by Rev. John McManus - May 26, 2009

HISTORICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND FREEMASONS…WHY ROMAN CATHOLICS ARE PROHIBITED BY THE CHURCH FROM BECOMING FREEMASONS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gate City II for inviting me to speak with you tonight about a rather difficult topic, the historical relationship between the Catholic Church and Freemasons, and why Roman Catholics have been and continue to be prohibited by the Church from becoming Freemasons. My name is John McManus and in my civilian life I am an attorney who has been practicing law for just over 27 years. I am Roman Catholic Christian from birth, and since my ordination in 2002, I have been a member of the Roman Catholic Clergy as a Deacon, the lowest of the three levels of clerical hierarchy in the Catholic Church. Since 2007, I am also a Canon Lawyer, which means that I have a pontifical licentiate that allows me to practice as a lawyer in the Tribunals, or courts, of the Roman Catholic Church, and also to advise the Archbishop or others regarding canonical issues, or those issues related to the law of the Roman Catholic Church.

I have provided you with that personal background to let you know that my studies have been related to the Roman Catholic Church and its laws. I am not a Freemason, nor have I studied in any detail, other than for the preparation of this presentation, the laws, rules, creeds, or other constitutive documents of Freemasons. Nothing presented herein is intended to criticize, condemn or otherwise cast aspersions on either Freemasonry or Freemasons, as a group or to any individual Freemason, whether Roman Catholic or not. Instead, this presentation is intended to provide historical and current information on the subject matter that may be used in civil discussions and personal reflections about the issues presented in order that each person may be informed and form their own consciences about the issues presented.

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Cathy Caridi, J.C.L. - September 25th, 2008

Q: There’s a man running for office in my area whose campaign brochures describe his community involvement. They say that he is a member of a Catholic parish, and also that he is a member of a Masonic Lodge. I thought Catholics couldn’t become Masons. Has the law on that been changed? -Vicki

A: No, although many people wrongly believe that it has.

As we saw in the September 6, 2007 column, the Code of Canon Law that was promulgated in 1983 by Pope John Paul II replaced the earlier code of 1917. The 1917 code was thus abrogated-repealed and replaced, in other words-by the current code.

Canon 2335 of the 1917 code stated clearly that those Catholics who joined a Masonic organization or some other, similar group that plotted against the Church or against civil authority, incurred excommunication. The Church’s interpretation of Freemasonry’s main purpose was pretty clear: it was an association that plots against Catholicism. Membership in it was, therefore, obviously inconsistent with being a Catholic.

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The New American, June 9, 1997

Catholic priest Malachi Martin does not reside in a rectory, seminary, or any other typical locale for a cleric. In the 1960s, after leaving his post as an official in the Vatican, he obtained release from his vows as a member of the Jesuit order and began living the life of a lay person with canonical approval.

Father Martin is still a Catholic priest who offers Mass in private, but he is deeply troubled by the wholesale alteration of “virtually everything Catholic” over the past three decades. His most recent book, a novel entitled Windswept House (published by Doubleday in 1996), depicts political and religious intrigue by a small group of highly placed Church officials within the Vatican who seek to steer the Roman Catholic Church into the new world order. The novel depicts the efforts of disloyal cardinals who work feverishly to subvert the Pope and the Church, and have no reluctance to use murder, blackmail, and satanism.

Father Martin was interviewed at his New York City residence by John F. McManus, publisher of THE NEW AMERICAN.

Q. You state that your book is neither fiction nor fact, but a “factional” work. What do you mean?

A. Windswept House is a novel. But it is 85 percent based on actual fact, and most of the personages appearing in it are real even though I have given them fictional names. There are also some living persons mentioned such as Mikhail Gorbachev who appears as himself. And a few key characters are actually composites of several real persons.

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