Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Freemasonry

I have to put forth apologies', as yesterday I posted this thread with an absurd headline. Beg me pardon, sometimes we have unexpected guests and they tend to bring very good wine...

So it's all about the thoughts of the Chatolic Church over the Freemasonry. I tend to stay natural here, is delicate topic, some people might get offended. But read for yourself and decide if the Catholics are right/wrong about it...

At every period of time each has been in conflict with the other, with a variety and multiplicity of weapons and of warfare, although not always with equal ardour and assault. At this period, however, the partisans of evil seems to be combining together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strongly organized and widespread association called the Freemasons. No longer making any secret of their purposes, they are now boldly rising up against God Himself. w2.vatican.va...

For sure read the full article if you wish to comment and not sounds out of place or context, please. w2.vatican.va...

a reply to: Argentbenign

Being a confirmed Catholic and a Freemason, I can say with some assiduity, the Catholic church simply doesn't understand freemasonry, and therefore demonizes it, like so many ignorant folks do.

N.B. The date of that decree is April 20th 1884.

a reply to: DISRAELI

Since Leo issued an Encyclical - doesn't that qualify as one of those infallible proclamations?

If so, unless a new one has been issued on the same subject, the 1884 version still holds.

ganjoa

a reply to: Argentbenign

It appears to me, that; the Papacy's greatest concern with Freemasonry is that it does not endorse the Catholic Church or the Pope as the absolute and supreme religious authority, instead, allowing freedom of religious thought and opinion to its members.

You've gotta question the moral compass of an institution that forbids Freemasonry, but retains pedophile priests and simply shuffles them around to different dioceses while paying billions in hush-money and settlements.

a reply to: Argentbenign

For perspective to his comments, read about the Sons of Darkness and the Sons of Light from this wise sage of ATS: LINK

Here's the problem with this. You need to first decide which of the two discussed in the Vatican article are the Sons of Darkness. When Jesus refused the Kingdom of David in the desert temptation, who accepted it? This is easily seen if you follow the trail in history. ROME accepted the throne of David. This is further revealed by Jesus telling Peter that he is Petros (Flesh), and upon this Petra (Spirit), I shall build my church. The true Church is not a foundation of matter in the material world, but of Spirit above. We can eliminate the church as the Sons of Light. The story of Joseph in Egypt is not a past occurrence, but a prophecy of today. Same with the flood of baptism (rebirth) from our past collapsed civilization.

Here's the second problem. Masons have built their foundation and cornerstone on the same faulty foundation. Private associations between the Elite of this world are an exclusions to the unity of the whole, ending in the same disease found within the church. We again find this in the words of Jesus in John 21. Keep in mind the context to this statement below. This is Peter and his betrayal of the truth. Unity with multiplicity is the "measure of the fish" from Pythagoras. 153 fish caught from the 'right' side of the boat is a clue for both the Vatican and Masons alike. How do you reason a triangle? a2+b2=c2, which is the clue you need to know how the seventeenth triangular number is the measure of the fish. We catch a larger fish when unity comes from three, not two. You may not yet know what I mean, but you need to see where this resolves in the document I link above. It tells you when and how it happens.

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

When he was younger (as in previous lives), he served himself and was free. Today (two warnings later / 2 days / 2000 years later), Peter is now being dressed by others (served as a prince). Compare this to the Masons. Are they positioning against the Vatican for power as a house divided? Yes. Rome and Egypt are at war with a third leg to this triangle that you are leaving out. At the center of this division we have the single source of this division. If Islam is the third Hermetic arm to the triangle, what is Israel?

All three arms of this triangle must examine center. Jesus knew that all three are similar to the Neutron and Proton of the Strong force in nature. Let me use the linked document to show you how unity is brought from the collapse of this temple wave function.

The struggle for good and evil, and good’s ultimate triumph.

The character and fate of all humankind reside with these spirits. All the hosts of humanity, generation by generation, are heirs to these spiritual divisions, walking according to their ways; the outworking of every deed inheres in these divisions according to each person’s spiritual heritage, whether great or small, for every age of eternity. God has appointed these spirits as equals until the last age, and set an everlasting enmity between their divisions. False deeds are thus an abomination to the truth, whereas all the ways of truth are for perversity equally a disgrace. Fierce dispute attends every point of decision, for they can never agree. In his mysterious insight and glorious wisdom God has countenanced an era in which perversity triumphs, but at the time appointed for visitation He shall destroy such forever.

