Posted on 04/22/2023 7:33:53 PM PDT by ebb tide
CHIETI, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — Italian Freemasons have said they will appeal to Pope Francis for support, after the local Catholic bishop re-iterated the Catholic Church’s condemnation on Freemasonry in light of renewed Masonic activity in the area.
Local Freemasons in the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto in eastern Italy have declared that they will seek “rapid and active intervention” from Pope Francis, after Archbishop Bruno Forte reminded the archdiocese of the Catholic Church’s strict ban on participating in Masonic activities.
On February 7, Forte issued a letter to his archdiocese in which he presented the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s (CDF) 1983 document on Masonry.
Forte stated that: “the condemnation of Freemasonry remains unchanged; second, Catholics who belong to a lodge are in a state of grave sin and cannot take communion; third, no exceptions are allowed.”
His letter was prompted by renewed, public activities organized by Masons of the Sovereign Arabian Phoenix lodge in Forte’s archdiocese, including a conference at the Iacone hotel on “Francesco d’Assisi: mysticism or esotericism?”
Many locals protested the conference, calling the Masons “absolute evil.” The venerable master Ginevra Di Nicola stated that the protests represented “social hatred.” Di Nicola added that the Masons would “invite Bruno Forte to our next meeting.”
“We are not a religious creed but we believe in a superior being whom we call the ‘great architect of the universe’ who created everything,” said Di Nicola. “We are a brotherhood that embraces every religious belief.”
READ: A saint who fought the Freemasons has the battle plan against today’s dictatorship
Days later, Forte – who has led the archdiocese since 2004 – issued his letter which consisted chiefly of the text of the CDF’s 1983 document. That text – signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and approved by Pope John Paul II – reads:
Therefore, the Church’s negative judgment regarding Masonic associations remains unchanged, since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with Church doctrine and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who belong to Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and cannot access Holy Communion.
The CDF’s ruling further adds that local bishops cannot issue documents which in some way differ from the firm line presented by the CDF regarding the Catholic Church’s relationship with Masonry. “It is not for local ecclesiastical authorities to pronounce on the nature of Masonic associations with a judgment that implies derogation from the above, and this is in line with the Declaration of this Holy Congregation of February 17, 1981.”
READ: Is Masonic infiltration responsible for the widespread apostasy among Catholic clergy?
In response, the Masonic lodge declared that they would appeal to Pope Francis to intercede on their behalf against Forte. “We will turn to Pope Francis to ask for his swift and proactive intervention in this diatribe, which damages our honorability and, on balance, threatens our security,” Di Nicola told local news.
The Mason also directly quoted from Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti, citing paragraph 46: “It must be recognized that fanaticisms that lead to the destruction of others also have religious people as protagonists, not excluding Christians, who may participate in networks of verbal violence.”
Such a tactic is noteworthy: Francis’ Fratelli Tutti promotes a “Universal Brotherhood” and also links back to his controversial 2019 Abu Dhabi document on Human Fraternity. Both texts have been widely criticized by Catholics since their publication. Former Papal Nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò notably wrote that Francis’s concept of fraternity was “theologically blasphemous.”
READ: Abp. Viganò: ‘Fratelli tutti’ means acceptance of everything…except being Catholic
A prominently vocal German priest also described the text as being interwoven with “Masonic” ideology. Francis’s push for religions to be on an equal footing, Father Frank Unterhalt noted was a key element of Masonic goals:
The striving for universal ecumenism of religions has always been a concern of Freemasonry on the way to its actual goal, namely to bring about the breakthrough of that self-constructed religion in which all human beings are supposedly in agreement.
Indeed, following Fratelli Tutti’s publication, it was welcomed by the Masonic Lodge of Spain, who stated it was “the latest encyclical” of Pope Francis in which he “embraces the Universal Fraternity, the great principle of Modern Freemasonry.”
“Pope Francis’ last encyclical shows how far the current Catholic Church is from its former positions,” wrote the Lodge.
