TheCatholic Church first prohibited Catholics from membership inMasonic organizations and othersecret societies in 1738. Since then, at least elevenpopes have made pronouncements about the incompatibility of Catholic doctrines andFreemasonry.[1]
From 1738 until 1983, Catholics who publicly associated with, or publicly supported, Masonic organizations were censured with automaticexcommunication.[2] Since 1983, the prohibition on membership exists in a different form.[3][4] Although there was some confusion about membership following the 1962–1965Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), the Church continues to prohibit membership in Freemasonry because it believes that Masonic principles and rituals are irreconcilable with Catholic doctrines. The current norm, the 1983Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's (CDF)Declaration on Masonic associations, states that "faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state ofgrave sin and may not receiveHoly Communion" and membership in Masonic associations is prohibited.[6]
1884 satirical political cartoon fromPuck showsPope Leo XIII at war with Freemasonry
In 1736, theInquisition investigated a Masonic lodge inFlorence,Italy, which it condemned in June 1737. The lodge had originally been founded in 1733 by theEnglish FreemasonCharles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset,[9] but acceptedItalian members, such as the lodge's secretaryTommaso Crudeli.[10][11] Also in 1736, on 26 December,Andrew Michael Ramsay delivered an oration to a masonic meeting in Paris on the eve of the election ofCharles Radclyffe as Grand Master of the French Freemasons. In March 1737 he sent an edited copy to the chief minister, CardinalAndré-Hercule de Fleury, seeking his approval for its delivery to an assembly of Freemasons, and his approval of the craft in general. Fleury's response was to brand the Freemasons as traitors, and ban their assemblies.[12] This ban, and the Italian investigation led,[13] in 1738, toPope Clement XII promulgatingIn eminenti apostolatus, the first canonical prohibition of Masonic associations.
Clement XII wrote that the reasons for prohibiting masonic associations are that members, "content with [a] form ofnatural virtue, are associated with one another" by oaths with "grave penalties" "to conceal in inviolable silence whatever they secretly do together." These associations have aroused suspicions that "to join these associations is precisely synonymous with incurring the taint of evil and infamy, for if they were not involved in evil doing, they would never be so very averse to the light [of publicity]." "The rumor [of these doings] has so grown that" several governments have suppressed them "as being opposed to the welfare of the kingdom."[14] Clement XII wrote, that these kinds of associations are "not consistent with the provisions of either civil or canon law" since they harm both "the peace of the civil state" and "the spiritual salvation of souls."[15][b]
"The decisive impetus for the Catholic anti-Masonic movement" wasHumanum genus, promulgated byPope Leo XIII in 1884.[23] Leo XIII wrote that his primary objection to Masonry was naturalism,[24] his accusations were aboutpantheism,rationalism, and naturalism; but not aboutSatanism.[25][d] Leo XIII analysed continental Grand Orient type philosophical "principles and practices."[26] While naturalism was present everywhere in other types of lodges, "the subversive, revolutionary activity characteristic of the Grand Orient lodges of the continent" was not.[26] Leo XIII "emphasises that 'the ultimate and principal aim' of Masonry 'was to destroy to its very foundations any civil or religious order established throughoutChristendom, and bring about in its place a new order founded on laws drawn out of the entrails of naturalism'."[27]
InPraeclara gratulationis publicae, Leo XIII namely stated about Freemasonry: "Although We have spoken on this subject in the strongest terms before, yet We are led by Our Apostolic watchfulness to urge it once more, and We repeat Our warning again and again, that in face of such an eminent peril, no precaution, howsoever great, can be looked upon as sufficient. May God in His Mercy bring to naught their impious designs; nevertheless, let all Christians know and understand that the shameful yoke of Freemasonry must be shaken off once and for all; and let them be the first to shake it off who are most galled by its oppression–the men of Italy and of France. With what weapons and by what method this may best be done We Ourselves have already pointed out: the victory cannot be doubtful to those who trust in that Leader Whose Divine Words still remain in all their force: I have overcome the world."[28]
The Catholic Church began an evaluation of its understanding of Masonry during[40] (but not at[f]) Vatican II.[g] Throughout thejubilee of 1966,Pope Paul VI granted every confessor thefaculty to absolve censures and penalties of1917Code of Canon Law's canon 2335 incurred bypenitents who completely separated themselves from Masonic association and promised to repair and prevent, as far as possible, any scandal and damage they caused.[46]