The document belongs to the instructor. Two coming together make one unstoppable force. A house divided upon itself will not stand. A Cord of three strands is....

If Only Peter Believed the Word - If Only the Masons Learned to Share - If only Islam learned to Love - If only Christians learned to remove Judgment - If Only...

Feed the Sheep is not food, but knowledge. Enlightenment is not a positional good and the temple is not a place of commerce. Carbon has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons. The Pope wants to trade carbon on the open market. Masons have built the House for this eventuality of Carbon trading. Today, we fulfill Revelation 13 as Peter again denies Christ.

As it is written. It is written so we can avoid the outcome. Know thyself and find peace.

a reply to: DayAfterTomorrow

Masons have built their foundation and cornerstone on the same faulty foundation. Private associations between the Elite of this world are an exclusions to the unity of the whole

I do not believe this to be a true nor accurate statement. Politics is not an appropriate topic for Lodge discussion, and clandestine meetings among Freemasons are unlawful.

The Elite of this world tend to gather in meetings such as those hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, and other conglomerates of the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Complex.

a reply to: Argentbenign

Sorry the link didnt open for me.

I've superficially researched this topic and haven't been able to get to the bottom of it but it seems that the Freemasonry the C. Church is battling today is some weird form of European Freemasonry unfamiliar to us here in the US. As I've noted however, I haven't been able to get to the bottom of it.

a reply to: DayAfterTomorrow Thank you for the interesting post. Of course, I'll have to disagree with almost all your references and statements, but this does not prohibit me to say Cheers for the brainwork you put there.
-My go of the Dead Sea Scrolls is not the shiniest one. According to me, the authors did a good job for their time, considering the economics and politics, but now are obsolete even in context. Usually people search for grandiose ideas in this things, thus fail to see how mundane they are...
- "God's ultimate triumph" is "Satan's ultimate goal". Nothing more to say here.
-And God never sets the environment. Humanity chose perversity. It cold be evaded easily. However other things would substitute it... like hunger or else. It's his word, the interpretation (reality) is ours.

a reply to: TonyS

According to your research, what, in European Freemasonry, did you find that was weird?

a reply to: network dude

Actually network dude you can not be both a catholic and a Freemason, it was a papal law excommunicating all catholic's that refused to renounce there freemasonry which is still in force today despite members of the clergy currently being masons including a strong masonic influence both within the Vatican and also inside the Jesuit's - Society of Jesus.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
masonic.benemerito.net...
en.wikipedia.org...
bustedhalo.com...
www.scribd.com...
this one has pop up's catholictruthblog.com...

There are varying reason's why this may have been done, one was that the Vatican may have believed the growing power of masonry in the past was a direct threat to the church itself but it is rather interesting to contrast that with the modern re-growth of freemasonry in Italy which interestingly enough has also coincided with the downfall and weakening of the traditional mafia in the country.

For me I have always wondered at the possible link between masonry and the Hansiatic league, I do not accept any link between masonry and the main body of the Templar however, as you know the Templar were betrayed by a corrupt pope and a corrupt king of France, framed and destroyed but what those that wish to claim a direct descent from the Templar conveniently gloss over or outright deny is the simple fact that though given full autonomy from the Catholic church by an original papal order the Templar were monk's, divided between knight's of noble birth and Templar soldiers of non noble birth but all were sworn to celibacy, when not training or praying they were lived in there cell's which were sparse and small room's just like any monk because they were in spite of the immense wealth of the order sworn to poverty.

After the murder of the grand master and the famous oath of bringing the king and corrupt pope to justice before god it is conceivable that the templar massive and probably still untouched spy network did swing into action and facilitate both of there death's within a year of there act of treachery but that would be pure speculation on my part but if so it does become possible that some masonic heritage could have been inherited via that avenue BUT to my memory there was only one single Templar knight whom was ever allowed to relax his oath of chastity and that was the prince of Portugal, later the king of Portugal as of course a king had to have heir's.

But I rest my case you can not be a Communicated Roman Catholic and a Freemason at the same time.


BUT of course you can be a Christian and a Freemason so long as Christ is your lord and given all the good some lodges have done I See no fault with that only with those members whom are not so good whom despite some protestation's from the more devout mason's do actually and always have existed within the order.

originally posted by: Sahabi
a reply to: DayAfterTomorrow

Masons have built their foundation and cornerstone on the same faulty foundation. Private associations between the Elite of this world are an exclusions to the unity of the whole

I do not believe this to be a true nor accurate statement. Politics is not an appropriate topic for Lodge discussion, and clandestine meetings among Freemasons are unlawful.

