Lima Newsroom, Aug 23, 2024 / 07:30 am (CNA).
Catholics are strictly prohibited from being Masons or belonging to Freemasonry. Below are seven facts to know in order to not be misled about the matter.
Recently, Father Eduardo Hayen, a Mexican priest of the diocese of Ciudad Juárez and director of the weekly publication “Presencia,” pointed out on X that “a Catholic priest cannot give sacramental absolution to a Mason who asks for Confession and refuses to renounce Freemasonry.”
“No matter how much some Masons insist that one can be Catholic and belong to a lodge, the reality is that these two visions of the world and of God are irreconcilable,” he warned.
1. The idea of God
The outspoken priest explained that the idea of God “for Masons, is dictated by reason, while for Catholics it is given by the Revelation of God in Jesus Christ.”
“For Freemasonry, God is the Great Architect of the Universe, but it denies that Jesus is begotten and not created, of the same nature as the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, who became incarnate and spoke to all men to offer them salvation,” as the Nicene Creed of the Catholic Church declares.
2. Relativism
Hayen then warns that “while Freemasonry welcomes all religions in a religious relativism, Catholicism requires loving submission to the one true God, as well as the renunciation of all beliefs opposed to the God revealed by Christ.”
3. Masonic ‘mysteries’
The Mexican priest also pointed out that “Masonry studies ‘mysteries’ that are revealed only to a few initiates who reach higher levels of knowledge of these enigmas. The Catholic, on the other hand, knows the Great Mystery that was hidden for centuries and that was revealed in the fullness of time, when the Word became man.”
“This ‘Great Mystery’ is not for a few, but for all humanity: man is immensely loved by God and is called to participate, in Christ, in the same divine life here on earth and in eternity,” Hayen emphasizes.
4. Fraternity in Freemasonry
“Fraternity in Freemasonry comes from the ideals of the French Revolution: it is the generic idea of being brothers only because we are of the same human race,” the Mexican priest explained.
“Being brothers for Catholics, on the other hand, is first recognizing the source of brotherhood, which is God the Father, who gave his Son Jesus Christ to make us sons in the Son,” who gives himself for all of us daily in the Eucharist.
5. Masonic philanthropy vs. Christian charity
Hayen also noted that “Christian charity is different from Masonic philanthropy. Masons say that it is based on doing good, but what good? For them there is no morality based on natural law and the Ten Commandments. In fact, the promotion of abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage are of Masonic inspiration. They base their actions on moral and doctrinal relativism.”
The priest emphasized that “for Catholics, on the other hand, charity is inspired by the commandment of love for Christ: ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you’ (Jn 13:34), and it is Christ himself who lives in his brothers: ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me’ (Mt 25:40).”
6. What does the Catholic Church say about Masons?
The Code of Canon Law establishes in Canon 1374 that “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.”
Broadly speaking, an interdict can be defined as a canonical penalty or censure that, while it does not break the communion with the Church like excommunication, it does deprive the person of celebrating or participating in sacraments.
The wording of the Code of Canon Law approved in 1983 differs from the 1917 version in two respects: the penalty is not automatic and there is no explicit mention of Freemasonry.
In response to this, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, when he was prefect of the Congregation — today a Dicastery — for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, published the 1983 “Declaration on Freemasonry.”
This text by the future Pope Benedict XVI highlights that “the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church.”
Therefore “membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion,” the text declares.
7. The latest Vatican document on Freemasons
On Nov. 15, 2023, the Vatican reaffirmed that Catholics cannot belong to Freemasonry and are prohibited from joining a lodge due to their “irreconcilability” with Catholic doctrine.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith made this declaration in a document released at the time, with the signature of its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, a text approved by Pope Francis.
