|
WE SHARE THE MAIL
Note: Like all letters printed in "We Share The Mail",
this one is authentic. I always prefer that letters carry the
name of the sender but, because the writer of this letter is
obviously sincere and simply wants an authentic answer to a serious
question and because the matter is of general interest, I am
happy to answer it in the bulletin.
Father Connolly,
I am writing this letter to you because I know you will give
me the honest answer. I am from a town north of the mountain
and I would like an answer to the question "Can a practicing
Catholic join the Masonic Lodge?" I have been approached
several times to join, being told that Catholics can join. I
read obituaries in newspapers of Catholics (holding) membership.
However, I am not sure if Catholics can join. Years ago, I thought
Catholics were forbidden to join by threat of excommunication.
Did Vatican Two change this? Does Pope Benedict XVI have a statement
about this? Your educated and trusted answer will be greatly
appreciated and I will follow your advice. Thank you.
Practicing Catholic
Dear Practicing Catholic:
Let me give you an answer that is short and to the point and
then I'll back up and give an extended answer:
Here
is the short answer: No,
a Catholic absolutely may not join the Freemasons and remain
in good standing in the Catholic Church. Catholics are forbidden
by the Church to join the Masons. If a Catholic, knowing that
the Church prohibits membership in the Masons, were to join anyway
and were to do so willingly and not under duress, he would certainly
be committing a mortal sin. If someone tells you otherwise -
and someone probably has already told you otherwise - that person
does not know what he is talking about.
Feel free to stop reading here, if you wish. But you might want
to read some more.
Here
is an extended answer:
Freemasonry is a religion, a false religion. Members of the Masons
will tell you that Freemasonry is not a religion, that it is
simply a lodge or a fraternity or a fellowship and that it respects
all religions and doesn't interfere with anyone's religion and
that you can choose to believe or not believe any religion you
want and you can still be a Mason and that many of their members
are very active in their churches and that there are many Protestant
ministers who are Masons. All of this is very interesting but
irrelevant. I refer you to the Two Rules:
Rule #1: Freemasonry is a religion, a false religion.
Rule #2: If anyone tells you that Freemasonry is not a religion,
please refer back to Rule #1.
Masons will often point out to
prospective members that the Freemasons do a great deal of charitable
work. They will point in particular to the well-known charitable
work done by the Shriners (a subdivision of the Freemasons) on
behalf of crippled children. We commend all charitable work done
everywhere by everyone, certainly including the good work done
by the Shriners. However, the fact that a certain organization
does charitable work does not authorize a Catholic to seek membership
in that organization. Presbyterians, Lutherans, Mormons, Jehovah's
Witnesses, Muslims, Jews - all of these groups do charitable
work, but a Catholic cannot (logically) seek to become a member
of any of these groups and, at the same time, retain his good
standing in the Catholic Church. We've all been told that Mussolini
made the trains run on time (and let's give him all the credit
in the world) but that doesn't justify our signing up to join
the Black Shirts.
You mention that you have read
obituaries in which the deceased is identified both as a Catholic
and as a Mason. I have had to deal with this only once in my
life as a priest. (This was many years ago.) I was totally unaware
that the deceased was a Mason until I arrived at the funeral
parlor to say the Rosary on the night before the funeral Mass
was scheduled. My way of handling this difficult situation was
simply to say to myself: It's too late now to make an issue of
this! I'm not about to upset the widow and children by raising
the issue of the incompatibility of the dual membership of the
deceased. I'm going to presume that the deceased was in a state
of simple (i.e. non-culpable) ignorance and just commend it all
to God. So, I made the prudential decision to keep my mouth shut.
You win some, you lose some and some are rained out! It was a
reminder to me that we priests are much to blame for not instructing
the people about the teaching of the Church in regard to membership
in the Freemasons.
If, however, I had a parishioner who was a Mason (this is a hypothetical
situation, not a real one, as far as I know) and if I were aware
of it, I would tell him that he was obliged to resign from the
Masons. If he refused to resign, I would decline to give him
Holy Communion. If he died without repentance, I would consider
myself obliged in conscience to decline to have a public Catholic
funeral for him. Before finalizing this decision, I would, of
course, consult with the Bishop and be guided by his directions
in the matter.
You mention that "years ago"
a Catholic incurred excommunication for joining the Masons but
that this seems now not to be the case. You are correct. You
ask whether the Second Vatican Council changed this. No, the
Second Vatican Council (1962-65) did not change it. The change
came in 1983, when the Church issued a revised Code of Canon
Law. In an attempt to put a smiley face on Canon Law, the Church
decided to cut down on the number of offenses that incurred the
penalty of excommunication. So, the Church decided not to impose
excommunication on Catholics who join the Masons, but to impose
a lesser penalty. Here's what the Church said in 1983 (using
my own words): "Don't join the Masons! But, if you do, we
won't excommunicate you the way we used to. We just won't let
you receive Holy Communion." Well, so much for being a nice
guy! Here is what some people thought the Church said: "Go
ahead and join the Masons if you want to. We won't excommunicate
you!" As the warden said to Cool Hand Luke: "What we
have here is … failure to communicate!" I think that,
back in 1983, the Church was thinking, "We'll get more flies
with honey than with vinegar." In retrospect, there is a
lot to be said for vinegar.
You asked whether Pope Benedict XVI
has issued any statement on the matter of Catholics joining the
Masons. As a matter of fact, he has. However, it was back in
his pre-Pope days, when he was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. In
1983, while Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, he issued the following Declaration after Pope
John Paul II approved it and ordered it to be published.
Read it and tell me if it leaves any ambiguities whatsoever.
Fr. Edward B. Connolly |
Saturday, 20
June