The Elite of this world tend to gather in meetings such as those hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, and other conglomerates of the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Complex.

Initiation is the marker, not the name of the society. Those initiated are loyal to the Spirit of the foundation they agree to protect - "So Mote it Be," so to speak. Beyond the lower departmentalized societies is one society of Elite rulers. They hold the vast majority of wealth gleaned form the lower ranks of members doing their jobs. The parts interconnect to the three primary power brokers run as the central hub of a giant corporation. It all connects back to the center hub as a house divided against itself. The further you are from center, the less likely you are to see why Albert Pike is the centerpiece of Washington in effigy. We are not speaking here of any of the parts, but the entire Spirit behind them.

Keep this in mind, the Spirit of Masonry can either be one of giving or taking. At the heart of the powers in any country reside the 'enlightened' who rule for their own selfish ends. Follow the money where it ends and you find Masons at every turn. Follow the power of government and you find a secret society unknown to the public, but seen clearly by the rituals and symbolism attached.

The Bush family is a good example.

a reply to: Sahabi

That's hard to explain, (I'm on a tablet with janky blue tooth key board).

Basically there are two branches of Freemasonry. Anglo-American branch wherein belief and worship of God is a requirement of members and the European/Continental branch which admits atheists. The European branch is organized around the Grand Orient de France, GODF.
From en.m.wikipedia.org...

While the Anglo-American tradition had long required (and still does require) candidates to overtly express a belief in deity, the GODF removed that requirement, stating that Laïcité "imposes that all men are given, without distinction of class, origin or denomination, the means to be themselves, to have the freedom of choice, to be responsible for their own maturity and masters of their destiny."[12][13] In other words, the GODF would admit atheists, while those lodges in the Anglo-American tradition would not. The United Grand Lodge of England thus withdrew its recognition, and declared the GODF to be "irregular."

The C. Church feels that the GODF is anti-Church and anti-clerical:

The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia credited Freemasonry for the French Revolution and its persecution of the Church, citing a claim made in a document from the Grand Orient de France.[17] The Encyclopedia saw Freemasonry as the primary force of French anti-clericalism from 1877 onwards, again citing official documents of French Masonry to support its claim.[18] According to one historian, Masonic hostility continued into the early twentieth century with the Affaire Des Fiches[19] and, according to the old Catholic Encyclopedia, the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State[20] can be credited to the Grand Orient de France, based on Masonic documents.

In Italy the Church linked the anticlerical and nationalist secret society, the Carbonari, to Freemasonry[21] and blamed the anticlerical direction of Italian Unification, or Risorgimento, on Freemasonry. Into the 1890s the Church would justify its calls for Catholics to avoid dealings with the Italian state with a reference to the state's supposed "Masonic" nature.[22]

Mexican Freemasonry was also seen as following the pattern of Continental Freemasonry in other Latin-speaking countries, viewed as becoming more anti-clerical during the nineteenth century, particularly because they adopted the Scottish Rite degree system created by Albert Pike, which the Catholic Church saw as anti-clerical.

One other difference discussed is that in the Anglo-American branch, discussion of politics is prohibited, whereas in the GODF it is encouraged.

But it gets even stranger: from: freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com...

The world of Anglo-Saxon derived Freemasonry is generally perplexed by the anti-Masonic allegation that Freemasons are attempting to somehow create a one-world government, or somehow influence governments or politicians from behind the scenes. The notion that an English, US, Canadian, or Australian grand lodge today would try to exert political power, issue official position papers on church vs. state topics, arrange meetings with politicians to lobby for law changes, or other similar activities would be an anathema to most Freemasons in the overwhelming majority of jurisdictions.

Not so with the Grand Orients of France and Belgium. The largest obedience of Masons in France is unrecognized and considered irregular by the overwhelming majority of the Masonic world, and this week's news provides ample explanation why. The European press is reporting that "the Masons" are hoping to open a bureau in Brussels to "to lobby against the rising influence of religious organisations in the EU institutions."

So it seems, the European GODF is actively opposed to Theism.
If you go to that site, you will discover as well that the GODF is behind the open immigraton and refugee programs in Europe and they impose a membership requirement upon Govt leaders in Africa. The GODF is tied to this idea:

"universalist conception of the Enlightenment."