In early 1968,The Tablet reported that Vatican sources had "been quoted as saying that Catholics are now free to join the Masons in the United States, Britain and most other countries of the world. However, the European Grand Orient Lodge of Masons, established primarily in Italy and France, is still considered anti-Catholic or, at least, atheistic," and that "theCDF 'let it be known that Catholics joining the Freemasons are no longerautomatically excommunicated. The Church's new attitude has been in effect for more than a year.' The Church's Code of Canon Law drawn up in 1918 and shortly to be reformed, provided for automatic excommunication of Catholics 'who enroll in the Masonic sect or in secret societies conspiring against the Church or the legitimate authorities.' Vatican sources added that this wording would be changed to modify the Church's position when the new Code of Canon Law was completed."[40] These reports apparently caused consternation in the Vatican, and were quickly corrected.[52] The Holy See publicly said that1917 CIC canon 2335 was not abrogated,[53] and denied it planned to "change profoundly" its historic prohibition against Catholics joining Masonic groups,[54] althoughconfidential sources said "a change in attitude in the future was considered possible."[52][i]
In 1971, BishopDaniel Pezeril, auxiliary bishop of Paris, accepted an invitation from theGrande Loge de France to lecture.[57] This was the first official reception of a Catholic bishop after 1738.[58]
While some speculated about post-conciliar revision of canon law and how norms would be legislated and enforced,[59] the canonical prohibition against Catholics joining Masonic groups remained in force in 1974.[60]
Among theDBK's conclusions were that Freemasonry denies revelation,[65] and objective truth.[66] They also alleged that religious indifference is fundamental to Freemasonry,[67] and that Freemasonry isDeist,[68] and that it denies the possibility of divine revelation,[69] so threatening the respect due to the Church's teaching office.[70] Thesacramental character ofMasonic rituals was seen as signifying an individual transformation,[71] offering an alternative path to perfection[72] and having a total claim on the life of a member[73] It concludes by stating that all lodges are forbidden to Catholics,[74] including Catholic-friendly lodges.[75][j]
A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty;[k] one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with aninterdict.[84]
This omission led some Catholics and Freemasons, especially in America, to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons might have changed,[l] and caused confusion in the church's hierarchy.[m] Many Catholics joined the fraternity, basing their membership on a permissive interpretation of Canon Law and justifying their membership by their belief that Freemasonry does not plot against the Church.[n]
In 1983, CardinalJoseph Ratzinger, who later becamePope Benedict XVI, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the personal approval of PopeJohn Paul II, issued aDeclaration on Masonic Associations, which reiterated the Church's objections to Freemasonry.[91] The 1983 declaration states that "faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state ofgrave sin and may not receiveHoly Communion. ... 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.[91]CDF 1983 "stipulated that neither"CDF 1974 norCDF 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCDF1981 (help) "allowed an individual bishop or bishops' conferences to permit Catholics to belong to masonic lodges."[92]
AUSCCB committee concluded in its 1985Letter to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry that "the principles and basic rituals of Masonry embody a naturalistic religion active participation in which is incompatible with Christian faith and practice."[93] "Those who knowingly embrace" masonic "principles are committing serious sin" and,[93] according to Law's parenthetical commentary on Whalen, that offense might be punishable under canon 1364.[86] According to that canon, an apostate, heretic, or schismatic incurs alatae sententiae excommunication and clerics can be punished with additional expiatory penalties including dismissal from the clerical state.[94] Caparros et al. elucidates that, in cases where "registration into an association entails apostasy, heresy, or schism" then the offense is punishable under canon 1364.[95] Nevertheless, citingCDF (1983), Caparros et al. states that "those masonic associations that would not be covered by" canon 1374 have "principles [which] are still seen to be incompatible with the doctrine of the Church."[95] Every delict in canon law is a sin.[96] The "distinction between penal law and morality" is, according to theUSCCB committee, that not all sins are violations in canon law – so in a case where a sin is not also a violation or delict in canon law, it is a fallacy to conclude that "it is permissible to commit it."[97] "Referring specifically to the secrecy of masonic organisations,"CDF 1985 "reiterated the ban on masonic membership" inCDF 1983.[92] According toMcInvale (1992), theCDF (1985) "argues that Masonry establishes a relativistic symbolic concept of morality unacceptable to Catholicism."
