Article on masons in the Guardian

Saw this today:

Masons in turmoil as sacking at top shocks secret brotherhood

Members furious at being kept in the dark over unprecedented dismissal

Patrick Barkham
Friday May 5, 2006
The Guardian


It is the ultimate secret society, a fraternal organisation of influential men who attract almost as many conspiracy theories as members. But the brotherly bonds and code of silence that link 800,000 freemasons are under strain after the unprecedented dismissal of the chief executive of the United Grand Lodge of England.
The peak body for 10,000 masonic lodges was plunged into crisis after Robert Morrow, a former executive at NatWest bank, was hauled in front of a disciplinary hearing a day before the lodge's annual ceremony in London, attended by the Duke of Kent, the grand master of the United Grand Lodge of England. Ordinary members only realised Mr Morrow had not been reappointed to his £100,000-plus post when he failed to appear at the annual investiture ceremony at the historic Freemasons' Hall, the masonic headquarters in Covent Garden. Nor was he present at the lavish post-ceremony dinner in the nearby New Connaught Rooms. "It's a bit like going to Tesco's AGM and finding Sir Terry Leahy is not there," said one disgruntled mason.

The annual reappointment of the grand secretary is normally a formality. Members of the lodge said they had never known their chief executive to be, in effect, sacked. As grand secretary, Mr Morrow was responsible for the day-to-day running of the United Grand Lodge of England, a job demanding all the skills of a chief executive managing a lucrative set of London properties with an unusual amount of discretion.
Since freemasons combined lodges in London in 1717 and the first masonic rulebook was published six years later, their arcane rituals and grandiose titles have attracted members and curiosity in equal measure. Queen Victoria's son Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, was a masonic grand master, but resigned his post on becoming king in 1901. Other prominent freemasons include Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers and Rudyard Kipling. A growing number of public figures are now obliged to declare membership, including judges, police and probation officers - but not MPs.

Although masons tackle the conspiracies that proliferate via the internet and the Da Vinci Code by insisting they are not a secret society, Mr Morrow's abrupt departure is, like most masonic business, shrouded in secrecy. They may follow principles of brotherly love, relief (charity) and truth, but ordinary masons are furious that they have not been given a reason for the dismissal of their grand secretary, who was appointed in 2002 and would normally be expected to serve at least 10 years. Masonic machinations in Spain - where masonry was banned and masons persecuted under General Franco - is understood to be one of the key charges against Mr Morrow, who was hauled before a grand lodge disciplinary hearing on April 25.

Continued at source

[Mod Edit: External tags and source link - Jak]


[edit on 8/5/06 by JAK]

"There is a great deal of speculation," Mr Morrow said last night. "All masonic rumours are inherently true, especially those with no basis whatsoever in fact. There are many stories going around and I would rather not comment on any."

One mason, who preferred to remain anonymous, called for a proper explanation for his dismissal. "We all pay enormous amounts of subscriptions to these people yet we are not considered to be worthy of knowing what is going on."

A spokeswoman for the United Grand Lodge of England confirmed that Mr Morrow's dismissal was "unprecedented in recent history".

The lodge said in a statement: "On the 25th April 2006, following a disciplinary hearing, Bro Morrow was dismissed and as a consequence was not re-appointed as grand secretary.

"The reasons related to the implementation of the agreed policy of United Grand Lodge of England in relation to overseas grand lodges and his reporting of his activities in this area. The disciplinary process is continuing, and steps to appoint a grand secretary will not be taken until after it is completed."

The spokeswoman said the appeal process would take up to four weeks.

Avid followers of masonic news on this site will be interested in the statement made by UGLE on the matter, which can be read here.

Given the track record of factual accuracy in the English press regarding masonic matters it might be wise to await the end of the disciplinary process, at which point UGLE will comment further.

It is quite improper to make comment while the process is in hand, and I suspect mischief-making on the part of the Guardian here.

It's the end of their world and they know it....

Let the clean-up begin!

Now!

Originally posted by Edelweiss Pirate


It's the end of their world and they know it....

Let the clean-up begin!

Now!

Yes because one person lost his position the whole Masonic Organisation is now facing the 'end of their world'.

Thankyou for pointing that out to us. I now have time to go prepare myself.

You'd be well advised to do just that.

Originally posted by Edelweiss Pirate


You'd be well advised to do just that.

