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The Catholic Church has often been seen to be in conflict with Freemasonry , a fraternity it sees as tending to Anticlericalism . The Church Forbids Catholics from becoming Freemasons while Freemasonry allows Catholics to become members. CATHOLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS FREEMASONRY Papal Documents A number of papal documents deal with FreemasonryFrom Masonry (Freemasonry) The Catholic Encyclopedia and ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH LAW REGARDING FREEMASONRY by REID McINVALE, Texas Lodge of Research paper, the most prominent include:
Specific Criticisms Freemasonry is seen by the Catholic Church as being in fundamental competition with Catholic doctrines for a number of reasons:
HISTORICAL ANTAGONISM TO FREEMASONRY Original Prohibition In 1736 the Florentine Inquisition investigated a Masonic Lodge in Florence , Italy ,Fom the biograpghy of Tommaso Crudeli on the website of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon and the Lodge was condemned in June 1737. The lodge had originally been founded by English Masons, but accepted Italian members. In 1738, Pope Clement XII issued Eminenti Apostolatus Specula , the first Papal prohibition on Freemasonry. In May 1739, Tommaso Crudeli , a physician and freethinker, was taken into custody and questioned under torture about his heretical beliefs and Masonic affiliation. He was released in April 1741 and died in January 1745 from what is believed to be the result of his interrogation and incarceration"He was imprisoned and not released until April, 1741. His health was ruined as a result of the experience. He died on January 27, 1745." Fom the biograpghy of Tommaso Crudeli on the website of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. The Inquisition Another case involved John Coustos , a Protestant Swiss living in England. He founded a Masonic Lodge in Lisbon and was arrested by the Portuguese Inquisition while travelling on business. After being questioned, he was sentenced to the galleys.John Coustos: ''The Sufferings of John Coustos for Freemasonry and for His Refusing to Turn Catholic in the Inquisition'', Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 1417941871 Three other Portuguese Masons were put to death. Coustos was released in 1744 as a result of the intercession of George II of England, and after his return to England, Coustos wrote a book detailing his experiences in the hands of the Inquisition. In 1815, Francisco Xavier de Mier y Campillo, the reestablished the Inquisition in Spain and suppressed the Masonic lodges, Xavier denounced the lodges as “societies which lead to sedition, to independence, and to all errors and crimes.” {Link without Title} Many of the most distinguished persons of Spain were arrested and imprisoned in the dungeons of the Inquisition on the charge of being “supspected of Freemasonry””'' He then instituted a purge during which Spaniards could be arrested on the charge of being “suspected of Freemasonry”. Reiteration of ban on membership The ban in Eminenti was reiterated by several later popes, notably Pope Leo XIII in the Encyclical '' Humanum Genus '' (1884). The 1917 Code Of Canon Law explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic Excommunication ."Those who join a Masonic sect or other societies of the same sort, which plot against the Church or against legitimate civil authority, incur ipso facto an excommunication simply reserved to the Holy See." Canon 2335, 1917 Code of Canon Law, quoted in Canon Law regarding Freemasonry, 1917-1983 , excerpted from ''Canon Law, A Text and Commentary'', by T. Lincoln Bouscaren, S.J. and Adam C. Ellis, S.J., hosted on the website of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved on 9 April Post Vatican II ===1970s Confusion Unlike its predecessor, Canon 1374, the 1983 Code Of Canon Law does not explicitly name Masonic orders among the Secret Societies it condemns. Canon 1374 states in part: ''A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an Interdict .'' This omission caused some confusion as to whether the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons was still in place, especially after the perceived liberalisation of Vatican II"Some brethren and some Catholics believe that since the Second Ecumenical Council, which was conducted from 1962 to 1965 and is informally known as "Vatican II", the attitude of the church has been to regard Freemasonry as an acceptable sphere for fraternal interaction." From [http://www.io.com/~janebm/churchlaw.html ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH LAW REGARDING FREEMA SONRY] by Reid McInvale, Texas Lodge of Research. Ratzinger's Reply However, in the letter, Clarification Concerning Status Of Catholics Becoming Freemasons to the United States Bishops from the Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith authored by the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ( Pope Benedict XVI ), the matter was clarified, and the prohibition against Catholics joining Masonic orders remains. Many Catholic Masons in the US choose to rely on the letter of the law. Report of the American Bishops Conference In the 1980s, the Bishops' Committee on Pastoral Research and Practices concluded that "the principles and basic rituals of Masonry embody a naturalistic religion, active participation in which is incompatible with Christian faith and practice." This report, together with two others, was sent in a Public Letter by Cardinal Bernard Law. STATUS OF CATHOLICS WITHIN FREEMASONRY However, there is no Masonic prohibition against Catholics, although before the Second World War Freemasonry was alleged by Catholic apologists to be particularly anti-Catholic."Parkinson, an illustrious Mason says: "The two systems of Romanism and Freemasonry are not only incompatible, but they are radically opposed to each other" (Freemason's Chronicle, 1884, II, I7). This is so well understood that we are not surprised to know that Masons as a body do not want Catholics in their ranks. "We won't make a man a Freemason until we know that he isn't a Catholic" (Freemason's Chronicle, 1890, II, 347)." From THINGS CATHOLICS ARE ASKED ABOUT; CHAPTER XXXVII - FREEMASONRY 1927 P.J. Kenedy & Sons CATHOLIC CHURCH, FREEMASONRY AND THE STATE Separation of Church and State Freemasons were seen by the church as prominent advocates of a separation of church and state, as in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by legal precedents interpreting that clause, which in turn is seen as a veiled attack on the Church's place in public life. Freemasons are consistent advocates of the . This separation of church and state is seen, especially by the Catholic church, as a veiled attack on its place in public life. Pope Leo XIII ETSI NOS (On Conditions in Italy) , Item 2 The Catholic Church also saw this separation of the state from the church as manifesting a Religious Indifferentism , which did not accept any religion as true or revealed."If the Bloc has been established, this is owing to Freemasonry and to the discipline learned in the lodges. The measures we have now to urge are the separation of Church and State and a law concerning instruction. Let us put our trust in the word of our Bro. Combes" from quoted as footnote 158 in the article Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia Some specific areas which Freemasons were accused of advocating a democratic separation of church and state (particularly in Italy) were:
Josephinism . Joseph's father Francis I was a Freemason, and patron to the musical arts."In Mozart's Vienna, Freemasonry had florished under the Hapsburgs mainly due to the influence of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, who, himself, was a Freemason." Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart - Master Mason Freemasonry was banned in Austria-Hungary shortly after Joseph II's death in 1790"Then came the French Revolution. The Freemasons were regarded with suspicion. The Austrian Lodges voluntarily closed in 1792, and those in Bohemia during the following year. Masonry in Hungary had a somewhat longer life, but by an Edict of 1795, all secret societies in the Austrian dominions were ordered to dissolve." From THE SUPPRESSION OF MASONRY IN AUSTRO-HUNGARY in March 1929 - Volume XV - Number 3 , The Builder Magazine, a state of affairs that continued until 1867 in Hungary and 1918 in Austria. Kulturkampf . The Anti-Clericalism among the "Latin Lodges" In many traditionally Catholic countries (what some Masonic scholars refer to as the "Latin Lodges"For example the The Miter and the Trowel says "the Latin Grand Lodges" and "the Latin version of Freemasonry" and "unique to Latin Masonry"), Freemasonry has been seen as a lightning rod for anti-Catholic disaffection, and many particularly Anti-clerical regimes in traditionally Catholic countries were perceived as having a strong Masonic element in their struggles for modern democracies. Freemasonry has been commonly asserted"See Congrés Intern. of Paris, 1889, in "Compte rendu du Grand Orient de France", 1889; Browers, "L'action, etc."; Brück, "Geh. Gesellsch. in Spanien"; "Handbuch"; articles on the different countries, etc." Footnote 152 of the article Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia to be behind may of the revolutionary movements in these countries. Italy =The Carbonari See Also: Carbonari The . The Alta Vendita is a document that purports to be from the highest lodge of the Carbonari in Sicily, and was believed to be by two nineteenth century popes. It mapped out a takeover of the Catholic church to change it into a more liberal and less exclusive institution. =Risorgimento Italian nationalists who were Freemasons included:
