Do Catholics Still Prohibit Catholics From Joining The Freemasons?

Question

I am aware that the Catholics forbade other Catholics to join the Freemasons; the Knights of Columbus was formed to be the Catholic society. However the Freemasons do welcome Catholic members; I know a few masons who are practicing Catholics?

How did the Catholic - Mason war start and is the rule forbidding Catholics from joining still active today?

Answer 1

The true start and reason depends who you ask, as with any piece of history it is always written biased.

The main statement is that the teachings of Freemasonry, went against the teaching of the Church, but then again so did say the world was round and that Earth wasn't the centre of the universe?

However the craft is based upon 3 principles, and these principles are the basis of all Freemasonry and what it teaches. The Three Great Principles are:

Brotherly Love - Every true Freemason will show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others and behave with kindness and understanding to his fellow creatures.

Relief - Freemasons are taught to practise charity and to care, not only for their own, but also for the community as a whole, both by charitable giving, and by voluntary efforts and works as individuals.

Truth - Freemasons strive for truth, requiring high moral standards and aiming to achieve them in their own lives.

Please note that these three main principles are towards ALL people and not just fellow Freemasons as so many try to imply.

Now if these go against the churches teachings then I've got a few questions for my local church LOL

In truth there are really only two things, IMO, that could of caused such a rift.

1) We dont say you have to be Christian, we allow men of all faith which inturn is twisted and turned to show we treat all faiths equally which is not true.

Each individual Freemason has their own faith, all they do is instead of going to war with their neighbour because they simply believe something different, they tolerate his choice.

Theology is NEVER discussed in a masonic lodge or a gathering of masonic purpose.

2) Freemasonry is about the studying of the liberal arts and sciences, and not so long ago science and the church didn't exactly get on, as mentioned previously, world flat and centre of everything. Saying anything else was heresy and you burned at the stake (nice attitude!!) Freemasonry promoted science, encouraged free thinking, philosophy etc and such things showed, well actually proved, that the church was fallable and didn't know everything. The church had ruled the populations via the word of God, creator of the world and the heavens. If anything the church taught was discovered to be wrong, people would question everything else, ergo control would be lost.

That is why the church turned against Freemasonry, and today it is just a case of uneducated people pretending to know what they are talking about spreading malice, lies and untruths as if they were fact. Sure there is something in the bible about that, can't remember if its a good thing or bad LOL

Answer 2

The Catholic church about 20 years ago allowed Catholics to join Masonry. But it proved disasterous for those that joined because they realized that the goals of FreeMasonry and those of the Catholic Church were different. Free Masonry is a "Secret Society" with secret oaths and rituals. Their theology is not Chrisitian although it has certain Christian elements.
This situation goes back a few centuries. The Masons starting believing things that the Christian religion doesn't. Therefore the Church excommunicated catholics who joined. The excommunication is no more, but the prohition was re-instated a few years ago.

Answer 3

Catholics are still forbidden to join the Masons. According to what I've read, Masonic practices and teachings are essentially occult in nature, which means that they are off-limits to Catholics.

Answer 4

Yes.

Freemasonry beliefs go against Catholic teaching in many ways. Here are a few examples:

Freemasonry promotes indifferentism, the heretical (to Christians) belief that all religions are equally legitimate attempts to explain the truth about God but that this truth will never be explained. This is incompatible with Christian faith because Christians believe that God has definitively revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, and desires that all men come to the knowledge of this truth.

Freemasonry's teachings and practices also result in syncretism which is the blending of different religious beliefs into a unified whole. This shown in Masonry's religious rituals, which gather men of all faiths around a common altar, and place all religious writings along side the Bible on the Masonic altar.

The Lodge's practice of requiring its members to swear immoral oaths is also incompatible with Christianity. These oaths require a Christian to swear on the Holy Bible that he will uphold a code of moral conduct that prefers Masons to non-Masons, and to preserve secret passwords and handshakes. Such oaths are immoral because they are trivial and not necessary. These oaths are sworn under penalties of physical torture and death (e.g., having my throat cut across, and my tongue torn out by its roots). These penalties show a lack of respect for God.

For more information, see: http://www.scripturecatholic.com/freemasonfaq.html

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Yes, contrary to some modern misinterpretations, a Roman Catholic who joins the Freemasons is subject to excommunication.

It started because, quite frankly, the masons declared war on Roman Catholicism. ( http://www.tldm.org/News6/Masons1.htm )