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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 Church has prohibited its members from being Freemasons since the papal bull In eminenti apostolatus, promulgated in 1738 by Pope Clement XII. Since then, the Vatican has issued several papal bulls banning the membership of Catholics in Freemasonry under threat of excommunication. In 1983, the Canon Law was changed to read, "A person who ...
to reiterate, Catholic clergy, and members of religious institutes or secular institutes are expressly prohibited from Masonic membership [2] [a] The 1981 declaration preceded the 1983 Declaration on Masonic Associations issued by the CDF under Joseph Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. [4]
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 ...
Although members of various faiths cite objections, certain Christian denominations have had high-profile negative attitudes to Masonry, banning or discouraging their members from being Freemasons. The denomination with the longest history of objection to Freemasonry is the Catholic Church.
Unlike the initial degrees conferred in a regular Masonic Lodge, which (in most Regular Masonic jurisdictions) only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religious affiliation, [1] the Knights Templar is one of several additional Masonic Orders in which membership is open only to Freemasons who profess a belief in Christianity. [2]
A Rite, within the context of Freemasonry, refers to a comprehensive system of degrees that hold the capability to initiate and advance a newcomer through various stages of Masonic knowledge and experience. In some cases, a Master Mason can be invited to join a different rite after having reached Mastery to further his knowledge.
In Latin America and continental Europe, where the French lodges predominated, Freemasonry was deep into politics and opposition to the Catholic Church. Freemasonry in the U.S. with its British origins, studiously avoided any discussion of politics or support for political action. [13]