The letter was issued in response to a query from Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete in the Philippines, who expressed to the Holy See his concern about the situation in his diocese caused by “the continuous increase in the number of faithful” who are joining Freemasonry.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
• Related at CWR: “Freemasons and their craft: What Catholics should know” (Feb 7, 2017) by Sandra Miesel and “Mark Twain, Freemason” (Aug 18, 2021) by James Day
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From The Liber Christo Method: A Field Manual for Spiritual Combat (page 195 of 783 of the Apple eBook)
“If you were a member of a Masonic organization, or a descendant of a freemason, we recommend that you pray prayers of renunciation to break their effects. [endnote] 147 This is best done in front of a practicing Catholic as a witness, preferably on holy ground, and three times over the course of several days or weeks. Having Masses said for the deceased family member is also laudatory. If you were a Mason, be sure to confess this as a first commandment violation.”
Endnote 147: These are found in Ripperger, Deliverance Prayers for Use by the Laity, 122–35, and http://www.liberchristo.org.”
The Liber Christo Method book also recommends getting rid of any Masonic regalia present in your home.
I should make it clear that “The Liber Christo Method” is not available through Apple Books. I was reading the ePub file sold by publisher TAN Books, using Apple’s Books application, which has the advantage over the Kindle application of being able to display more than one book at a time.
This article by Walter Sánchez Silva regarding Fr Eduardo Hayen’s list of reasons why Catholics are forbidden by the Church from membership of freemason lodges should be reprinted in every parish bulletin and preached from every pulpit, several times a year at every Sunday Holy Mass.
I’ve been interested in this topic for decades, having witnessed the devastating destruction of Catholic faith in family members & university colleagues after they were inducted into freemasonry. It can be personally traumatic. For example, in Brisbane in the 1970’s & ‘8o’s, the Emmanuel Covenant Community attracted some of the finest Catholic families to live a full-on Christian life style. What a shock, when Brian Smith, the senior elder, and many of the other leaders were exposed as committed freemasons! Today there’s only a rump left of what was a very large community. The crest they now use is unshamedly masonic; yet approved by Archbishop Mark Coleridge!
Catholic Church leaders (and those of many other Christian churches) have been systematically proslytized by senior freemasons, so that these days it’s hard to find a single-hearted priest, bishop, or Catholic college professor. I attribute much of the catastrophic state of the Church today to God’s anger at the widespread conflating of our holy faith with freemason pagan spiritism.
Many books & articles are available on-line detailing both the childish & the devilish incantations, accoutrements, passwords, body postures, ceremonies, & twisted philosophies involved in becoming a freemason & in progressing through it’s various ‘degrees’. Yet, many freemasons think that what they do as lodgemen or lodgewomen is a closely-guarded secret!
There are plenty of articles on line by ex-freemasons advising how to exit the lodge. They usually mandate a much more systematic deliverance than indicated here in the helpful comment from dear Charles E Flynn.
From the start, the Church has had to deal with the challenge of in-house gnosticism. The growth of in-house freemasonry is the major problem that we have to deal with today. It is the bitter root of many ailments. I’m hoping we are up to the task.
Under the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
Today, even within the Church, a view of humanity, morality, and society that trusts in the power of reason, law, science, technology, and human dominion over nature is gaining much credit, as well as in the realization of continuous progress in equality, tolerance, freedom, and the pluralism of cultures. This is certainly a legacy of Freemasonry. It is present in all major international organizations, starting with the UN. But ultimately, the UN is also a providential organization, as the recent Popes have acknowledged.
What is concerning about Freemasonry is the underlying pride that animates this association, which presumes that man, on his own, can reach the highest goals of knowledge and virtue. For this reason, it is not wrong to accuse it of satanism. It ignores the value and necessity of grace and the weight that sin has in our lives. The Pope might call this a form of Pelagianism. This is why it hates a society like the Church, which reminds it of the duty of humility, penance, atonement, listening to the Word of God, the sacraments, obedience to its ministers, prayer, the invocation of grace, and divine mercy.