In 1996, BishopFabian Bruskewitz, of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, legislated that Catholic members of masonic associations in the diocese, incur alatae sententiae censure of a one-month interdict during which they are forbidden to receive holy communion; those who continue membership incur alatae sententiae censure of excommunication.[98] Those excommunications which were challenged through a process of canonical recourse were affirmed by a judgment of the Holy See in 2006.[99]
In 2000, David Patterson, executive secretary of the Masonic Service Bureau ofLos Angeles, asked CardinalRoger Mahony "whether a practicing Catholic may join a Masonic Lodge." Father Thomas Anslow, Judicial Vicar of theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, replied to Patterson that "the matter is too complex for a straightforward 'yes' or 'no' answer. But at least for Catholics in the United States, I believe the answer is probably yes."[100] Because he was "unaware of any ideology or practice by the local lodges that challenges or subverts the doctrine and interests of the Catholic Church," Anslow wrote that his "qualified response" is "probably yes."[100] Anslow publicly retracted his 2000 letter in 2002, with the explanation that his analysis was faulty.[101] He wrote that, according to theCDF (1985) reflection about theCDF (1983) declaration, "the system of symbols" used in Masonry can "foster a 'supraconfessional humanitarian'" conception of "the divine that neutralizes or replaces the faith dimension of our relationship with God."[102]
a Catholic who is a "publicly known" Freemason – who "actively participates" or "promotes its views" or "holds any office" – and refuses to renounce his membership after being warned in accord with1983 CIC canon 1347,[103] "is to be punished with an interdict," in accord with1983 CIC canon 1374,[84] including: exclusion from receiving the sacraments;[104] prohibition against acting as a sponsor in Baptism and Confirmation; prohibition against being a member of any parish or diocesan structure; and denial ofCatholic funeral rites, unless some signs of repentance before death were shown, regardless, to avoid publicscandal in a case where a bishop allows funeral rites, Masonic services are prohibited in the church and prohibited immediately before or after the Catholic funeral rites at the cemetery.[105][106]
a Catholic who is a Freemason, "notoriously adhering to the Masonic vision," is automatically excommunicated under canon 1364 and is automatically censured in accord with1983 CIC canon 1331[107][108][94]
The Masonic Information Center pointed out in 2006 thatCDF 1983, which prohibits membership in Masonic associations, "remains in effect."[110]
BishopGianfranco Girotti,regent of theApostolic Penitentiary, told the 2007Freemasonry and the Catholic Church conference, at thePontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure in Rome, that doctrine has not changed.[111] Girotti, quoting theCDF 1983 declaration, reiterated that masonic philosophy is incompatible with Catholic faith.[112] Likewise, reacting to the news of an 85-year-old Catholic priest,Rosario Francesco Esposito, becoming a member in a Masonic lodge,[113] Girotti told Vatican Radio in May 2007 that theCDF 1983 declaration "remains in force today[update]."[114] Girotti called on priests who had declared themselves to be Freemasons to be disciplined by their direct superiors.[115]
...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 and therefore membership in them remains forbidden.[91]
Some of the doctrines are incorporated intoCatholic social teaching which are, in theCompendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, to appreciate democratic political systems which are accountable to the governed and to "reject all secret organizations that seek to influence or subvert the functioning of legitimate institutions."[121]
According to CardinalGianfranco Ravasi, president of thePontifical Council for Culture,DBK (1980) andCBCP (2010) "are significant texts as they address the theoretical and practical reasons for the irreconcilability of masonry and Catholicism as concepts of truth,[t]religion,[u] God, man and the world, spirituality, ethics, rituality and tolerance."[128]
Freemasonry's position on Catholics joining the fraternity
Masonic bodies do not ban Catholics from joining if they wish to do so.[129] There has never been a Masonic prohibition against Catholics joining the fraternity, and some Freemasons are Catholics, despite the Catholic Church's prohibition of joining the freemasons.[130]
Freemasonry was an important catalyst in the founding of theKnights of Columbus and theKnights of Peter Claver in the United States[131] and theKnights of the Southern Cross in Australia, because one of the attractions of Freemasonry was that it provided a number of social services unavailable to non-members (e.g., devout Catholics).[132]
Michael McGivney, a Catholic priest inNew Haven, Connecticut, wished to provide Catholic men with a Catholic fraternal organization, an alternative to Freemasonry with the attractiveness of selected membership and secret initiation, but neither oath-bound nor secret.[133] Thus he founded the Knights of Columbus, believing that Catholicism and fraternalism were not incompatible and wished to found a society that would encourage men to be proud of theirAmerican Catholic heritage.[134] McGivney was beatified by Pope Francis in 2020.