And the conflict between the two types is expressed as:

Beyond the fight for secularism, there is a battle to wage against communitarianism in society. Europe is influenced by the Anglo-Saxon conception of the relationship between religion and state, as well as multiculturalism. Now we must impose the universalist conception of the Enlightenment, which involves spreading the notion of European citizenship before the Jew, the black, the North African, homosexual, heterosexual, etc. One must come to understand that what unites us is a certain idea of man regardless of descent.

So, basically the GODF is promoting atheism and secularism.

Mmmmmmm, maybe we've just found the anti-Christ, or at least the well spring from which he will emerge?

a reply to: TonyS

I hail from the lineage of Continental Freemasonry (C.F.). In kind objection, I must opine that your points of debate are incorrect or misconstrued.

So it seems, the European GODF is actively opposed to Theism.

So, basically the GODF is promoting atheism and secularism.

In no way is Continental Freemasonry (C.F.) opposed to theism or religion. Simply, it promotes the complete and utter freedom of belief and opinion to its members on an individual and personal level. Atheism is not promoted or encouraged in C.F., instead, there is a spirit of acceptance and inclusion. C.F. has members from all religions, as well as atheists. A spirit of mutual respect is fostered, not the promotion of one belief/opinion above another.

"they adopted the Scottish Rite degree system created by Albert Pike, which the Catholic Church saw as anti-clerical."

The Scottish Rite was not created by Albert Pike. In C.F., Pike is never mentioned, except by the curiosity of individual Brethren. Regarding the structuring of the Scottish Rite system, we give preeminence to Étienne Morin and Alexandre François Auguste de Grasse-Tilly. Albert Pike's influence extends only over the U.S. Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Anglo-American Freemasonry.

"The largest obedience of Masons in France is unrecognized and considered irregular by the overwhelming majority of the Masonic world"

C.F. is fully Regular, and can be verified as such by Anglo-American Freemasons (A.A.F.) who have visited C.F. Lodges and/or who have remitted their Anglo-American Freemasonry (A.A.F.) to join Continental Freemasonry. C.F. hails from the same lineage, same founders, and same ritual as A.A.F. The main point of contention is the nature of inclusion versus exclusion.

"The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia credited Freemasonry for the French Revolution and its persecution of the Church"

C.F. is not responsible for the French Revolution, instead, C.F. uplifted Freemasons on an individual level, much like what occurred with the founding of the United States of America. The American Colonists sought freedom, liberty, equality, separation of church and state, and democracy instead of monarchy, just as with the French people.

in the Anglo-American branch, discussion of politics is prohibited, whereas in the GODF it is encouraged.

In C.F., the discussion of both religion and politics within the Lodge is permissible, however, in no way is it encouraged. There is a big difference between withholding a prohibition, versus promotion and encouragement. Furthermore, it is unlawful for us to directly associate Freemasonry with any particular religion or political ideology/party. No particular governmental type is promoted, no particular parties are supported, and no particular government officials are endorsed by C.F.





If you have any further questions to aid in your research, don't hesitate to ask or send me a message.

originally posted by: LABTECH767
a reply to: network dude

Actually network dude you can not be both a catholic and a Freemason, it was a papal law excommunicating all catholic's that refused to renounce there freemasonry which is still in force today despite members of the clergy currently being masons including a strong masonic influence both within the Vatican and also inside the Jesuit's - Society of Jesus.

I am aware and assume that I am ex-communicated, and proudly accept that based on my knowledge of both orders. I have too many issues with the way the RCC does business anyway and the all inclusive, (in my opinion) correct way that Freemasonry deals with religion makes me happy that I chose to explore masonry and become a member. Now I can speak directly to God and I don't need a mediator. Seems like I won.

a reply to: network dude

Hey I am not being critical just pointing out that you can't technically be a communicated catholic and a Freemason, you chose your path were ever it may lead and that is your business.

I for my part was baptized a catholic but never confirmed as I was never sent to a catholic school, got the crap bullied out of me in state school because I once with no idea what the heck I was talking about told someone that I was catholic, never even been to church at that point but that was the way thing's were in England those day's, now they are more concerned about there real enemy and realize that fighting one another over mostly petty point's was not helping either of there causes and merely allowed there true enemy to colonize there country's while they were otherwise hating one another like the idiot's they were.