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RadTrad Watch notes Pope St. Pius Xth made Card. Rampallo Prefect of the Holy Office. Does that mean Catholic Family News thinks Pope St. Pius XTH is a Mason?

5. RAMPOLLA DEL TINDARO, Mariano (1843-1913)

Birth. Augsut 17, 1843, Polizzi, diocese of Cefalu, Sicilia.

Education. Collegio Capranica, Rome; Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law); Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles, Rome.

Priesthood. Ordained, 1866. Canon of the patriarchal Liberian basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, 1874. Auditor of the nunciature in Spain, 1875. Secretary of the S.C. Propaganda Fide for Oriental Rites, 1877. Protonotary apostolic de numero participantium, January 3, 1878. secretary of the S.C. of Propaganda Fide, 1880. Secretary of the S.C. of extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs.

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Eraclea, December 1, 1882. Consecrated, December 8, 1882, Rome, by Cardinal Thomas Howard. Nuncio in Spain, December 19, 1882.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of March 14, 1887; received red hat and title of S. Cecilia, May 26, 1887. Secretary of State, June 2, 1887. President of the Council for the Administration of the Wealth of the Apostolic See, June 2, 1887. Legate with public authority for the Colombian convention, December 29, 1887. Legate with public authority for the convention with Switzerland, July 10, 1888. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, Jnauary 16, 1893. Archpriest of the patriarcal Vatican basilica and president of the Reverend Fabric of St. Peter's, March 21, 1894. Grand prior of the Sacred and Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem, December 18, 1896. Decorated with the grand cross of the Austrian Order of Sankt Stefan, 1898. President of the Biblical Commission, 1902. Participated in the conclave of 1903, during which Cardinal Jan Puzyna de Kosielsko, prince-bishop of Krákow, Poland, presented the veto of Emperor Franz Joseph against his election to the papacy for being a "francophile". The "exclusive" (veto) had not been exercised since the conclave of 1830 and the Holy See had never formally recognized the practice. The Sacred College unanimously protested against the interference of a civil power into the election of the Supreme Pontiff. Secretary of the Supreme S.C. of the Holy Office, December 30, 1908. President of the Roman Academy of S. Tommaso d'Aquino, February 23, 1910. Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, November 26, 1912.

Death. December 16, 1913, Rome. Buried in Campo Verano cemetery, Rome; transferred to the basilica of S. Cecilia in Trastevere, June 19, 1929.

During a turbulent, war-torn and tense era of Europe, Cardinal Rampolla worked actively on foreign policy during his service to Leo XIII. To the Cardinal’s credit, he reestablished the papacy’s relations with Germany. These were times of war, times in which Europe knew it was sitting on a powder keg.

Say what? This author obviously never took history. The pontificate of Pope Leo XIII is one of the most peaceful on record since the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in the west.

Rather than being a tense and worn torn time, the 35 year period between the Balkans Wars of 1878 and the renewal of the Balkans Wars in 1913 was one of unparalleled peace and prosperity for all of Europe.

What is this guy smoking?

I'm not equipped to argue with this post from a historical basis, but I can on some linguistic points:

*"Lucifer" does not actually mean Satan in ancient writings. A bible passage comparing Satan with having been the brightest star (angel) in the Heavens before he fell resulted in Venus being associated with Satan, and Lucifer was the Latin name for Venus. Even in early Christian circles, the name Lucifer was invoked for enlightenment; an order of monks was even called "Luciferians."

*"Theion" is translated as meaning "God." That's just absurd. "Theion" means "Sulfur," or "Bearer of God." (Sulfur, a very unpleasant substance, was also known for its ability to purify contaminants. Hence, the bible refers to refer to the purifying suffering that happens to the disobedient when they encounter God's presence.)

*Watch for the switch in language. OTO makes a claim to include in its ranks many prominent members of other Masonic groups. The passage treats this claim as if it asserts that OTO comprises these groups. It's a wild guilt-by-association maneuver.

In reality, there is this implied assertion:
1. A Satanist was a member of OTO.
2. OTO is therefore Satanic
3. At least one person who was a member of group X was also in OTO, therefore, group X is Satanic.

Pretty weak.

That being said, Free-Masonry is a group whose beliefs are incompatible with Catholicism. Excommunication makes sense. Just as one would no longer be able to call himself a Catholic if he joined a Lutheran Church, a Free Mason is not a Catholic. Because there are many Free Masons who continued to assert that they were Catholics, the Church felt it necessary to point out that they were not. That's called "excommunication."

Now, if Rampolla was a Free-Mason, (and given the lengthiness of the article, I find the relative lack of evidence odd) then it seems apparent that he tricked Pope St. Pius X, not that Pius was anything than the vigorously anti-Mason that history records him as.