The Risorgimento ended with the dispossession of the Papal States in 1870. =Prisoner in the Vatican In the period between in 1882, complained about the way in which post-unification Italy denigrated the role of the church"If ever these perils were menacing in Italy they are surely so now, at a time when the condition of the Civil State itself disastrously imperils the freedom of religion." Paragraph 1, Etsi Nos (On Conditions in Italy) , which the Vatican blamed primarily on Freemasonry."It is even reported that this year it is about to receive the deputies and leaders of the sect which is most embittered against Catholicism, who have appointed this city as the place for their solemn meeting. The reasons which have determined their choice of such a meeting place are no secret; they desire by this outrageous provocation to glut the hatred which they nourish against the Church, and to bring their incendiary torches within reach of the Roman Pontificate by attacking it in its very seat." Paragraph 3, Etsi Nos (On Conditions in Italy) France =French Revolution Many French revolutionaries were Freemasons, including:
FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES, by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
In many parts of France the Jacobin Clubs were continuances of Masonic lodges from the ''Ancien Regime''. The . =Atheist Lodges French lodges created a split among Masonry by allowing in avowedly atheist members."On 10 September, 1878, the Grand Orient, moreover, decreed to expunge from the Rituals and the lodge proceedings all allusions to religious dogmas as the symbols of the Grand Architect, the Bible, etc. These measures called out solemn protests from nearly all the Anglo-American and German organs and led to a rupture between the Anglo-American Grand Lodges and the Grand Orient of France. As many freethinking Masons both in America and in Europe sympathize in this struggle with the French, a world-wide breach resulted." from Masonry (Freemasonry) from the Catholic Encyclopedia =1905 Separation of Church and State Catholic sources, quoting Masonic documents from both the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Orient of FranceThe Freemason's Chronicle, 1889, I, 81 sq and Bulletin du Grand Orient de France 1890, 500 sq - cited as footnotes 157 and 158 Masonry (Freemasonry) from the Catholic Encyclopedia, saw Freemasonry as the primary force of French anti-clericalism from 1877 onwards"French Masonry and above all the Grand Orient of France has displayed the most systematic activity as the dominating political element in the French "Kulturkampf" since 1877." From Masonry (Freemasonry) from the Catholic Encyclopedia. The :
Mexico In the nineteenth century the Freemason Benito Juárez confiscated a large amount of church land. The Mexican government's campaign against the Catholic Church after the Mexican Revolution coincided with a succession of Presidents who were Masons."After the defeat and exile of the dictator in the 1910 revolution, a succession of Presidents who were Masons and strongly anticlerical ruled the country under the 1917 Constitution that maintained substantially the same liberal principles of 1857." From MEXICAN MASONRY- POLITICS & RELIGION by Oscar J. Salinas E., Senior Grand Warden-York/Mexico, on the Official Home Page of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the Republic of Mexico Nicaragua The founder of the Sandinista movement, Augusto Sandino , is credited with acquiring his anti-clerical views through his membership of a Mexican Masonic lodgeHe becomes a Freemason, and through the Masonic lodges he becomes acquainted with radical revolutionary ideas such as anti-imperialism, anarchism, communism as well as "liberalism," socialism, and the glorification of his Indian heritage." www.sandino.org, [http://www.sandino.org/bio_en.htm Biographical Notes , 1922- 1926. Links to Militant Protestanism In many parts of the English-speaking world, Freemasonry has not been seen as anti-clerical but rather particularly Protestant, more so than the wider society. This