Posted on 09/06/2006 8:16:12 PM PDT by Coleus
In a poll of 20th century Christian personalities as to their favorite composer. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would probably win in a landslide. Protestant theologian Karl Barth once said that when he arrived in heaven he would seek out Mozart, a Catholic ahead of Luther or Calvin – for the ultra-Protestant Barth, perhaps the highest compliment imaginable. Liberal Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Küng wrote a paean to Mozart titled “Traces of Transcendence,” and his more conservative Swiss counterpart Hans Urs von Balthasas said Mozart’s music evokes the risen Christ. Jesuit Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini uses Mozart in morning prayer. Now hobbled with the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, Martini likes to listen to Mozart on an iPod when he walks, claiming the music keeps him on an even keel.
Most famously, of course, Pope Benedict XVI is a passionate Mozart fan. “His music is by no means just entertainment; it contains the whole tragedy of human existence,” the pope said in a 1996 interview. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that Mozart “thoroughly penetrated” his soul as he was growing up in the 1920s and ’30s in rural Bavaria, near Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthplace. Benedict tries to get in a few minutes at the keyboard every day, usually playing Mozart. While all this lends a special Catholic resonance to the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth this year, it has served to resurrect an old canard about Mozart – specifically, the question of his membership in the Freemasons, and whether that calls into question his Catholic credentials. The debate recently resurfaced in Europe, in the wake of a prominent cardinal’s denial –later chalked up to a misunderstanding – that Mozart was ever a Mason at all.
Founded in the early 18th century, although with earlier historical roots, Freemasonry is a fraternal association that draws upon esoteric symbolism and mythology to foster Enlightenment ideals such as egalitarianism. As Masonry developed, it became a deep rival of the Catholic Church, triggering condemnations from a series of popes. The antipathy is by no means relic of a bygone age. In 1983, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reiterated: “Faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”
One understands, therefore, why links between the pope’s favorite composer and the Masons make some Catholics nervous. Debate over what Mozart’s Masonry reveals, if anything, about his attitudes toward the Catholic church is at least two centuries old. In late July, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria, gave the issue a new lease on life in an interview with L’Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference. The paper quoted Cardinal Schönborn as denying that Mozart was a Mason, saying that reports of his membership “are without foundation.”
“To prove the point,” Cardinal Schönborn said, “there’s the fact that the composer came from a Catholic family that belonged to ordinary society, conformed to and defined by a religious life.”
The statement left many scratching their heads, since it’s a matter of established historical fact that Mozart was initiated into a Masonic lodge in Vienna at the age of 28, and eventually became a master Mason. Moreover, Mozart persuaded his father, Leopold, to become a Mason, and perhaps his friend Joseph Haydn. He wrote a substantial body of music for the lodges and for various Masonic ceremonies and functions, for example his famous Masonic funeral service. The last piece he finished before his death was K.623, “The Little Masonic Canata.”
In fact, a Schönborn spokesperson told National Catholic Reporter Aug. 22 that the cardinal had been misquoted. “He said that all historians are of the opinion that Mozart was a Mason. There is much evidence for this,” Erich Leitenberger said. “But at the same time it is necessary to understand that Freemasonry in the 18th century was a completely different thing from [that of] the 19th or 20th centuries. There was no problem to be a deeply convinced Catholic and a Mason at the same time, as is illustrated by the examples of many priests, abbots, etc. [who were Masons] in the late 18th century.”
In other words, according to Leitenberger, Cardinal Schönborn’s position is that Mozart was a Mason, but he was fully Catholic too. Put that way, the Austrian cardinal seems on the same page with Mozart specialists contacted by National Catholic Reporter, who insisted that the composer himself saw no contradiction between his two allegiances. “Mozart was a sincere Mason, but he never in any sense abandoned the Catholic Church,” said Robert Spaethling, a German scholar who edited a 2000 collection of the composer’s correspondence titled Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life.
“We should not try to put a wedge between these aspects of his personality,” Spaethling said. “Catholicism represented the tradition he grew up in, which he had no reason to reject, and never did. Masonry was about the pride he felt in himself, his assertion of himself as an equal to the inherited status of the aristocracy,” he said. Robert Levin of Harvard University agreed. A concert pianist and harpsichordist, Levin recently finished an arrangement of Mozart’s “C Minor Mass,” making it liturgically complete for the first time. He hopes to arrange a performance at the Vatican.
Whatever tensions may exist between Masons and Catholics, Levin said, “Individuals, and artists in particular, often can be more nuanced than the officials’ positions. “I find it very, very hard to believe that the fervor and expressiveness of the music Mozart wrote for the church, such as the ‘C Minor Mass’ or the ‘Requiem,’ is just the equivalent of an opera composer making a good pitch for his libretto,” Levin said. Levin said Mozart’s spirituality shines through his more than 60 pieces of church music. “Mozart’s Catholicism is a powerful, affirmative force, without being subject to the ‘stick’ of terror, threatening eternal damnation to those who didn’t believe,” Levin said. “It’s overwhelmingly music of tenderness, empathy, and at times of grandeur.”