A question we might ask ourselves is: what weight does Freemasonry have today in the competition among the great powers vying for world domination? Freemasonry is certainly a product of the West. Beyond its superficial esotericism, it is a product of Western rationalism, with its strengths and weaknesses. Its roots are in Greece, Rome, and pagan myths, with contributions from Kabbalistic and Zionist Judaism.
It certainly has influence in Europe, the United States, and Latin America, to a lesser extent in Judaism, Russia, and China, even less in India and Muslim states. Australia and African states depend on European, American, Chinese, Russian, and Islamic powers.
Freemasonry seems to be triumphant everywhere. I am not far from believing that in Ukraine, two opposing factions of Freemasonry, Russian and American, are at war with each other. But it has made a fundamental mistake: trying to destroy the Church. Today, the Church seems to be discarded by the great rulers of the world, despite its one and a half billion mostly poor followers. And yet, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Anyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls’ (Luke 20:18).” (https://oraetcogita.substack.com/p/part-one-a-new-study-on-freemasonry)
One may wonder how the Church can deny Free Masonry yet promote socialism, liberation theology and progressive ideologies that are anti Catholic in thought, word and deed.
Excellent point!
It doesn’t. Anti-Catholic Catholics promote anti-Catholicism, even if they are high prelates, not Catholics who are Catholic.
Wouldn’t any member of the democrat party fit the same circumstance of canon 1374?
Yes. Which is morally worse, being a Mason or being a Democrat? Tough call.
Just for everyone’s information: Many Evangelical Protestant denominations forbid membership in the Masons (or at least, they used to–Evangelical Protestantism seems to be disintegrating into non-denominational churches with no written doctrines). I grew up in a Baptist church that had Masons membership on the list of forbidden activities (along with drinking alcohol!). But the reasons they gave were very similar to this article. My husband’s grandfather was a Mason for many years, but when his Protestant (Evangelical) church made it clear that Masonic membership was forbidden and explained the reasons, he quit immediately. I do think that men need organizations to be part of, and perhaps the Knights of Columbus works for some men. But other men–well, most younger men find it a little strange to walk around in a helmet with a giant feather. I really like some of the modern organizations; my late husband enjoyed his That Man Is You! meetings and activities. The one flaw with this organization, at least at our parish, is that when the presentation was over, everyone just left–no one wanted to go out for coffee or go to some sporting event or just be friends outside of the meetings. In this era, men seem to be lonely–it’s no wonder they spend so much time with their heads buried in their phones. Men need friendships with other men.
I heard the same thing from Evangelical friends Mrs.Sharon.. They were very concerned about their relatives who were Masons and for mostly the same reasons that Catholics would be.
Both men and women need friends and fellowship. Its a shame how isolated we’ve become. Fraternal orders like the Masons at least offered fellowship and mutual support. I think for many US Masons like those in my family that’s really all it was about. In Europe and Latin America that could differ.
Here, hear!!! A document approved by Pope Francis condemning the Free Masons.
I am not a Mason, nor do I intend to join, but I have known several during my lifetime and all were good people. Fraternal Orders have not done well in recent years, with declining membership. I do not view the Masons as a threat.
What is striking about Freemasonry is that, on the one hand, it promotes the idea of an egalitarian society, free from hierarchical structures. In the name of this ideal, it supported the overthrow of the monarchy and the nobility during the French Revolution. If it could, it would also seek to dismantle the hierarchical structure of the Church, following a Lutheran model.
Today, Freemasonry strives tirelessly to undermine, trivialize, and ultimately dissolve the Petrine ministry, seeking to reduce the Pope to the level of any other member of the people of God. It champions synodality not because it recognizes any episcopal charisma within it, but because it falsely sees in it a reflection of Rousseau’s populism or, at most, the Lutheran concept of the common priesthood of the laity. Yet, paradoxically, Freemasonry itself is marked by an excessive number of hierarchical degrees, which renders it somewhat absurd.