has had a particular influence in places with large Catholic populations such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Australia. According to historian Jim Smyth of Trinity College, Dublin, this was especially pronounced due to what he claims are Freemasonry's historical liks to the Orange Order Jim Smyth, History Ireland, Vol 3 No 3 Autumn 1995 >. There are no formal ties between Freemasonry and the Orange Order Orange Order "Many have come to their own conclusions on the basis of hearsay, limited knowledge, or in some cases no knowledge at all. The writer of Proverbs warns us "He who answers a matter before he hears the facts, it is folly and shame to him." (Proverbs 18:11 Amplified Bible) The purpose of this study is to make it clear that, contrary to the popular belief of some, ''there is no connection between the Freemasons and the Loyal Orange Institution''. We hope by setting the record straight, we will inform the mind, correct such misunderstandings as exist, and present an honest assessment of the purpose and place of the Loyal Orange Institution." From THE ORANGE ORDER: An Evangelical Perspective - ORANGEISM COMPARED WITH FREEMASONRY, By REV. IAN MEREDITH B.A., M.Th. Grand Chaplain Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland & REV. BRIAN KENNAWAY M.A. Deputy Grand Chaplain Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland (emphisis added) The nineteenth century American anti-immigration groups the . CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL OBJECTIONS Allegations of Deism One of the persistent Catholic criticisms of Freemasonry is that it advocates a Deism , in the European Enlightenment Glossary. One piece of evidence in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia is said to attest to this deism is the prominent role of Geometry in ritual of (non-dogmatic) Freemasonry (that states it is not a religion). This is seen to betray a Naturalistic philosophy, (but could just be a definition of a philosophical science): In this light, Geometry may very properly be considered as a natural logic; for as truth is ever consistent, invariable and uniform, all truths may be investigated in the same manner. Moral and religious definitions, axioms and propositions have as regular and certain dependence upon each other as any in physics or mathematics. Catholic Prohibition on Secret Societies The Catholic Church regards oath bound Secret Societies as being detrimental to the faith and has banned its membership from joining such societies. Some Anti-Catholics contend that this represents a double standard, as the Church controls Opus Dei. Official web page of Opus Dei "Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church." which is alleged to be oath bound,"The supernumeraries are, for the most part, married and appear to live normal lives. But as members of Opus Dei they are under solemn oath to "always consult their superiors in regard to professional, social and other questions, even those which do not constitute a matter of a direct vow of obedience" (Article 58)." OPUS DEI: THE PAPAL UNDERGROUND by Thomas Lawton Jones. Found on this web page . Note that the oath cited is no longer in use, having been replaced by the Particular Law of 1982 when Opus Deid was made a personal prelature of the Church. and supports the activities of the Knights of Columbus, and a false oath has been cited for this. The Oath of the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta and Rhodes (This is an extract of the Congressional Record of the US House of Representatives dated February 15, 1913, where the oath is entered as purported to be of the Knights of Columbus - it should be noted that according to Masonicinfo.com , a pro-masonic web page, this Oath is a fake placed into the Record by anti-Catholics.) The Church's stance against Oath bound societies is for a number of reasons:
Other secret societies legislated against by the Church have been the In response to the accusations of communists, the Italian Parliament in 1987 declared that Opus Dei is not a secret society neither "in law nor in fact," for the Catholic prelature provides information about their activities and their directors. Under similar reasoning, Freemasons claim that they also would not, and do not qualify as a secret society. "Is Freemasonry a Secret Society?" page from the United Grand Lodge of England website. Grand Lodges provide similar information about their Officers and activities.As is clearly stated on the webpage of the United Grand Lodge of England: "The rules and aims of Freemasonry are available to the public. The Masonic Year Book, also available to the public, contains the names of all national office-holders and lists of all lodges with details of their meeting dates and places. The meeting places and halls used by Freemasons are readily identifiable, are listed in telephone directories and in many areas are used by the local community for activities other than Freemasonry. Freemason's Hall in London is open to the public and 'open days' are held in many provincial centres. The rituals and ceremonies used by Freemasons to pass on the principles of Freemasonry to new members were first revealed publicly in 1723. They include the traditional forms of recognition used by Freemasons essentially to prove their identity and qualifications when entering a Masonic meeting. These include handshakes which have been much written about and can scarcely be regarded as truly secret today; for medieval Freemasons, they were the equivalent of a 'pin number' restricting access only to qualified members. Many thousands of books have been written on the subject of Freemasonry and are readily available to the general public. Freemasonry offers spokesmen and briefings for the media and provides talks to interested groups on request. Freemasons are proud of their heritage and happy to share it." The long standing accusation that Freemasonry is a secret society is mainly due to its high regard for discretion.Matthias Pöhlmann: ''Verschwiegene Männer'', Protestant Centre for Religious and Ideological Issues of the Evangelical Church In Germany The German historian Dieter A. Binder tells us “Lodges are closed societies, but not secret societies” and says that the historical correct description would be ''“Discreet Society”''.Dieter A. Binder: ''Die diskrete Gesellschaft, Geschichte und Symbolik der Freimaurer'', Innsbruck 2004 Allegations that Freemasonry is a new religion See Also: Christianity and Freemasonry The the Catholic Church charges that Freemasonry shows many characteristics of a separate religion"The Catholic Church has difficulty with freemasonry because it is indeed a kind of religion unto itself." From Straight Answers: Catholics and Freemasonry by Father William P. Saunders in the Arlington Catholic Herald, 22nd September 2005 and so the Church forbids those who accept it's authority from becoming Freemasons - in the same way that a non-Catholic church would be forbidden."The March 11, 1985, issue of L'Osservatore Romano carried an article titled "Irreconcilability Between Christian Faith and Freemasonry" as a comment on the Nov. 26, 1983, declaration. In part the Vatican newspaper said a Christian "cannot cultivate relations of two types with God nor express his relation with the Creator through symbolic forms of two types." Quoted in the THE PASTORAL PROBLEM OF MASONIC MEMBERSHIP in the Letter of April 19, 1985 to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry by Cardinal Bernard Law Religious Indifferentism See Also: Religious Indifferentism The Catholic church claims that what it sees as Freemasonry's refusal to hold one faith as being superior to any others,"The peculiar, "unsectarian" (in truth, anti-Catholic and anti-Christian) naturalistic character of Freemasonry, by which theoretically and practically it undermines the Catholic and Christian faith, first in its members and through them in the rest of society, creating religious indifferentism and contempt for orthodoxy and ecclesiastical authority." From Masonry (Freemasonry) in the . Freemasonry categorically denies that it is a religion (and, in fact, had definitively stated that it is not a religion) UGLE ''freemasonry and religion'' from United Grand Lodge of England's web page. but supports its members in their personal faith, UGLE ''freemasonry and religion'' from United Grand Lodge of England's web page. while at the same time enjoying its rituals. ''Why Do People Join?'' from UGLE web page. Anti-Catholicism and The Scottish Rite It is alleged that anti-Catholicism becomes more pronounced in the appendant bodies, commonly called "higher" or "advanced" degrees"One of my reasons for writing this book is to encourage Bretheren to take these "Advanced Degrees." The Higher Degrees Handbook by J S M Ward hosted by the Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry, of Scottish Rite Masonry. Particularly controversial is the Kadosh or thirtieth degree, purported to have been written by or alternatively that a skull with a Papal tiara is stabbed"The Scottish Rite, an appendant Masonic body, in its Knight Kadosh (30th) degree, requires that the candidate stab a skull with a papal tiara, and a skull on which is a