Joe Biden welcomed into the Prince Hall Freemasons, Jan 19, 2025.
Posted on 01/25/2025 2:30:33 PM PST by ebb tide
Joe Biden welcomed into the Prince Hall Freemasons, Jan 19, 2025.
Former President Joe Biden had membership of the Freemasons “conferred” upon him despite Catholic teaching firmly prohibiting joining the Masons and the automatic excommunication for doing so remaining quietly in place.
One day before Donald Trump was inaugurated as President, Joe Biden attended a “private ceremony” in South Carolina to become part of the “Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina.”
As noted by the Freemasons, in a ceremony on January 19, “Master Mason membership with full honors were conferred upon President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States of America.”
The Masons cited Biden’s actions as President as an explanation for the membership:
WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has demonstrated exceptional dedication and service to the United States of America.
WHEREAS, his service reflects the core values of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina, including brotherly love, relief, and truth.
WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. contributions have significantly benefited the citizens of the United States of America;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, 27th Most Worshipful Grand Master, Victor C. Major, on behalf of the members of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina, hereby confer membership upon President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States of America.
It is not clear whether Biden was made to undergo any of the customary initiation rituals such as those exposed by undercover journalist Kyle Clifton.
Biden has regularly touted his Catholic faith while in office despite advocating for a number of issues that contradict teachings of the faith such as abortion and LGBT issues.
Can a Catholic join the Masons?
As LifeSiteNews has extensively published, being its own universal religion, Freemasonry has long set its hostility against Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular.
READ: Everything you need to know about Freemasonry’s core teachings
The Catholic Church has consistently and firmly forbidden Catholics from joining the Freemasons. Pope Clement XII’s 1739 papal bull, In Eminenti, judged Freemasonry so serious a matter, and membership in it so dangerous, that he imposed an automatic excommunication, latae sententiae, on any Catholic who joined the Freemasons.
Pope Leo XIII wrote in Humanum Genus that Freemasons have as “their ultimate purpose … the utter overthrow of that whole religious and political order of the world which the Christian teaching has produced, and the substitution of a new state of things in accordance with their ideas, of which the foundations and laws shall be drawn from mere naturalism.”
However, in recent years, especially after publication of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, such clear pronouncements have become rarer, leading to questions about whether the Church still imposes the penalty of automatic excommunication. Despite this confusion, the teaching remains constant.
In the Vatican’s 1981 Declaration Concerning Status of Catholics Becoming Freemasons, the Vatican reaffirmed the prior teaching on joining the Freemasons based on renewed questions on the topic, noting that the excommunication and all penalties remained in place for Catholics who became Masons. The 1981 text from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) reads:
the present canonical discipline remains in full force and has not been modified in any way;
consequently, neither the excommunication nor the other penalties envisaged have been abrogated.
The 1983 Code removed the clear language of the 1917 Code that noted the automatic excommunication.
However, following the new Code, the Vatican published a note in 1983, approved by Pope John Paul II, that stated there had been no change in Church teaching on joining the Masons. It read: Therefore, the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden.
The 1983 note added, “The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”
Subsequently, in 1985, the Vatican text “Irreconcilability of Christian Faith and Freemasonry” reiterated the Church’s position, noting the “irreconcilability between the principles of Freemasonry and the Catholic faith.”
With Freemasonry growing in the Philippines, the bishops there wrote a text in 2002 on the matter. Drawing from the teaching of the Vatican’s 1983 note, the bishops wrote that:
“Any Catholic who is a convinced member of Freemasonry, notoriously adhering to the Masonic vision, is already considered excommunicated latae sententiae (Cf. Canon 1364). As such, the censures described in Canon 1331 automatically take their full effect on this person.”
They formally issued the text in 2003, noting the automatic excommunication of any “convinced member of Freemasonry, notoriously adhering to the Masonic vision.”
Most recently, the CDF issued a note in 2023 again addressing the question of Freemasonry in the Philippines. Written by Cardinal Victor Fernández and approved by Pope Francis, the text reiterates teaching of the CDF’s 1983 note that in turn drew from the 1981 note outlining the automatic excommunication. Fernández also reiterated the teaching of the Philippine bishops’ text from 2003, another document that outlined the automatic excommunication. He wrote:
(a) On the doctrinal level, it should be remembered that active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is forbidden because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Declaration on Masonic Associations” [1983], and the guidelines published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in 2003). Therefore, those who are formally and knowingly enrolled in Masonic Lodges and have embraced Masonic principles fall under the provisions in the above-mentioned Declaration. These measures also apply to any clerics enrolled in Freemasonry.
The question now remains as to what the Catholic bishops in the U.S. will do in response to Biden’s membership in the Freemasons. Given that he is a member of a South Carolina lodge, it raises questions of jurisdiction about which bishop should respond because Biden does not live in the state.
But given the reticence of the U.S. episcopate to directly address Biden’s public support for abortion and homosexuality during the course of his presidential term, it appears unlikely that the Catholic former president will face formal repercussions.
Not only that, the Francis has told Biden that's he's a good Catholic and was free to receive Holy Communion.
Ping
May be a member but not a Mason.
He says he can’t wait to pick ip where Jimmy Carter left off, and looks forward to starting his first foundation for Habitat fir Humanity.
Block head.
One day before Donald Trump was inaugurated as President, Joe Biden attended a “private ceremony” in South Carolina to become part of the “Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina
Sounds like “joined” to me. Unless you are a schumer type cannon lawyer like our bishops employ.
Joe: Cool apron, man. Can I have one too?
Joe Biden... Joe Biden.... I know I should know who that is... ...but I just can't place him...
Q. Can a Catholic join the Freemasons?
A. Only if he does not know what planet he is on.
Masons on both sides of my family including my daddy.
I never joined.
Not a joiner nor would I welcome all the falderol surrounding the order.
All I can say from the picture is, that ain’t my daddy’s masonry.
Making ashes for the phoenix, Joey boy?
Exorcists warn involvement in Freemasonry exposes the soul to the demonic
LifeSite News ^ | February 29, 2024 | Raymund Maria
So. The Freemasons got to Joe AFTER the fact.
Kind of like receiving an "honorary degree" from a university. I believe there is a lot of memorization and study required to become a Mason. Obviously, Joe ain't reciting anything from memory.
Does this mean Biden will finally stop calling himself a Catholic? Then again, Pope Francis is still calling himself a Catholic...
If it’s ‘regular’ Freemasonry, it’s probably one of the finer associations of his life...
Resolution of Membership - President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (Freemasons)
CONFERENCE OF GRAND MASTERS ^ | 01/21/25 | Most Worshipful Grand Master, Victor C. Major,
Posted on 1/24/2025, 10:48:34 PM by winoneforthegipper
I can't wait for Joe to pick up where Carter left off also. Sooner the better.
Never really knew what to make of the Masons. But I certainly know what to make of THOSE Masons!
And what do you make of them?
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