Similarly, Freemasonry presents itself as being grounded in the strictest rationality and scientific method, rejecting any form of irrationality and superstition. This leads it to dismiss even the most reasonable acceptance of the mysteries of the Christian faith, revealed by Christ to humanity and safeguarded by the Church. However, at the same time, high-ranking Masons claim to possess infinite intellectual power and supreme clairvoyance, supposedly granted to them by Lucifer as the ultimate development of idealistic degrees, passed down through tradition from their masters. This, they believe, allows them to perceive the divine light in a way that surpasses the Christian vision, which they regard as irrational and unreliable.
Today, Freemasonry poses the greatest threat to the Church due to its ability to infiltrate and harm it from within, often without the knowledge of many faithful and pastors. It is more dangerous than Protestantism, Marxism, Islamism, Judaism, Hinduism, or Buddhism. Through clever manipulations, the faithful are gradually led to distort the concept of the Church, transforming it into a purely worldly entity, to the point where they believe they are still within the Church, when in reality, they have become enslaved by the world.
I believe that R.H. Benson had the most profound insight into the danger of the Antichrist when, on pages 142-143 of his masterpiece *The Lord of the World*, he writes:
“Once, in the early ages, Satan’s attack had been made on the bodily side, with whips and fire and beasts; in the sixteenth century it had been on the intellectual side; in the twentieth century on the springs of moral and spiritual life. Now it seemed as if the assault was on all three planes at once. But what was chiefly to be feared was the positive influence of Humanitarianism: it was coming, like the kingdom of God, with power; it was crushing the imaginative and the romantic, it was assuming rather than asserting its own truth; it was smothering with bolsters instead of wounding and stimulating with steel or controversy. It seemed to be forcing its way, almost objectively, into the inner world. Persons who had scarcely heard its name were professing its tenets; priests absorbed it, as they absorbed God in Communion – he mentioned the names of the recent apostates – children drank it in like Christianity itself. The soul „naturally Christian“ seemed to be becoming the soul „naturally infidel.“ Persecution, cried the priest, was to be welcomed like salvation, prayed for, and grasped; but he feared that the authorities were too shrewd, and knew the antidote and the poison apart. There might be individual martyrdom – in fact there would be, and very many – but they would be in spite of secular government, not because of it. Finally, he expected, Humanitarianism would presently put on the dress of liturgy and sacrifice, and when that was done, the Church’s cause, unless God intervened, would be over.”
Atheistic humanism (deism) and, worse, moral relativism, which has conquered almost all over the world (except perhaps Slovakia and, obviously the Holy See, is the essence of Freemasonry, and in ecclesiastical terms, it corresponds to modernism, pantheism, and Rahnerism.
Marxism is a far greater threat to the church than Freemasonry.
The contemporary era, the age of secularization, according to A. Del Noce and E. Nolte, should be seen as beginning with the Russian Revolution of 1917. Initially, two “religious nominalisms” simultaneously emerged, both sacred, millenarian, Manichean, messianic, Joachimite, Hegelian—such as Marxism and National Socialism (and partly Fascism)—which became embodied in political institutions with universal ambitions. National Socialism was the German response to Bolshevism, the Nazi extermination camps were a reproduction of the Gulag Archipelago, and nation and race replaced the proletariat. A single Marxist/Hitlerian twin was responsible for the expansion of atheism.
The second phase of 20th-century history, the “secular nominalist” one, resulted in an affluent/therapeutic/liberal society characterized by scientism, “universalism,” and moral relativism—the foundation of Masonic lodges of every rite—and the expansion of atheism.
The new welfare society in Italy and Europe no longer needed religious forces to oppose communism. The new West was now capable of winning by expanding the welfare society. This was a society marked by the primacy of instrumental reason, more irreligious than communist atheism, victorious on the very ground of communism—materialism. In 1963, Del Noce sensed that the new adversary of faith in the post-Marxist era would emerge. He foresaw a time when the relativization of every ideal would converge with a technocratic vision of the world.
(It is this perspective that allowed him, in 1975, to appreciate the insights of Pier Paolo Pasolini, whom he saw as the most astute interpreter of the new totalitarianism of dissolution.)