crown, saying, “Down with imposture! Down with crime!” In the fourth oath the Knight Kadosh again focuses on the “cruel and cowardly Pontiff, who sacrificed to his ambition the illustrious order of those Knights Templar of whom we are the true successors.” All present then trample on the papal tiara while shouting “Down with imposture!”" How Catholics Can Evangelize Freemasons from Second Exodus during the initiation. Masonic Scholar Art deHoyos claims to have demonstrated that these anti-Catholic elements do not form part of the rituals of the Scottish Rite, but are instead taken from Jonathan Blanchard's ''Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated'', an exposure of Cerneauism (an illegitimate pseudo-Masonic organization founded by Joseph Cerneau and chiefly active in the 1800s). ''Jonathan Blanchard and the Scottish Rite'' from "Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry". The controversial Masonic book "Morals and Dogma" by Albert Pike mentions hostility to the papal tiara by the historical Knights Templar when discussing the Kadosh degree, but it is not clear how this relates to the degree ceremony itself."Thus the Order of Knights of the Temple was at its very origin devoted to the cause of opposition to the tiara of Rome"; Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, 1871, XXX KNIGHT KADOSH . An early Twentieth Century essay, authored by someone with the pen name of "Cato Perpatria", translated from the original Spanish by Edwin Sherman and published in a Masonic magaizine, says that the Knight Kadosh initiation ritual commemorates a Papal betrayal of the Knights Templars"THE mystic ladder pertains particularly to us as Knights Kadosh, as the type of our order. It is composed of two ascents or supports that remind us of the compact which took place between Philip the Fair and Pope Clement the V, and the strength of that union which was given against our predecessors." From The Mystic Ladder, Translated by Edwin Sherman in the Builder Magazine, July 1915 - Volume I - Number 7 while at the same time swearing enmity towards the Church."And so you likewise complete your obligations and swear implacable hatred to the enemies of that Order which was the pattern of all the virtues; and we now have the obligation of employing all our forces for the total ruin of evil and priestly tyrants, upon whose heads must fall the blood of Jacques de Molay and his martyred companions." From The Mystic Ladder, Translated by Edwin Sherman in the Builder Magazine, July 1915 - Volume I - Number 7 It is not known if "Cato Peratria" was a member of the Scottish Rite, and his essay does not specify the symbolic actions of the ritual nor say if members of the Scottish Rite agreed with his sentiments. In the Southern Juristiction of the Scottish Rite, a stabbed skull is a symbol of the Kadosh degree"30th degree - Knight of Kadosh, or Knight of the White and Black Eagle: The lesson of this degree is to be true to ourselves, to stand for what is right and just in our lives today. To believe in God, country and ourselves. There is no apron, but the jewel is a gold Teutonic cross, enameled in red, with the letters J.'.B.'.M.'. on the obverse, and a skull transpierced by a poinard on the reverse." Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction from freemasoninformation.com However, it is possible that Catholic critics of the Scottish Rite may be misinterpreting the meaning of this symbol. Catholic critics of Freemasonry, such as the Grand Lodges have specificly stated that they are sovereign and do not owe allegiance to any Scottish Rite Supreme Council.http://www.grandlodge-england.org/pdf/cr-rule-update2-141205.pdf page x Aims & Relationships of the Craft 'That the Grand Lodge shall have sovereign jurisdiction over Lodges under its control; ie that it shall be a responsible, independent, self-governing organisation, with sole and undisputed authority over the Craft or Symbolic degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason) within its' Jurisdiction; and shall not in any way be subject to, or divide such authority with, a Supreme Council or any other power claiming any control or supervision over those degrees.' SEDEVACANTIST CRITIQUE See Also: sedevacantism It has been alleged in the article ''On Freemasonry and Other "Paranoid Fantasies"''. On Freemasonry and Other "Paranoid Fantasies" , that the Catholic church in the period leading from Vatican II up until today has been infiltrated by the Freemasons and so is no longer validly the Catholic Church. FURTHER READING See also
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