Should I check my toilet for explosives too?

Originally posted by Edelweiss Pirate


It's the end of their world and they know it....

Let the clean-up begin!

Now!

I suspect that you're going to be very embarrassed about all this one day, mate. I don't mean that in an aggressive way. I reckon you'll look back and laugh quietly to yourself when you eventually realise that the world isn't a game of modern-day Dungeons and Dragons.

Seriously, from one human being to another, all the best of luck getting to that point. I know you think that I'm some kind of disinformation agent in the employ of shadowy, hand-wringing evil geniuses, but I'm actually just speaking to you as an ordinary bloke.

Originally posted by Roark
I suspect that you're going to be very embarrassed about all this one day, mate. I reckon you'll look back and laugh quietly to yourself when you eventually realise that the world isn't a game of modern-day Dungeons and Dragons.

Seriously, from one human being to another, all the best of luck getting to that point. I know you think that I'm some kind of disinformation agent in the employ of shadowy, hand-wringing evil geniuses, but I'm actually just speaking to you as an ordinary bloke.

If i had to venture a guess roark - I would say that your an aussie! (like me!)

The statement from UGLE seems like a dodge. They had a meeting over disciplinary actions, and he was sacked as a result. Well, why not publish the minutes of the meeting? Why not publish a summation of the record? They say that they will explain later. How long is that going to take?

www.guardian.co.uk...
Mr Morrow was accused of manipulating the election by urging his British members to back a particular candidate in Spain, a charge which allegedly led to the grand master of Spain to write to the English lodge, condemning Mr Morrow's behaviour as "absolutely outrageous". It is understood that he categorically denies the charges.

Looks like its purely a matter of internal jurisdiction and bylaws. Seems rather silly of him to get involved in the politics of the spanish masons, regardless of them being recognized as regular by UGLE. Why are they giving people the runaround though if this is the reason for it?

Originally posted by Nygdan


Looks like its purely a matter of internal jurisdiction and bylaws. Seems rather silly of him to get involved in the politics of the spanish masons, regardless of them being recognized as regular by UGLE. Why are they giving people the runaround though if this is the reason for it?

I can't speak for the UGLE, as Grand Lodges here in the States operate a little differently (here, the Grand Secretaries are elected by popular vote instead of being appointed). The UGLE's atatement does appear a little ambiguous, but may be because the matter is still currently under investigation, and all the facts have not yet been gathered.

Still, you'd think that their PR people would be better organized than that!

Originally posted by Nygdan
Still, you'd think that their PR people would be better organized than that!

lol, Freemasonry is notoriously bad at PR. Example:

When I was a kid, the treasurer at what is now my Shrine Temple was embezzling funds. He eventually got caught, was expelled from Shrinedom and Masonry, and convicted in criminal court. The newspapers were talking about a Shriner being a crook, so some locals began to distrust Masons, even though in this case it was the Masons who were getting ripped off!

Originally posted by Nygdan
Still, you'd think that their PR people would be better organized than that!

Hmmm, if we only had some "PR" people to organize... Most of the public relations in Freemasonry come via a couple of guys down at the Grand Lodge who don't fish, golf, or have travel trailers. Savvy to them is a lump free gravy on the pot roast at the festive board.

Regarding the "Masonic Empire" and all it's machinations:

Never has so much, been attributed to so little.

Originally posted by Masonic Light

Originally posted by Nygdan


Looks like its purely a matter of internal jurisdiction and bylaws. Seems rather silly of him to get involved in the politics of the spanish masons, regardless of them being recognized as regular by UGLE. Why are they giving people the runaround though if this is the reason for it?

I can't speak for the UGLE, as Grand Lodges here in the States operate a little differently (here, the Grand Secretaries are elected by popular vote instead of being appointed). The UGLE's atatement does appear a little ambiguous, but may be because the matter is still currently under investigation, and all the facts have not yet been gathered.

Yes, theres just the teency matter of UK law and employment legislation. You wouldn't get anything different from a corporation, and I'm afraid we're all going to have to wait until a further statement is made by UGLE on the conclusion of the matter.

In common with most reporting of freemasonry by the mainstream English press, the Guardian article is riddled with factual inaccuracies. I have every expectation that this story will disappear, like all the others, because there is nothing of substance behind it.