How to reconcile this Catholic piety with Mozart’s Masonry, which seemed to challenge all systems of authority, including clericalism? One approach is to recall that in the premodern period, criticism of individual churchmen or of ecclesiastical systems by Catholics often had little to do with one’s faith. Perhaps the best glimpse of this comes in a 1771 letter to his father after Mozart had a falling out with the prince-archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus Colloredo, who among other indignities insisted on lodging him with household servants. Noting that “I hate the archbishop to insanity,” Mozart wrote: “Always remember, as we do, that or Mufti [Colloredo] is an idiot, but that God is compassionate, merciful and loving.” Levin said there should be no scandal about Benedict’s passion for this Masonic composer. “Mozart himself would be thrilled,” Levin said. “His holiness is not doing anything controversial in listening to Mozart. He’ll be a better pope if he does!”
uhhhh, Mr. Levin.....the Pope was listening to Mozart before your were BORN!!
Gee, I thought for sure that 50 cent or eminem would be Number 1, s/off.
I wonder what poor Antonio Salieri would make of this!
Pope Benedict is fond of Beethoven too, so make of things what you will.
If His Holiness ever puts out an album of favorite Mozart pieces I'd buy it.
This is silly. Membership in the Free Masons is a sin (albeit a serious one). Are we going to refuse to listen to music from anyone who is a serious sinner? The world would swiftly find itself very quiet.
Mozart is completely overrated. Despite that, apparently certain people only enjoy his music because he was a Mason, and therefore defiant of the Church. However, they are assun\ming he was a proponent of Masonism, not just an accidental member. I'm no expert, and I can't claim to say how involved he was.
Mozart is completely overrated
Oh boy you should have been so gifted!
Mozart feeling on the Lord
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart
As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years such close relationships with this best and truest friend of mankind that death's image is not only no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling, and I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity...of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness. I never lie down at night without reflecting that--young as I am--I may not live to see another day. Yet no one of all my acquaintances could say that in company I am morose or disgruntled.
[Mozart's letter to his dying father Leopold]
Still prefer Bach. Mozart isn't bad, but I grew up with booming organ solos that shake the rafters, so my nod goes to Bach.
Listening to his "Passion of St. John" makes me thankful for the small amount of German I know. Very powerful presentation of the passion.
Here is an article that discusses the conflict between the Catholic Church and Masonry from the modern beginnings of the Lodge:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/PACONDEM.TXT
The article points out that although Masonry was condemned by the Holy Father by 1738 in a papal bull, that things weren't quite the same in the 18th century as the 21st century. Here's a key quote:
"Communications in 1738 did not encompass the daily newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, and motion pictures of today, and hence the Catholic world did not immediately know of the contents of the bull. According to ancient Church practice a bull was not promulgated in a given diocese until it is posted and means are obtained to enforce it. Where Masonry was not yet a problem or where secular authorities prevailed upon individual bishops the promulgation was delayed for many years. To add to the
confusion a bogus bull was circulated which asked the faithful to support the lodges whenever possible!"
Here's another key quote:
"Daniel Carroll, brother of the first American bishop, was active in Masonry and apparently Bishop Carroll did not consider the papal ban applicable to this country until sometime after 1800. For example, the bishop discussed the various censures of the Holy See on the lodge question in a letter to a layman in 1794. He added, 'I do not pretend that these decrees are received generally by the Church, or have full authority in this diocese.'"
Thus, there may be little real conflict between Mozart's Catholicism and his Masonry, in that, at the time and place that he was a Mason, it may not yet have become generally known or practiced that membership in the Lodge was prohibited to Catholics.
However, in reading the history of the Church's consistent condemnation of Masonic membership, it seems fair to conclude that by some time in the 19th century, it was pretty clear just about everywhere that Masonic membership was forbidden Catholics.
By this point, in the early 21st century, Masonic membership has been explicitly or implicitly banned in the Canon Law of the Church for nearly a hundred years. It would be difficult to plead ignorance or otherwise at this late date.
sitetest
Up until the Internet came around I never saw the canon law or read an encyclical. The religious articles store in the area has maybe 1 or 2 encyclicals available for purchase, and that's about it.
Dear Coleus,
I'll rephrase.
"It would be difficult to plead inculpable ignorance or otherwise at this late date."
"I can talk to 100 practicing catholics right now and ask them if they ever read the canon law,..."
If I were to ask 100 practicing Catholics whether they were aware of some problems concerning membership in Masonry for Catholics, I would expect that the vast majority would be aware that historically, this has been problematic.
Knowing that, if a Catholic were seriously thinking of becoming a Mason, it would be incumbent on him to do the appropriate research to see if this is permissible. With the advent of the Internet, it certainly isn't difficult to find the definitive answer.
"Todya's Canon Law doesn't even mention the word 'freemasonry', it mentions, I think, secret societies."
Not quite. It mentions societies that are against the faith. However, the 1917 code was quite explicit, and was in effect until the early 1980s. And the explanation to the new code concerning Masonry was issued shortly after the new code was promulgated.
The Church actually allowed that for a short period in the early 1980s, it could have been unclear that Catholics still were forbidden from joining the Masons. The Church has actually allowed that Catholics who joined the Masons during that period are not in a state of sin, provided that they don't run for any Masonic office, and provided that they continue their membership on an inactive basis.
But other than that, it seems to be a reasonable obligation incumbent on Catholics to know that we may not join the Masons.
sitetest
Thanks for a cogent level-headed assessment.
They don't know anything of transubstantiation, confuse the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and receive the Eucharist with confession perhaps twice in their life whether they needed to go or not (one priest told me that he has had Catholics who told him they have no sins despite not having been to confession in years). So what is your point? Many Catholics today are as dumb as bricks about their own Faith.
F
The truly anti-clerical phase of freemasonry began after the French Revolution.
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