Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: dangus
dangus wrote: "...Freemasons generally disdain Catholics"

Stuff and nonsense! All men who believe in God are welcome to become Masons.

Catholics are welcome but from what I understand, the Vatican prohibits practicing Roman Catholics from joining any group which has a code of secrecy.

Not long ago I heard the story of a practicing active Roman Catholic priest who was a Mason.

7 posted on 09/12/2006 10:59:53 PM PDT by bd476
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: bd476

Oh, I know first-hand that there do exist Catholics who are free-masons. The question is whether they can be Catholics in good standing. Certain state chapters (terminology?) of Freemasons are fairly freindly towards Catholics. Some are even accused of trying to infiltrate Catholicism. Many are expressly anti-Catholic. But freemasonry, itself, probably emerged from Knights Templar who were prosecuted by the Catholic Church for war crimes during the Crusades; the antipathy is most certainly two-way. As many of the Knights Templar refugees fled to the mountains of Switzerland, it's not hard to imagine that they heavily influenced Calvin and other anti-Catholics.


11 posted on 09/12/2006 11:08:11 PM PDT by dangus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

To: bd476
Not long ago I heard the story of a practicing active Roman Catholic priest who was a Mason.

There is a Masonic lodge right here in Los Angeles county that has a Catholic priest as a member. It is not generally known, but the Church has no real objection as long as you don't go into the higher degrees. The Scotish Rite in particular.

19 posted on 09/12/2006 11:25:13 PM PDT by navyblue (Semper ubi sub ubi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

To: bd476
Catholics are welcome but from what I understand, the Vatican prohibits practicing Roman Catholics from joining any group which has a code of secrecy.

Freemasonry prohibits "Papists" (or even former "Papists") from advancing beyond the first few degrees.

132 posted on 09/13/2006 1:11:14 PM PDT by BeHoldAPaleHorse ( ~()):~)>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

To: bd476; dangus
"Not long ago I heard the story of a practicing active Roman Catholic priest who was a Mason."

You can be a catholic, or a baptist, or a presbyterian, or whatever, but what you cannot be is a child of God.

247 posted on 09/13/2006 7:06:38 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Atheist and Fool are synonyms; Evolution is where fools hide from the sunrise)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson