CATHOLICS AND THE FREEMASON
'RELIGION'
Fr. William Saunders
The Catholic Diocese of Arlington
What are the Masons? Are Catholics allowed to belong to this organization?—A
Reader.
The origins of the Masons, or what is officially called Freemasonry,
are hard to pinpoint. With the decline of cathedral building in
the aftermath of the Protestant movement, the guilds of masons
began accepting non-masons as members to bolster their dwindling
membership. Eventually, the non-masons outnumbered the masons,
and the guilds became places for the discussion of ethics and morality
while retaining the secret signs, symbols and gestures of the original
guild. Four such guilds merged in 1717 in London, England, to form
the Grand Lodge of Freemasons. (A "freemason" was highly
skilled mason who enjoyed the privileges of membership in a trade
guild.) The Masons then spread throughout the world.
Old "handbooks" of Freemasonry define the organization
as "a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated
by symbols," "a science which is engaged in the search
after the divine truth," and "the activity of closely
united men who, employing symbolic forms borrowed principally from
the mason's trade and others and thereby to bring about a universal
league of mankind which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small
scale."
James Anderson (d. 1739), a Scottish Presbyterian minister, wrote
the <Book of Constitutions> in which he contrived the "traditional," albeit
spurious, history of Freemasonry. Masons hold that God, "the
Great Architect," founded Freemasonry, and that it has as
patrons Adam and the Patriarchs. Even Jesus is listed as "the
Grand Master" of the Christian Church. They credit themselves
with the building of Noah's ark, the Tower of Babel, the pyramids
and Solomon's Temple. In all, Freemasonry borrows liberally from
the history and traditions of cultic groups such as Druids, Mithars,
Egyptian priesthood, Rosicrucians and others to weave its own history.
The Catholic Church has difficulties with Freemasonry because
it is indeed a kind of religion unto itself. The practice of Freemasonry
includes temples, altars, a moral code, worship services, vestments,
feast days, a hierarchy of leadership, initiation and burial rites,
and promises of eternal reward and punishment. While in America
most Masons are Christian and will display a Bible on their "altar," in
the same lodges or elsewhere, Jews, Moslems, Hindus or other non-Christian
religions can be admitted and may use their own sacred scriptures.
(In France, in 1877, the "Grand Orient" Lodge eliminated
the need to believe in God or the immortality of the soul, thereby
admitting atheists into their fold; this atheistic type of Freemasonry
spread particularly in Latin countries.)
Moreover, the rituals involve the corruption of Christianity.
The cross is merely a symbol of nature and eternal life, devoid
of Christ's sacrifice for sin. INRI (For Christians, "Iesus
Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum," i.e. Jesus of Nazareth King of the
Jews) means for Masons "Igne Natura Renovatur Integra" ("the
fire of nature rejuvenates all) referring to the sacred fire's
(truth and love) regeneration of mankind, just as the sun regenerates
nature in the Spring.
The rituals are also inimical to Catholicism. During the initiation
rite, the candidate expresses a desire to seek "light," and
he is assured he will receive the light of spiritual instruction
that he could not receive in another Church, and that he will gain
eternal rest in the "celestial lodge" if he lives and
dies according to Masonic principles. Note also that since Masonry
involves non-Christians, the use of the name of Jesus is forbidden
within the lodge.
A strong Anti-Catholicism also permeates Freemasonry. The two
traditional enemies of Freemasonry are the royalty and the papacy.
Masons even believe that Christ, dying on Calvary, was the "greatest
among the apostles of humanity, braving Roman despotism and the
fanaticism and bigotry of the priesthood." When one reaches
the 30th degree in the masonic hierarchy, called the Kadosh, the
person crushes with his foot the papal tiara and the royal crown,
and swears to free mankind "from the bondage of despotism
and the thraldom of spiritual tyranny."