Recently, Orban opposed liberal “universalism” with the “realism” of an alliance with Eastern and Russian despotisms. Orban’s realism recalls the Ostpolitik of Nixon and Kissinger towards China and that of Paul VI and Cardinal Casaroli towards the Soviet Union. The former did not foresee that, thanks to their détente policy, China would become the main political and economic adversary of the United States. The latter did not foresee the collapse of communism and sacrificed the head of the Primate of Hungary, Josef Mindszenty, to dialogue with Moscow. Orban’s strategy resembles Vatican and American Ostpolitik not only for the “outstretched hand” to the Russian and Chinese East but also for the mistaken belief in the irreversibility of the historical course, to which one can only conform.
The ideological dimension, without which one cannot explain the neo-communism of Putin and Xi Jinping, seems entirely absent from Orban’s strategic vision. “But how can a Christian… think that the future of the world belongs to communist, Islamic, Confucian, Hindu, and Buddhist Asia, and not to Jesus Christ, King of history, for whom everything is possible, including a bright revival of the West, now immersed in the darkness of confusion?” (R. de Mattei)
Being a “good person” doesn’t get you into Heaven.
For American Masons I think that’s mostly true Will. I read that Danny Thomas became a Mason. I knew a lovely devout Catholic man who joined a Masonic Lodge. I doubt he understood Catholic teachings against that.
As you say, fraternal orders are on the decline today. No one wants to join much of anything or participate in the community. Which is sad .
Less well understood is that to become a Shriner — those guys on motorcycles wearing fezes and running children’s hospitals — a man must first reach the level of Master Mason in Freemasonry. Not all Masons are Shriners, but all Shriners are Masons.
Is Freemasonry even a thing anymore? What are their numbers?
They’re aging out from what I see locally Athanasius.
From the Wikipedia article titled Freemasonry:
In the United States, there are 51 Grand Lodges (one in each state and the District of Columbia) which together have a total membership of around 875,000 according to the Masonic Service Association of North America.
Yes but when you look at the number of Masonic Lodge members over the last 100 years it’s shrunk by more than 2/3rds.
“Marxism is a far greater threat to the church than Freemasonry.”
Maybe where you live, dear ‘Athanasius’.
In Australia, some diocese have many freemason-controlled parishes, with clergy and lay leaders roundly scorning the Church’s ban on Catholic membership. Charismatic prayer groups and communities seem especially vulnerable.
My experiences whilst working in America suggest this is true of many churches and ministries there.
Yet, Marxists seem to be absent. Though I am aware of one lady who had allegiances within both freemason & Marxist organisations.
The key question is: “How can our teaching of Christ Jesus have been be so effete that these dual allegiances have become common among our fellow Catholics?” Few seem to listen to James 1:8 – “That sort of person, in two minds . . . must not expect The LORD will give them anything.”
And, the bigger question: “What can we do to bring infested diocese & parishes to singl-hearted devotion & obedience to King Jesus Christ?”
There’s much to pray about.
Ever in the love of The Lamb of God; blessings from marty
Less well understood is that to become a Shriner — those guys wearing fezes and riding motorcycles in parades, and running pediatric hospitals — a man must first reach the level of a Master Mason in Freemasonry. While not all Masons are Shriners, all Shriners are Masons.
US Freemasonry has been in sharp decline since its peak in the 1920s, for the simple reason that there’s no advantage gained by joining. Look around your town and note the old lodge buildings turned to other uses. Even here in Indianapolis, where Masons ran the state–google D. C. Stevenson–the huge Scottish Rite cathedral downtown only stays open by renting itself out as an event center and catering kitchen.
I dealt with these issues here a few years ago in one of the most controversial articles CWR ever published: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2017/02/07/freemasons-and-their-craft-what-catholics-should-know/
Two good, sensible books on this subject are: CHRISTIANITY AND AMERICAN FREEMASONRY by William Whalen and INSIDE THE BROTHERHOOD by Martin Short. The latter covers the sharply waning influence of Masonry in the UK, where the Craft originated ca. 1600.
