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At present, the church recognizes Freemasons among its members. Some of its bishops and high-ranking church officials are active members of Masonic lodges. The church firmly stands that Freemasonry in not a religion, nor a substitute for religion, and is not in conflict with their doctrines and practices as Christians.
The Catholic Church first prohibited Catholics from membership in Masonic organizations and other secret societies in 1738. Since then, at least eleven popes have made pronouncements about the incompatibility of Catholic doctrines and Freemasonry.
The video states that "the policy [of whether it is acceptable for members of the Church to become Freemasons] is simple: members of the Church […] are not prohibited from becoming Freemasons. Nor are Masons prohibited from becoming members of the Church. Latter-day Saints believe that good can be found in many places." [2]
The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership ...
Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the Church of England have been Freemasons, including Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher. [189] In the past, few members of the Church of England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican Christianity and practising Freemasonry.
The Letter to U.S. Bishops reiterated the Church's ban on all types of Freemasonry, [5] attaching reports analyzing the religious compatibility of Masonic and Catholic theologies. It is notable that it concentrated on the "naturalistic" beliefs of Freemasons rather than their alleged anti-clerical activities. [citation needed]
The Declaration Concerning Status of Catholics Becoming Freemasons is a February 1981 declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) under Cardinal Franjo Šeper which restated the Catholic Church's prohibition against Catholics becoming Freemasons.
The question of whether Freemasonry is anticlerical is the subject of debate. The Catholic Church has long been an outspoken critic of Freemasonry, and some scholars have often accused the fraternity of anticlericalism. [1]