A second difficulty with Freemasonry for Catholics involves taking
of oaths. An oath is a religious act which asks God to witness
the truth of the statement or the fulfillment of a promise. Only
the Church and the state, for serious reasons, can require an oath.
A candidate makes an oath to Freemasonry and its secrets under
pain of death or self-mutilation by kneeling blindfolded in front
of the altar, placing both hands on the volume of sacred law (perhaps
the Bible), the square and the compass, and repeating after the "worshipful
master." Keep in mind that the candidate does not yet even
know all the "secrets" to which he is taking an oath.
The history of Freemasonry has proven its anti-Catholic nature.
In the United States, one of the leaders of Freemasonry, General
Albert Pike (d. 1891) referred to the papacy as "a deadly,
treacherous enemy," and wrote, "The papacy has been for
a thousand years the torturer and curse of humanity, the most shameless
imposture, in its pretense to spiritual power of all ages." In
France, in 1877, and in Portugal in 1910, Freemasons took control
of the government for a time and enacted laws to restrict the activities
of the Church, particularly in education. In Latin America, the
Freemasons have expressed anti-Church and anti-clerical sentiment.
Since the decree "In Eminenti" of Pope Clement XII in
1738, Catholics have been forbidden to join the Masons, and until
1983, under pain of excommunication. (The Orthodox and several
Protestant churches also ban membership in the Masons.) Confusion
occurred in 1974, when a letter by Cardinal Franjo Seper, then
prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
was interpreted to mean that Catholics could join Masonic lodges
that were not anti-Catholic; the same congregation declared this
interpretation as erroneous in 1981.
On Nov. 26, 1983, with the approval of Pope John Paul II, the
Sacred Congregation reiterated the ban on Catholics joining the
Masons: "The Church's negative position on Masonic association
... remains unaltered, since their principles have always been
regarded as irreconcilable with the Church's doctrine. Hence, joining
them remains prohibited by the Church. Catholics enrolled in masonic
associations are involved in serious sin and may not approach Holy
Communion." However, neither this declaration nor the 1983 <Code
of Canon Law> imposed the penalty of excommunication on Catholics
belonging to the Masons.
Fr. Saunders is president of the Notre Dame Institute and pastor
of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria.
The history of Freemasonry has proven its anti-Catholic nature.
In the United States, one of the leaders of Freemasonry, General
Albert Pike (d. 1891) referred to the papacy as "a deadly,
treacherous enemy," and wrote, "The papacy has been for
a thousand years the torturer and curse of humanity, the most shameless
imposture, in its pretense to spiritual power of all ages." In
France, in 1877, and in Portugal in 1910, Freemasons took control
of the government for a time and enacted laws to restrict the activities
of the Church, particularly in education. In Latin America, the
Freemasons have expressed anti-Church and anti-clerical sentiment.
Since the decree "In Eminenti" of Pope Clement XII in
1738, Catholics have been forbidden to join the Masons, and until
1983, under pain of excommunication. (The Orthodox and several
Protestant churches also ban membership in the Masons.) Confusion
occurred in 1974, when a letter by Cardinal Franjo Seper, then
prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
was interpreted to mean that Catholics could join Masonic lodges
that were not anti-Catholic; the same congregation declared this
interpretation as erroneous in 1981.
On Nov. 26, 1983, with the approval of Pope John Paul II, the
Sacred Congregation reiterated the ban on Catholics joining the
Masons: "The Church's negative position on Masonic association
... remains unaltered, since their principles have always been
regarded as irreconcilable with the Church's doctrine. Hence, joining
them remains prohibited by the Church. Catholics enrolled in masonic
associations are involved in serious sin and may not approach Holy
Communion." However, neither this declaration nor the 1983 <Code
of Canon Law> imposed the penalty of excommunication on Catholics
belonging to the Masons.
Fr. Saunders is president of the
Notre Dame Institute and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish,
both in Alexandria. This article appeared in the May 9, 1996 issue of "The Arlington
Catholic Herald."
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