But you are Catholic and a Mason!

 

After much searching, studying, and praying I made my decision to become a Freemason.

I found a lot of conflicting and confusing information on the Catholic Church and Freemasonry but here is what I got out of it.

I. First the Papal Bulls: 

“Papal Bull: As for the binding force of these documents it is generally admitted that the mere fact that the pope should have given to any of his utterances the form of an encyclical or bull does not necessarily constitute it an ex-cathedra pronouncement and invest it with infallible authority.” (Bulls and Briefs. In The Catholic Encyclopedia) 

In 1736, the Inquisition investigated a Masonic Lodge in Florence, Italy, which it condemned in June 1737.

This investigation led, in 1738, to Pope Clement XII, himself Florentine, issuing ‘In eminenti apostolatus’, the original papal prohibition on Freemasonry. The reasons for the prohibition were stated as:

“Now it has come to Our ears, and common gossip has made clear, that certain Societies, Companies, Assemblies, Meetings, Congregations or Conventicles called in the popular tongue Liberi Muratori or Francs Massons or by other names according to the various languages, are spreading far and wide and daily growing in strength; and men of any Religion or sect, satisfied with the appearance of natural probity, are joined together, according to their laws and the statutes laid down for them, by a strict and unbreakable bond which obliges them, both by an oath upon the Holy Bible and by a host of grievous punishment, to an inviolable silence about all that they do in secret together. But it is in the nature of crime to betray itself and to show itself by its attendant clamor. Thus these aforesaid Societies or Conventicles have caused in the minds of the faithful the greatest suspicion, and all prudent and upright men have passed the same judgment on them as being depraved and perverted. For if they were not doing evil they would not have so great a hatred of the light. Indeed, this rumor has grown to such proportions that in several countries these societies have been forbidden by the civil authorities as being against the public security, and for some time past have appeared to be prudently eliminated.”

So Pope Clement XII, as stated in his own Bull, that his information was based on common gossip, suspicion, and rumor. On top of that, a Papal Bull is not “infallible”.

The ban of In eminenti was reiterated and expanded upon by Benedict XIV (1751), Pius VII (1821), Leo XII (1826), Pius VIII (1829), Gregory XVI (1832), Pius IX (1846, 1849, 1864, 1865, 1869, 1873), and notably Pope Leo XIII in the encyclical Humanum genus (1884).

Several of these Bulls and encyclicals* also condemned Protestantism as “as dangerous for the souls of the faithful”; salvation only comes from the Catholic Church, and the supremacy of the Papacy. All of which the Church has changed its stance on. It now recognizes all Trinity based Protestant denominations and teaches that they are paths to salvation (so you won’t go to hell if you are not Catholic). They also don’t preach the supremacy of the Catholic Church but instead teach that it is merely the only one with the “fullness” of the Christ’s church.

II. Then we have “Canon Law”: 

The Corpus Juris Canonici (lit. 'Body of Canon Law') is the collection of significant sources of Canon Law of the Catholic Church that was applicable to the universal Church or specifically to Churches of the Latin Rite or Eastern Rites. It was replaced by the 1917 Code of Canon Law which went into effect in 1918.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication. The 1917 Code of Canon Law also forbade books promoting Freemasonry.

In 1983 the Church revised the Code of Canon Law. Unlike its predecessor, however, Canon 1374 does not explicitly name Masonic orders among the secret societies it condemns. It states:

"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."

Many people, including many Catholic scholars, took this to mean that it was now OK for Catholics to become Masons. And many Catholics did – especially in the United States—where the Church itself was already more liberal.

To “remove the confusion” in the wording, in November of 1983, the Congregation for the Doctrine of The Faith issued a declaration stating that the prohibition was still in force.

Prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a Declaration on Masonic Associations, which reiterated the Church's previous objections to Freemasonry. The Declaration states:

"The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion...." and "...the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association(s) remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden."

Here is the catch; The Doctrine of Faith is not Canon Law, and cannot overturn Canon Law. Many Catholic scholars saw the response as an attempt by right wing elements in the Church to use “interpretation” to put laws back in that had been taken out. To quote one scholar, “It would have been very simple to have kept the word Freemasonry in the Code. It was taken out. It really isn’t something that needs interpretation.”

At this point, the Catholic Church in America has been somewhat indifferent about the whole thing. For example:

On September 15, 2000, the Reverend Thomas Anslow, Judicial Vicar of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, wrote a letter to David Patterson, Executive Secretary of the Masonic Service Bureau of Los Angeles. In reply to the question "whether a practicing Catholic may join a Masonic Lodge" Father Anslow said that "at least for Catholics in the United States, I believe the answer is probably yes".

Of course when his superiors found out about it the letter was publicly retracted by Father Anslow on with the explanation that his analysis was faulty. He said that Freemasonry fostered a "supraconfessional humanitarian" conception of the divine "that neutralizes or replaces the faith dimension of our relationship with God."

III. So here is my reasoning. 

I just see the Catholic Church as not really being able to make up its mind and even being hypocritical. It openly condemns contraception in Cannon Law, in writing, in Church teaching and yet turns a blind eye to the *98% of Catholics who use it (*2012 poll); Catholic Parishes still have Boy Scouts which now require you to allow homosexual members and leaders; they support Girl Scouts where money from the sale of Girl Scout cookies go to Planned Parenthood teaching young girls about how to use the pill and get an abortion…..where do the priorities of the Catholic Church really lie?

Then there is Bro. Danny Thomas, possibly one of the more famous Masons of my generation and founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A devout Maronite Catholic, Thomas was named a Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre by Pope Paul VI in recognition of his services to the church and the community. After which he became a 32° Mason and also a Noble in Al Malaikah Shrine (Shriner) …did the Pope ever revoke his Knighthood? No, in fact a lot of Catholic ‘authorities’ claim the Freemasons are lying about him being a Mason/Shriner.

I do not see any infallible Catholic doctrine or cannon law that puts me in a condition of sin by being a Mason, only a long history of Church opinions that are ultimately based on suspicion, rumor, and gossip.

Every man must join Freemasonry by his own free will. I did not feel I was going against my beliefs or Church law to join, or that I am sinning by remaining a member.

I have never known anyone personally who has had an issue, and I know many Catholic Masons.

Again, this is my opinion only. Freemasonry does not hold an opinion on this matter.

I am not telling you the Church is saying it is OK. Nor am I saying that a priest will give you “permission.”

I can promise you there is nothing I have found in Freemasonry that goes against my religion or “neutralizes or replaces the faith dimension of my relationship with God” in any way. 

 

 

*An encyclical (from the Greek egkyklios, kyklos meaning a circle) is nothing more than a circular letter.

As for the binding force of these documents, it is generally admitted, that the mere fact that the pope should have given to any of his utterances the form of an encyclical does not necessarily constitute it an ex-cathedra pronouncement and invest it with infallible authority.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05413a.htm