Posted on 10/30/2009 9:01:19 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
A few years ago I was told that at the ceremony of induction of the vicar of one of the local Anglican churches, the Bible which was handed to him had embossed on its front cover the emblem of the Freemasons, the square and compasses. It subsequently came to light that nearly all the male members of his Parochial Church Council were "on the square", and his predecessor as vicar had been a Mason as well. This is not a "low", or Evangelical, church, but very firmly in the Anglo Catholic tradition, where a number of clergy and lay people over the years have talked of becoming Catholics.
Why is all this a problem? The reason is that the Catholic Church teaches that Freemasonry and Christianity are incompatible. The Holy See in 1983 reiterated the traditional position that Catholics who are Freemasons are in a state of grave sin and may not receive the sacraments - the Declaration on Masonic Associations was signed by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and makes it clear that local bishops cannot dispense from its provisions. There were two reasons for this document: first, the new Code of Canon Law, which came out at the same time, no longer mentioned Freemasonry by name in its list of organisations which Catholics are forbidden from joining; second, mistaken advice had been given in the late Seventies in Britain and America which suggested that Catholics could be Freemasons if local lodges were not anti-Catholic; the 1983 rescript corrected that advice. Consequently, Anglicans or others who are Freemasons wishing to become Catholics will have to discard their aprons: this may keep the numbers of potential converts down.
It is often claimed by Freemasons and others that the reasons for the Catholic Church's hostility to Freemasonry are to do with politics - the political hostility between the Church and what is known as "Grand Orient" Freemasonry in the rest of Europe and Latin America; English Freemasonry is completely different, it is claimed; unlike the "Grand Orient" it has retained belief in the "Supreme Being". But this is nonsense: the Church's original condemnations from the 18th century related to English Masonic lodges in Florence and elsewhere in Italy.
The reasons for our teaching, expounded in teaching from many popes since the 18th century, are theological. In the first place, Freemasonry is a naturalistic religion. Its rituals and constitutions present the member as a man who is able to advance towards enlightenment through his own efforts - a good parable of this is the depictions of the trials of Tamino in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. The Mason can earn his salvation through rites of initiation and the activities of the lodge (including charitable giving); it is thus, in a way, the perfect religion for the "self-made", middle-class professional man. It is totally at odds with the Christian vision, in which we need God's grace, through the death and resurrection of Our Lord, to grow in holiness.
Second, the prayers in its rituals specifically exclude reference to Our Lord. They are often prayers of Christian origin which have been vandalised.
In order to encompass adherents of other faiths the Saviour of the world is simply removed and set aside: he is not important. How can any Christian go along with this?
Third, the oaths required in the initiation rites require the new Mason to promise to keep secret the organisation's rituals, even though he does not at that point know what they are. These oaths are what Christian moral theologians call "vain" - they are not acceptable and cannot bind the person making them, even if they are done in the name of God. This is the problem with the oaths, not (as is sometimes claimed) the dire penalties which used to be referred to in the rituals.
These are the principal reasons why we teach that Freemasonry and Christianity are not compatible. In addition, we could cite the reactionary world view espoused in the rituals, supportive of the status quo and urging members to "keep to their station" in society. This, coupled with the make-up of lodges and the mechanisms of social control identified in exposés written in the Eighties reveal the movement as being somewhat at odds with the social teaching of the Catholic Church and our witness for justice and peace in the world. The "preferential option for the poor" would not find a place in the lodge. One could also point to the exclusion of women from lodge membership and the strain placed on many marriages by the commitments demanded of Freemasons: in spite of claiming to be a "system of morality" infidelity and adultery seem often to be viewed with some indulgence.
It is important that Catholics rest their challenge to Freemasonry on the clear theological arguments which I have advanced and that we are well-informed about the subject: sometimes criticisms of Freemasonry are inaccurate and frankly hysterical, and we should avoid conspiracy theories. It is also true that it is somewhat weaker than it was, partly as a result of the books written 20 years ago and pressure for Freemasons to reveal their membership, particularly in the police and the legal profession. Because of the decline, Freemasonry is very conscious of its public image and superficially less secretive than in the past.
