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The Catholic Church first prohibited Catholics from membership in Masonic organizations and other secret societies in 1738. Since then, at least eleven popes have made pronouncements about the incompatibility of Catholic doctrines and Freemasonry.[1]
From 1738 until 1983, Catholics who publicly associated with, or publicly supported, Masonic organizations were censured with automatic excommunication.[2] Since 1983, the prohibition on membership exists in a different form.[3][4] Although there was some confusion about membership following the 1962–1965 Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), the Church continues to prohibit membership in Freemasonry because it believes that Masonic principles and rituals are irreconcilable with Catholic doctrines. The current norm, the 1983 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's (CDF) Declaration on Masonic associations, states that "faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion" and membership in Masonic associations is prohibited.[6]
The most recent official Holy See documents about the "incompatibility of Freemasonry with the Catholic faith" were issued in 1985,[7] and in November 2023 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.[8]
- ^ CBCP 2010, p. 9.
- ^ Gruber 1910.
- ^ Saunders, William (2005). "What are the Masons?". catholiceducation.org. Catholic Education Resource Center. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Reprint of "Catholics and Freemasonry". Arlington Catholic Herald. Arlington, VA: Diocese of Arlington. 2005-09-22. ISSN 0361-3712.
- ^ Whalen, William J. (1996). "Papal condemnations of the Lodge". ewtn.com. Irondale, AL: Eternal Word Television Network. Archived from the original on 1999-11-05. From Whalen, William J. (1958). Christianity and American Freemasonry. Milwaukee, WI: Bruce. OCLC 630774062.
- ^ Benimeli 2014, p. 150.
- ^ CDF 1983; see CDF 1985: "membership objectively constitutes a grave sin;" see Law 1985: "Those who knowingly embrace such principles are committing serious sin." Which "implies in all cases an act of free will and being conscious of committing an intrinsically evil action."[5]
- ^ CDF 1985, cited in Levada (2011).
- ^ "The Request of His Excellency, the Most Rev. Julito Cortes, Bishop of Dumaguete (Philippines) Regarding the Best Pastoral Approach to Membership in Freemasonry by the Catholic Faithful (13 November 2023)" (PDF). Vatican.va.