The KoC, though acceptingAfrican-American members early on in its history, soon came to identify in many of its councils with segregationist andanti-black viewpoints, leading to the denial of membership to many prospective black candidates. As a result, theJosephites founded theKnights of Peter Claver in 1909, which as of 2021 is the largest and oldestBlack Catholic organization in America.[135]
^The offensesuspicion of heresy was a distinct offense from being suspected of the offense ofheresy.[17] The offensesuspicion of heresy is not found in the1983 CIC.[18]
^Clement XII had "condemned and prohibited" a category of groups, whether or not they are calledFreemasons.[15] He instructed local ordinaries and inquisitors to investigate and punish transgressors "with suitable penalties as being gravely suspect of heresy."[16][a] In context, the condemnation and prohibition byClement XII (1738) and CardinalGiuseppe Firrao [fr;it],secretary of state, in 1739 are, according toBenimeli (2014, pp. 139–140), "nothing more than further links in the long chain of measures adopted by European authorities throughout the eighteenth century." According to Benimeli, Clement XII and Benedict XIV only added a religious reason – of suspicion of heresy – to the civil reason – of subversive activity – enacted by 18th century Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic governments against masonic associations.[19] Firrao decreed that masonic meetings were "a danger to public peace and order" within thePapal States and were also suspected of heresy.[19]
^Masons were not characterized "as self-consciously venerating the devil" by Catholic writers prior toLéo Taxil, the perpetrator of ananti-Masonic hoax.[25]
^BishopSergio Méndez Arceo, of Cuernavaca, Mexico, asked Vatican II to discuss secret societies and Masonic associations.[41] Arceo and others proposed that not all Masonry machinated against the Catholic Church.[42]
^Vatican II reversed a thousand years of legal history of the Latin Church.[43] The Vatican II dogmatic constitution on the Church,Lumen gentium (LG), and the Vatican II decree on the pastoral office of bishops,Christus Dominus (CD), explain that the scope of a diocesan bishop's power is ordinary, proper, and immediate; and is limited and regulated "though the supreme authority of the Church" in the form of canon law or papal decree.[44] Because of this, significant changes in practice were then legislated to implement Vatican II. The norms inPaul VI 1966b implemented concessions prescribed inCD, n. 8.[45] See commentaries inMcIntyre (2000, pp. 128, 130) andRenken (2000a, p. 503).
^The confusion did not end there, for example, during the 20 years after Vatican II, the British press "regularly reported, with amazement," about a pending rapprochement which contrasted with a Catholic toughening after the 1981Propaganda Due (P2) clandestine lodge scandal and revelations of its machination against the state.[55]
^See canon 1349,[80] ajust penalty is an indeterminate penalty which allows the exercise of discretion in imposition of penalties based on the circumstances of individual cases.[81] According to canon lawyerEdward N. Peters, the termjust penalty "means that a penalty (e.g., [...] interdict, excommunication) can be tailored to fit the crime."[82] Canon lawyer Cathy Caridi wrote thatCDF (1983) "provides a theological interpretation of canon 1374."[83] Caridi commented that, according toCDF (1983), "a diocesan bishop or chancery official cannot grant permission in a particular case for a member of the diocese to become a Mason."
^"Some [Freemasons] and some Catholics believe," according to Reid McInvale, that since Vatican II "the attitude of the church has been to regard Freemasonry as an acceptable sphere for fraternal interaction."[85]
^Bernard Law wrote that "many bishops" replied "to an earlier survey that confusion had been generated by a perceived change of approach by the"CDF.[86]
^"In good faith many of these men had asked their pastors and/or bishops for permission to join the Lodge. Some converts were received into the Church during these years and were not asked to relinquish their Masonic affiliation."[87]
^TheCDF 1983 declaration is a simple declaration which must be interpreted in the context of other existing legislation.[118] It reiteratedCDF (1981a) which clarified the Church's doctrine that the historic prohibition against Catholics joining Masonic groups remained.