Although it is weaker than in the past, Freemasonry still seems to have some influence in the Church of England. A study written by Caroline Windsor, Freemasonry and the Ministry (Concilium publications 2005), has shown that it is still quite strong in cathedrals (a big Masonic service was held in St Paul's Cathedral in 2002, with the Dean preaching) - and also that many parishes where Freemasons are active are weak in terms of Christian witness. If we are serious about ecumenical dialogue, the issue of Freemasonry has to be addressed; the same is true of interfaith relations, as Freemasons are sometimes involved in interfaith organisations - if they are there, we are talking about dialogue which is three-way, not two-way.
The overriding problem is that in spite of what Freemasons claim, their way of life is a religion, with all of religion's hallmarks. You can no more be a Freemason and a Christian than you can be a Muslim and a Christian. Catholics are committed to inter-faith dialogue and mutual respect, but this requires Freemasons to be honest about what they are. For Catholics, thinking about the reasons for the gulf between us can deepen our understanding of the Christian faith.
Three of the officers in the local lodge are also Knights of Columbus. Besides I wear a Knights of Columbus apron when we make our Pancake Breakfasts. Bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, corned beef hash, toast, juice, coffee. $5. Children under twelve free. Go ahead. Try getting that at Bickford’s.
Cooking aprons are OK.
Neo-pagan masonic gear is not.
Mmmmmm....bacon.
Very interesting considerations. I think many people don’t realize that the option of coming back to Rome, while made as simple as possible for Anglicans, is going to require some serious analysis and soul-searching by them. They really will have to be quite honest about what they believe and quite thoroughly informed about what the Church teaches and believes, and then figure out where they can go from there.
That said, the British have always had a fondness for a sort of Pelagianism (Pelagius was from Britain, actually) which rejects original sin, believes that salvation is possible through one’s own means and that Jesus was basically just a “good example” for mankind. That’s what makes it possible for people to think they are simultaneously accepting Freemasonry and Christianity. Their version of Christianity is very naturalistic and Pelagianist, and differs very little from English Freemasonry except that it gives more preeminence to Jesus as a good example.
So they have a lot to think about before going any further, and I’m sure most of them (especially among the TAC) are aware of this.
Is the bishop aware of this? Do the Knights know? One of the reasons for the founding of the K of C, of course, was to give Catholic men a fraternal organization that would not conflict with Catholic principles.
ping
My grandfather was buried with a lambskin Masonic apron on his coffin, with the lodge members doing the gestures and rituals. He was a devout Southern Baptist, believing that salvation came only through Jesus Christ.
My other grandfather was a lapsed Congregationalist, an impish atheist, and he was a Mason too.
For both, the attraction had to be a night with the boys, secrets kept from wives.
In the US, I think most of the attraction was simply that of any fraternal order (as you say, a night out with the boys). The US was full of these groups, although the attraction of the Masons was probably that they were older and had more of a tradition, so you got a better class of folks (the town banker, for example). I doubt that most people in small town America gave much thought to the philosophical underpinnings of Freemasonry.
That said, I can see why it might be necessary to reexamine it now in light of the current state of religious belief.
Look at your arguments, and focus on those that liberals and anti-Catholics have used, against the Catholic faith.
“Exclusion of women???” Gosh, how many women Priests to we have? How many women are in the Knights of Columbus? How much time does the Knights require, away from our families?
Historically, the Catholic Church acted in cowardice, when the French King crushed the Knights Templar's, in order to get out of paying back a large national debt that France owed to the Knights. Our own Pope was complicit in that act of slander and libel and mass murder.
This is a HISTORICAL fact!
Then, some of the lore of the Masons seems to indicate that their roots might trace back to that “Friday the 13th” travesty.
The Masonic youth group, “Demolay” was founded on the name of a Templar leader.
