> Subject: Freemasonry
> Dear Father,
> I am wondering why the church prohibits membership in the
> Masons. According to a booklet put out by the Knights of
> Columbus, the Masons used to have beliefs which differ from
> ours. The article also said that many years ago, membership was
> prohibited under pain of excommunication, but recently the
> relationship between Catholics and Masons is "more congenial".
> However, it stated that membership is still prohibited for strong
> pastoral reasons.
>
> I have no desire to join the Masons, but I would appreciate it
> if you could explain what is meant by "strong pastoral reasons".
>
> Thank you for any help and guidance you can give.
> H. Jon Thomas
> Hjtho@aol.com
Dear Jon,
The following "Q and A" is on page 32 of June, 1993 issue of "This
Rock" magazine:
[Q] What is the Catholic Church's official position on
Freemasonry? Are Catholics free to become Freemasons?
[A] Freemasonry is incompatible with the Catholic Faith.
Freemasonry teaches a naturalistic religion that espouses
indifferentism, the position that a person can be equally
pleasing to God while remaining in any religion.
Masonry is a parallel religion to Christianity. The *New Catholic
Encyclopedia* states, "Freemasonry displays all the elements of
religion, and as such it becomes rival to the religion of the
Gospel. It includes temples and altars, prayers, a moral code,
worship, vestments, feast days, the promise of reward or
punishment in the afterlife, a hierarchy, and initiation and
burial rites" (vol. 6, p. 137).
Masonry is also a secret society. Its initiates subscribe to
secret blood oaths that are contrary to Christian morals. The
prospective Mason swears that if he ever reveals the secrets of
Masonry--secrets which are trivial and already well-known-he wills
to be subject to self-mutilation or to gruesome execution. (Most
Masons, admittedly, would never dream of carrying out these
punishments on themselves or on an errant member).
Historically, one of the Masonry's primary objectives has been the
destruction of the Catholic Church; this is especially true of
Freemasonry as it has existed in certain European countries. In
the United States, Freemasonry is often little more than a social
club, but it still espouses a naturalistic religion that
contradicts orthodox Christianity. (Those interested in joining a
men's club should consider the Knights of Columbus instead).
The Church has imposed the penalty of excommunication on Catholics
who become Freemasons. The penalty of excommunication for joining
the Masonic Lodge was explicit in the 1917 code of canon law
(canon 2335) and it is implicit in the 1983 code (canon 1374).
Because the revised code of canon law is not explicit on this
point, some drew the mistaken conclusion that the Church's
prohibition of Freemasonry had been dropped. As a result of this
confusion, shortly before the 1983 code was promulgated, the
Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a
statement indicating that the penalty was still in force. This
statement was dated November 26, 1983 and may be found in
*Origins* 13/27 (Nov. 15, 1983), 450.
<continued in next message>
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
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