Posted on 04/22/2003 1:54:17 AM PDT by 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.
When the sole source is a Feeneyite website like that? Doubtful.
patent
My head hurts. I ought to know, but I cannot recall what a Feeneyite is.No salvation outside the Church folks. In a very rough translation, if your but isn’t parked in a Catholic Church every Sunday, you go to hell.
Is L'Osservatore Romano Feeneyite,No. Far from it, click here.
or is the quote made up? I'll google on it.Unless I saw a copy of this issue of L’Osservatore Romano I’d consider it made up (or at least saw the quote from a more credible source). If its in L’Osservatore Romano, I would be inclined to assume it is an accurate quotation.
I can't tell you how many traditionalist quotes are sourced to L'Osservatore Romano. Once upon a time I entered into the habit of ordering back issues to see if the quotes were accurate. They seldom were. I've given up now, I'd be both poor and exhausted if I checked all of them. Until I see a reliable source, I don't buy it. It may be possible Bugnini said something like this, but absent proof its just another wild claim.
patent +AMDG
I was responding solely to the quote narses pulled up, which is not that he was exiled but the “quote” about the striptease.When the sole source is a Feeneyite website like that? Doubtful.I've read this claim in other places as well (that Bugnini was basically 'exiled' for being a Mason).
What's your opinion of Michael Davies, btw?I note first that Davies didn’t make the quote above, it was before his article.
Anyway, he is a lawyer, and writes like one. Being that I am a lawyer, and write like one 9-5, I don’t necessarily have a problem with that in the proper context. However, as much as I’ve enjoyed some of his books, I prefer to use them as source material that helps me locate original sourcing to read for myself, than to rely on his view of them. I do not recommend him unless you have the time to do this.
My problem with him is that he writes like an advocate, rather than like someone who wants to present the truth. By the very nature of advocacy, you start with your position, and then try to find facts to support it. Inconvenient facts are dealt with by shifting them out of focus, ignoring them, or twisting them. Anyway, I like his writing for limited purposes.
patent +AMDG
It is not now, nor has it been , for 300 years, a " trade " organization, nor a " guild ".
All of the kings of England have been Masons AND the head of the Anglican ( C of E ) church.
A great many of the Founding Fathers of this nation , as well as the men who organized and pulled of the Boston Tea Party, and many of the subsiquent presidents, governors, mayors, Senators, Representaives, and other highly respected people, of this nation, have been and are Masons. Everyone who claims that they " worship the devil " , has to then acknowledge that George Washington, Harry Houdini, and Will Rogers are now all burning in hell. I, OTOH, do not.
The reason that the Roman Catholic church is anatiMasonic ( it is NOT the case, the otherway around ! ), is a money & Power thing. The Catholic church has used the Masons as a scapegoat, right along with Jews, for centuries. Some off the wall, fringe , conmen " preachers " have also used them to spread fear and make money.
These are easily proven facts ; unlike the ridiculous smear jobs , filled with spurious,libelous bilge, which is posted to thread after thread on FR, by liars and fools.
The Masons don't care one whit about a man's race, religion, wealth ( or lack of it ), but DO care, very much, about a man's behavior and his love and devotion to GOD. It is NOT a cult. It is NOT a religion ! It is NOT anything but a social and philenthropic fraternity; not unlike the Elks and Rotarians.
They are NOT some nefarious " power ", that secretly " rules the world ".
They ARE a group of men, who have done more good, than the pack of craven poltrons, here, singly or all put together, who keep bad mouthing them at every chance.They don't do it for " the glory " and a great deal of their charity is not publicized. They are patriotic, love this nation, and many were/are CONSERVATIVES , as well as devout Christians or Jews or some other religion.
As a matter of fact, the Grand Lodge, in Manhattan, hold a combined Passover & Easter service, known as the " FEAST OF THE PASCLE LAMB ", every Spring, for Masons and their families. Christ celebrated Passover, after all, just before HE was crucified, so it isn't a stretch, to hold such a luncheon. Both a Rabbi and a Minister presides and it is a joyous, beautiful, blessed lunch. No Mason foists his religion on anyone else. Each respects others' religions. That is another thing, which galls some Christian officials. It has only been VERY recent, that Catholics were allowed to go to a wedding or funeral in a church/ temple of another's faith.
These are facts ; not opinions.
Can you, or anyone else, who is just " curious ", go read some book, that will tell you what the " ritual " is to join any fraturnity, be it a college one, or for adults ? NO, you can't. So WHY should the Masons allow anyone and everyone to read their PRIVATE records ?
OTOH, you can visit the Masonic Museum, in Mahattan and even have a guided tour, anytime you want to. Ask me, and I'll set it up for you, or anyone else who is interested. And NO, I am NOT a Mason; I only men can be Masons.
Why are you spreading filth, lies, and calumny here ? You are as bad, if not worse than Clinton ever dreamed of being, with this noxious post of yours.
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