The Masonic Lodge of Freemasonry I see every weekday morning on my way to work is in impressive repair, with nothing worn by the passage of time, and not a blade of grass out of place on its grounds. On the other hand, I have not once since 2005 when this route became by commute seen anyone enter or leave this brick building.
I’d like to share a summary of a recent intriguing online article by Father Paolo Siano, an expert on Freemasonry, who challenges the views of a rising star in Italian philosophy. This philosopher suggests that Freemasonry has been in decline and completed its mission after 1945 (see: [FidesCatholica](https://www.fidescatholica.com/1828-2/) for excerpts).
“The average reader often takes things at face value, accepting them as true and certain. However, a true scholar seeks to trace sources and verify each citation. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. Personally, I cannot base my research on anti-Masonic or anti-globalist studies. When writing on these topics, I strive to use direct sources—those coming from Masonic circles.
Freemasonry, from the first three degrees to the higher degrees, clearly aims, as outlined in its statutes or constitutions, to achieve Universal Brotherhood, first among the initiated and then among all people. This involves both initiatory and universal perfection.
Freemasonry and modernism coexist and are allied.
It is not true that the lodges are no longer flourishing, nor is it true that Freemasonry is in decline. In fact, the spread of Masonic thought beyond the confines of Freemasonry itself doesn’t necessarily indicate its decline or that it has fulfilled its purpose. On the contrary!
From the latter half of the 19th century, and especially from the early 20th century to the present, various mixed Grand Lodges (both male and female) and even exclusively female Grand Lodges have emerged, and these are fully recognized as Freemasonry. Many, if not all, of these mixed and exclusively female Grand Lodges are connected to the influential Masonic network associated in some way with the Grand Orient of France.
Magic and Lucifer are also of interest to regular Freemasons and Masonic institutions! Of course, we can’t expect them to openly admit this in official statements. Freemasonry is an initiatic, esoteric, and Gnostic sect that conceals many things from us ‘profane’ individuals.
If one accepts the theory that a Luciferian cult exists among high-ranking Freemasons—who are by no means ‘marginal’—it logically follows that one cannot fully embrace the denialist or minimalist theory of the so-called ‘fringe Freemasonry,’ a theory ‘invented’ by the English Mason Ellic Howe in the mid-1970s. I would caution traditionalists to be very careful not to lump everything together indiscriminately. Freemasonry knows how to play both the left and the right (see Sandra Miesel’s link: ‘Italians and Radical Traditionalists’).
The problem with traditionalist anti-Masonry is that it tends to rely too heavily on indirect sources, i.e., citations from anti-Masonic sources.
In 2022, a self-proclaimed converted Mason (whose identity I cannot reveal) told me that Freemasonry has nothing to do with magic and Luciferianism. He also reiterated the theory of ‘fringe Freemasonry’ and claimed that today Freemasonry is no longer significant, not as important as in the past. But I remain unconvinced.”
Dear Sandra Miesel, your data would convince that formal FM is on the decline. However, less formal FM initiation is thriving like never before and flourishing in our Catholic Church & in many US protestant churches such as that of Benny Hinn, that of Bill & Bennie Johnson, & so many others.
Incidentally: “the craft originated circa 1600” needs correction. James Anderson & John T. Desaguiliers instituted the 4 founder London lodges in 1771.
Ever in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
The actual roots of Freemasonry date to 1590-1600 in Scotland. See THE ORIGINS OF FREEMASONRY: Scotland’s CENTURY 1590-1710 by David Stevenson (Cambridge UP, 1988) The British Constitutions regularized a movement that had long existed.
The texts of Masonic rituals have long been known–and examined by Christian critics. Note that Freemasonry encompasses only the Three Blue Lodge degrees. The Scottish and York Rites, etc. are “para-Masonic” and do not answer to the Mother Lodge in London.