The Catholic Church, being embarrassed at our own history, attempted to muzzle critics and rewrite history, or simply send valid history down the “memory hole” -—
Yes, during the Reformation, there were countless acts of brutality against Catholics, committed by “Reformers” -— but instead of making clear, through our “ecumenical dialog” that religious intolerance, by Catholics towards Protestants, or by Protestants towards Catholics, was WRONG, our Catholic Church, again, did a poor job of educating the flock. Also, by keeping Catholics OUT of the Masons, there are few, within the Masonic lodges, who understand OUR side of the story!
Yes, there are some Masons with some goofy views. So what?
It should also be pointed out that Catholic leaders, in America, bear much guilt for passing on ridiculous rumors and false allegations against the Masons, during a few national scandals that rocked the American Masonic Lodges. This was done for self-serving purposes, to protect their power, to keep parishes united, to hold on to all of the charitable contributions and activities of the flock, to keep the faithful from hearing any of the Catholic sins, of the past, and to keep the flock ignorant of history. It amazes me, often, that those Catholics who go off about Masons, especially our Priests and Bishops, spend little time addressing another Papal directive:
“It is impossible, at the same time, to be a sincere Catholic and a true socialist!” I have not joined the Masons, as I try to be obedient. However, I have several Masonic friends, and they are as Christian as any other Christian I have ever met.
“Knights of Columbus pancake breakfasts”
What, no grits?
Anyway, reading this thread and recalling the centuries long prohibition against Freemasonry for Catholics like me, I tend to believe that it is based upon the inherent Pelagianism in the group. Salvation through self-improvement with Jesus as an example rather than as our Lord, directly contradicts the Christian message of salvation through divine grace.
In fact, salvation through self-improvement by achieving higher and higher degrees of perfection sounds a great deal like the teachings of Mormonism, a sect in which aprons and other sacred garments are also ceremonially presented.
Just wow. Is this the 21st century?
Masonry is both Pelagian and indifferentist ("all religions are good").
Modern Catholic historians will generally admit that the suppression of the Templars was a grave injustice.
However, the Papacy was owned lock, stock, and barrel by the French king at the point, so whatever "justice" was done would have been the "justice" that Phillip wanted.
The connection between the Templars and the Freemasons is probably just wishful thinking in any case.
It's not just a historical quirk of Catholics.
Pope Clement XII, Papal Bull In Eminenti, 1738
See also,
The Holy See has been in opposition to Freemasonry since pretty close to the earliest establishment of speculative masonry in 1717. It hasn't changed and there is no way it will ever change (now to the degree that it is taught and enforced...well, that's a different issue altogether)
From your article:
Anglicans or others who are Freemasons wishing to become Catholics will have to discard their aprons: this may keep the numbers of potential converts down.
Yup, that is pretty much true.
“It’s not just a historical quirk of Catholics.”
No, but the the recent issues started with a hoax on the sittting pope by a French crook called Leo Taxil.
http://www.masonicinfo.com/taxil.htm
The then-pope fell for the hoax, and while the Roman Catholic Church has admitted the error, the lie has taken a life of its own in cracked Protestant fringe groups.
Indeed, many lazy historians in many denominations (or simple conspiracy nuts) pick up various RCC writing that have been since-rejected by the RCC and run with it.
The Lutheran link has so many false statements about the freemason fraternity, I wouldn’t know where to start.I wouldn’t join the fictional fraternity it talks about, either.
It surprises me that so many purported Christian organizations would slander an organization to which many, if not most, of the Founding Fathers of these United States belongs, without doing some basic on-line research.
“•Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Humanum Genus, 1884”
This encyclical is particularly out-of-date, in that the good-meaning pope based his conclusions about masons on the lies of Leo Taxil, who was a bitter anti-Catholic and intentionally misled the pope, “confessing” of his hoax a few years after the Enycical was published.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxil_hoax
Also, what if you're a paidmason and not a freemason?
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