^According toWhalen (1985), from 1974 to after 1981, "an undetermined number of Catholic men joined the Lodge, and many presently maintain membership. Articles in the Catholic press ' told readers that under certain circumstances a Masonic membership was allowed. The general public, Catholic and non-Catholic, assumed the Church had softened its stand against membership in Freemasonry."
^"The nature of the Masonic God is best seen in their favorite title for him: the Supreme Architect. The Masonic God is first of all a deistic God, who is found at the top of the ladder of Masonic wisdom",[119]
^According toLaw (1985),DBK (1980) andWhalen (1985) "confirm that the principles and basic rituals of Masonry embody a naturalistic religion active participation in which is incompatible with Christian faith and practice."
^Masonry is opposed to the concept of supernatural truth.[2]
^For example,Whalen (1985) wrote that "whatever constitutes 'that religion in which all men agree', it is not Christianity or revealed religion." Masonic studies is a field in the academic study ofnew religious movements.[122] Speculative masonry does not fit categories in thechurch-sect-cult typology of religious movements.[123] Masonry asserts that it is afraternal organization and neither a religion nor a substitute for religion,[124] others assert that it exhibits the features of a religion,[125] some assert that it is a religion.[126] In contrast, some assert that it is impossible to conclude "that Freemasonry is religious."[127]
^Saunders, William (2005)."What are the Masons?".catholiceducation.org. Catholic Education Resource Center.Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Reprint of"Catholics and Freemasonry".Arlington Catholic Herald. Arlington, VA: Diocese of Arlington. 2005-09-22.ISSN0361-3712.
^abCDF 1983; seeCDF 1985: "membership objectively constitutes a grave sin;" seeLaw 1985: "Those who knowingly embrace such principles are committing serious sin." Which "implies in all cases an act offree will and being conscious of committing anintrinsicallyevil action."[5]
^"Tommaso Crudeli".freemasonry.bcy.ca. Vancouver: Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon A.F. & A.M.Archived from the original on 2003-07-07. FromCerza, Alphonse (1967).The truth is stranger than fiction. Washington, DC: Masonic Service Association.OCLC2964387.
^Bernheim, Alain (2011).Ramsay et ses deux discours (in French). Paris: Télètes. pp. 17–19.ISBN9782906031746.
^The organization was also intended to provide an alternative for Catholics to membership in a Masonic lodgeHistory of the Knights, Somerville Council # 1432
^American Catholics found themselves unable to participate in the many fraternal organizations that offered insurance benefits because the Church had condemned so-called "secret societies." A New Haven, Conn., parish priest, Michael J. McGivney, organized the Knights of Columbus as an alternative to proscribed organizations.,Many Fraternal Groups Grew From Masonic Seed (Part 2 -- 1860-1920)Archived 2006-02-09 at theWayback Machine, by Barbara Franco, The Northern Lights, November 1985
^Egan & Kennedy 1920, p. 52 quoted inMackey, Albert G.; Hughan, William J.; Hawkins, Edward L., eds. (n.d.)."Knights of Columbus".An encyclopedia of freemasonry and its kindred sciences (Onlinephoenixmasonry.org ed. based on 1921 new and rev. print ed.). Phoenixmasonry.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
Anslow, Thomas C. (2000-09-11)."May Catholics become Freemasons?". Letter to David Patterson, executive secretary of the Masonic Service Bureau of Los Angeles. Archived fromthe original on 2001-05-01 – viamsana.com.(Reply to Patterson's letter of inquiry directed to Cardinal Mahoney.)
——— (2002-02-12)."[Retraction of letter dated 2000-09-11]". Letter to David Patterson, executive secretary of the Masonic Service Bureau of Los Angeles. Archived fromthe original on 2006-02-11 – viaarchdiocese.la.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Egan, Maurice F.;Kennedy, John B. (1920).The Knights of Columbus in peace and war. Vol. 1. New Haven: Knights of Columbus. p. 52.hdl:2027/hvd.hn323j.OCLC 656613674.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gruber, Hermann (1910). "Masonry (Freemasonry)". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company. pp. 771–788.