Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Catholic Church argues that the philosophy of French Freemasonry (the Grand Orient, not the dominant variety of Freemasonry or the branch that is active in the English-speaking world) is antithetical to Christian doctrine and that it is at many times and places anti-clerical in intent. [4]
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.
The majority of the manuscript consists of various rules and ethics that masons should uphold, including: Masons shall labor properly on working days and attend church on holy days; Masons shall be true to God, the king, masters and fellows; Masons shall keep the secrets of their lords and fellows
The "irreconcilable principles" that the Church believes Freemasonry possesses include a "deistic God," [r] naturalism, [86] and religious indifferentism. [ s ] Near the time that the 1983 CDF declaration was released, bishops' conferences in Germany and America also released independent reports on the question of Freemasonry.
Darkness Visible: A Christian Appraisal of Freemasonry is a 1952 book on Freemasonry written by Walton Hannah, who was then an Anglican priest. [1] Darkness Visible has been influential among Christians, cited by both the General Synod of the Church of England [2] and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [3] as a reason for their concern about the compatibility of Freemasonry and ...
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 ...
The confusion arose from a leaked 1974 private clarification written to some episcopal conferences, which was interpreted by some within the Church and within Freemasonry as permitting Catholics to join Masonic lodges so long as the lodge did not directly plot against the church.
The relevance of the declaration under canon law is unclear. Canon law allows for a process by which provisions of the code are interpreted authoritatively. [4] It has been argued, however, [5] that the declaration cannot be regarded as an authoritative interpretation of canon 2335, prohibiting membership in organizations which plot against the Church, since it does not make reference to it.