By Mgr Michael Tully

Perhaps just as important a question is why a Catholic should want to be a Freemason.

It is worth recalling that the question also extends beyond Catholics. In recent years who and what are Freemasons has been debated in public life, whether Members of Parliament should declare their membership, whether judges should declare themselves, etc. So it is an issue for the community at large as much as for English Catholics.

First to explain the background. The origins of Freemasonry are not all that clear but may be rooted in Catholicism; generally it is thought masonry arose in the middle ages. when English masons founded a religious fraternity under the patronage of St John the Baptist with the aim of guarding the craft. In time the fraternity became more focused on the moral and religious education of its members.

The fraternity was abolished by Edward VI in 1547 but later it was revived for educational and social purposes. A religious aspect developed and Freemasonry spread abroad. In many European countries the Lodges were explicitly anti-religious and anti-Catholic, which led the Church to forbid membership under penalties in the law of the Church. The matter recurred at various times as during the Pontificates of Clement XII (1738), Benedict XIV (1751, a famous jurist) and Pius IX ("Syllabus of Errors" 1864).

However, in Germany and Germanic countries masons professed a generalised version of Christianity, and their Lodges differed markedly in nature from those of many other countries.

Still the first Code of Canon Law explicitly forbade membership for Catholics, because of the anti-religious bias in many regions. In contrast, the new Code of 1983 does not mention Masonry as such.

The explanation for the omission lies in the widely differing nature of the organisation in various countries and the modem universal law takes local conditions much more into account. Nevertheless basic principles have to be applied.

Indeed at the time the new Law was due to be promulgated, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith repeated the Church's negative decision concerning Freemasonry, but the ban had in mind above all the continental anti-Catholic form of Freemasonry. Then came the new Code of Canon Law, which did not mention masonry by name. It is noteworthy that the Eastern Orthodox Church still forbids membership under pain of excommunication.

It is not easy to discover exactly what Masons believe or what they expect of their members. The character of Freemasonry here (and e.g. in the USA) is known to be much less antagonistic to religion than in many places.

There has been ambiguity at various times even at a high level in the Church: very serious issues were raised some years ago when links were alleged between continental masonry and Church financialcircles. Certainly in this country they count among their members people from various professions and from public life, not to mention nobility and royalty.

Why would a Catholic seek to become a member? If it is for social purposes and other benefits, e.g. moral support, charitable work, there are thriving Catholic associations, based upon sound principles, who would welcome new members from the Catholic community.

If a Catholic wishes to join the Masons to get ahead in his chosen profession or trade, then we have to ask: is there the potential for conflict between loyalty to the Masons and loyalty to other values and principles, as well as the matter of reconciling the general religious aspect of Masonry with his Catholic Faith?

In practice it is hard to see how membership of the Freemasons can be reconciled with being a Catholic.

Michael J. Tully
March 2006