Dear Sandra Miesel, your basic message of: “Nothing to see here!” is contr-factual to my own experiences.
The idea that freemasonry is: “sharply waning in influence in the UK” is ludicrous. In both universities and churches it’s flourishing.
Rather than ‘the spent force’ you depict, freemasonry is evolving as a vigorous contemporary competitor for ensnaring souls from both outside and inside our Church. A fact that has provoked Philippines bishops and, as this article makes plain, Mexican clergy to preach corrective Gospel truth.
Freemason universalist, syncretistic unitarianism is the opposite of Gospel truth.
Always seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
There are approximately 1,000,000 (one million) Freemasons in the United States today according to recent estimates.
In 1925, there were 4 million Masons out of a population of 115 million (3.8 %). One million today among 330+ Americans is a drastic fall-off in numbers (.3 %), more than ten-fold in a century. Moreover, the Craft has much less prestige and has many fewer influential men on its rolls. Gerald Ford was the last President who was a Mason and Truman (Grand Master of Missouri) was the last elected President who was a Mason.
The grandiose Masonic headquarters in Washington are still perfectly maintained because they’re supported by huge endowments. Their website gives a virtual tour of the facilities.
Tom Holland has at least one podcast about freemasonry on The Rest is History. I really enjoyed listening to it.
There’s a huge data-base about the very Non-Christian rituals of freemasons.
Comments that downplayed FM’s shocking divergences from Catholic spirituality are readily corrected with a few insights on actual FM initiation procedures.
Some extracts from an interview with Tanya (not her real name) by Dr Ana Mendez-Ferrell might be salutary [and, yes, my dears, many women have been initiated into FM, up to the 3rd, Master Mason Degree].
When Tanya’s brother – a senior FM – died suddenly, she inherited all the original manuals of the order. She sought to become a FM, hoping for resolution of her inner strife. Yet, after being initiated, Tanya felt deeply revolted by the lodge’s twisting of Bible teachings.
This was her severe discernment: “Anyone who is in search is an easy prey. FM appears noble & of goodness but it is Satan’s greatest ruse to overwhelm the ego with dainties, entangle the human soul, & drag it to his eternal abyss.”
On the evening of Tanya’s initiation, a hooded man greeted her at the door of the lodge. She was blindfolded and led through the lodge to a ‘reflection’ room.
Blindfold removed she was shocked to see a table with a human skull, and an open coffin nearby. The walls were decorated with symbols of death. She was instructed to fill in an application on a triangular sheet of paper.
For the following two hours, Tanya was led, blindfolded, through a sequence of rooms where she was exposed to a gamut of intimidating & bloodcurdling sounds & bodily impacts. Each was explained as supposedly necessary to build good character!
At the end she was bled & had to use her own blood to sign a document unread. It turned out to be a false confession of the most horrendous crimes & offenses.
‘Magnanimously’ her FM initiators pierced her ‘confession’ with a sword, lifted it up, & set it on fire. Tanya was told this symbolized her new status as a lodge member, with every freemason, from then on, always forgiving & concealing all future offenses & crimes that she might commit.
Tanya’s ‘initiation by ordeal’ experienced is typical of all FM ‘degrees’. Higher degrees place demands on men that can even include gross immoralities. Strict hierarchical dominance enforces secrecy; punishments can be severe.
To this outsider: FM secrecy regarding hand-grips & passwords seems secondary to the secrecy required over initiation acts & covered crimes that breach the criminal code.
This is the main motivation of what FMs call ‘brotherly love’. Fear is the predominant spirit that knits them together. Unearned preferments are a reward. This ‘stick & carrot’ control operates, largely unseen, beneath the fabric of society.
That is, of course, categorically different to what genuinely Catholic Christians mean by loving & serving each other as part of The Body of Christ.
There is so much more that could be described but this short account is hopefully enough to overcome any misconception that FM is an innocent boy’s club.
Always seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
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