 19th century, some American masonic organizations in the western part of the United States exhibited anti-Catholicism, and were key in passing laws restricting the abilities of Catholics to educate our children. In fact, much of the "separation of church and state" crap used to deny Catholics the ability to use public funds to educate our children in our own schools derived from movements backed, at times, by some masonic organizations.

I know that masonry in Europe traditionally was more anti-Catholic than in the US.

What I don't know is anything about the rituals, oaths, proceedings, etc. of masonic organizations. I don't know if in the US there are masonic organizations which are inherently antithetical to Catholicism. Certainly, one might think so from the comments made herein by AxelPaulsenJr, but I would prefer not to condemn masonry in general because of one FR poster spouting anti-Catholic bigotry. After all, he may be an anti-Catholic bigot in reaction to his perception of Catholic hostility toward his masonic membership.

As you probably know, the Catholic Church objects to masonic membership for Catholics in part because she believes that masonry teaches a natural theology that is opposed to the theology of the Church, which finds its basis in Divine Revelation. Masonry certainly does present a system of natural theology, but it is beyond my knowledge to say whether this is taught merely as a "lowest common denominator" between theists of all types, or whether, as the Church believes, it at least tends to denigrate the special Divine Revelation of Christian Truth.

I have conversed on-line, in other fora, with masons, before. My experience suggests that at least some of them have at least imbibed the natural theology of their masonic association to a degree sufficient to bring them to denigrate the unique Christian Revelation. But I wonder whether that is because it is inherent in masonry, or whether it comes about because masons get tired of being called "anti-Christian", and strike out as a result. I just don't really know.

I have noted, in other places, that masons become quite strident in insisting that they aren't anti-Catholic, and often, in the course of that denial, often begin to betray virulently anti-Catholic attitudes. I have noted in other on-line fora that "Catholic masons", when push comes to shove, usually choose their masonic membership over their Catholicism (sadly enough), and I have found this telling. As well, I have often found that these individuals, if pushed, start posting things as virulently anti-Catholic as, say, the postings of AxelPaulsenJr on this thread.

Thus, though I know nothing of their rituals, I have seen enough of the reactions of masons towards Catholicism that it is easy enough for me to avoid membership in their organization. You know that I love the Catholic Church, the Bride of Jesus Christ, and I can't imagine seeking out the company of those who would calumniate her.

As to the secrecy of masonic rituals, and the failure of masons to reveal them generally, I don't have any problem with that. I am a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, and though I will attest that there is nothing wayward in our rituals, you really couldn't beat them out of me. I am a gentleman, and do my best to keep my word.

I have heard that some of the oaths in masonic rituals get a bit... over the top. The Church has pronounced that these are either evil oaths, if taken seriously, or stupid and vain oaths, if taken as hyperbole. Personally, I'm not offended by a little stupidity and vanity if it is in the cause of poking fun at ourselves, so I don't find this offensive, if true.

Nonetheless, I remain agnostic as to whether US masonry is inherently anti-Catholic, and am even less willing to offer any opinion as to whether it is inherently anti-Christian. I just don't know.

I do believe that historically, much, probably most of masonry was at least functionally anti-Catholic, if not intrinsically so, and I have no desire to belong to an organization that historically worked to limit my rights as a Catholic American to educate my children in my faith.


sitetest

[patent]

I have noted, in other places, that masons become quite strident in insisting that they aren't anti-Catholic, and often, in the course of that denial, often begin to betray virulently anti-Catholic attitudes. I have noted in other on-line fora that "Catholic masons", when push comes to shove, usually choose their masonic membership over their Catholicism (sadly enough), and I have found this telling. As well, I have often found that these individuals, if pushed, start posting things as virulently anti-Catholic as, say, the postings of AxelPaulsenJr on this thread.

bump

[Brian Allen]

You surely used up a lot of bandwidth to tell us of your ignorance!

[Brian Allen]

<< Qwerty,

You really are wasting your time. These "Masons are the Devils" threads pop up time to time, and you're not going to change any minds. You're not even going to find a civilized debate, nor even informed opinion. Just a bunch of "I knew a Mason and he was evil" and "I read a website about Masons that said" stories. >>

Thanks for your comments.