Archbishop Forte’s condemnation of Freemasonry is perhaps surprising given that his own track record on ecumenical matters strays from Catholic teaching. In a conference last year in Rome, the archbishop echoed and made his own a call to end the Catholic Church’s mission of converting the Jews.
He also served as Special Secretary to the 2014 Synod on the Family and was credited with writing the synod’s controversial mid-term report which suggested that the Church emphasize the “positive” aspects of actions it considers to be mortally
I have read the Abbe's treatises, as well as a lot of contemporaneous writings.
Just how many Jews were leaders and/or fomenters of The French revolution and can you name them?
All of the later writing on this topic and directly connected to the Abbe, who was a huge Monarchist and very angry that he had to flee France.
There are good and bad apples in every society, religion, organization, government, and yes, families.
To put the blame of this or that, whatever, on one large group is just fallacious.
Since a large number of our FFs, presidents, and other people of note were Masons, it's really vile to tar with a broad brush, the entirety of this organization past and present. And the outright LIES, posted to this thread, about them is just sick; especially when many a GREAT Freeper was/is one or comes from a Masonic family.
Name Jews involved in the French revolution? Huh? When did I say anything about Jews? Do you assume that “freemason” is my code word for Jews or something? It’s most certainly not, as there were approx. 1,000 masonic lodges in pre-1789 France and undoubtedly the overwhelming majority of French freemasons were not Jews.
I heard that, George Washington, in his letters, denied being a free mason. That later paintings of Washington were pro free mason propaganda.
There have been masons in the Catholic hierarchy as well, and they promoted homosexuality etc. and acted to destroy the good in people.
The current anti-Pope is almost certainly a free mason.
At the lower levels it appears as a fraternal organization. One thing the masons do is if a free mason is on trial and a mason is on the jury, they will never vote to convict a fellow mason. This is how we end up with our current Justice system, where the Bidens can commit any crime and get away with it.
Btw, my grandfather was a 32nd degree mason.
Their “charities” are just a front.
Never trust anyone that swears an oath alligence to a good ole boys club over GOD.
One of my grandfathers was a devout Baptist believing in salvation through Christ only. The other an atheist. Both Masons. I suspect they enjoyed the mens’ club and the secrecy.
to be a blue lodge Mason you only have to believe in a supreme being, not a particular religion, and the only reason that the Catholics are against Masonry is that they have secrets in the rituals (very minor but identifying, like passwords) that you are only supposed to discuss with brother masons and priests are not allowed to become brother Masons, and priests don’t want you to have secrets from them. that is also why Catholics started the Knights of Columbus.
Religion is one of the things not discussed in lodge, also no Politics, We want no anger producing activities to disrupt the fraternity. There are specific groups that are Christian based like the York Rite, and open to all religions the Scottish Rite
THEY don’t deny anything as they are not a religious organization. they are a fraternal organization that only wants moral and strong charactered men as members.
you’re commenting in an echo chamber.
Biden is no mason nor would he be allowed.
ask any family helped by the Shriners hospitals
At the lower levels it appears as a fraternal organization. One thing the masons do is if a free mason is on trial and a mason is on the jury, they will never vote to convict a fellow mason.
False.
So what. It’s still a cover for dark deeds.
Nothing but a pyramid scheme.
So glad the local ones love putting their pictures in the paper with their little Satanic aprons on we know who they are.
All you anti-Freemason nuts posting on this thread have to remember one thing…
We run the world and could have you disappeared.
So tread fearfully…
So why haven't you done so?
I'm not going anywhere and you can't stop me.
A number of Catholic Cardinals are free masons so, of course Biden can be one, so long as the Catholic Church is their enemy, even if secretly done.
Because the first time they tried they created too many martyrs. So, this time they are trying to corrupt everyone and everything first. Truely, demonic.
Show me the names as I know the Vatican has not ever allowed Priests to become members
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.