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  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • May 6, 1899
  • Page 4
  • CATHOLICS AND FREEMASONRY.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, May 6, 1899: Page 4

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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Attack On The Craft.

ATTACK ON THE CRAFT .

A SHORT time since , at St . Patrick ' s Cathedral , Wyndham Street , Auckland ( N . Z . ) , the Rev . Father Dawson preached a sermon in reply to the speech made by Bro . C . C . McMillan D . G . M . ( E . G . ) , representative of the Masonic Lodges at the recent opening of the new Costley wards at the Auckland Hospital .

Father Dawson said Mr . McMillan stated that the chief of the Order was His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , that the bluest blood of the British aristocracy filled important positions in the Grand and Provincial Lodges—statesmen , warriors , lawyers , bankers , merchants , traders—and

that all classes and conditions of men owed allegiance to the Order ; yet , said the preacher , with all this "blue blood , " their contributions to charitable institutions amounted to not more than £ " 65 , 000 in one year . The Catholic Church in New Zealand , the poorest of

her order , devoted that amount annually to education . " At death the rites of Christian burial were denied to a Roman Catholic Freemason , and he was allowed to be buried like a dog , " said Mr . McMillan . There could be , Father Dawson said , no such thing as a Catholic Mason . The moment a

man became a Mason he ceased to be a Catholic . If the Masonic burial was only fit for a dog—well—he left that for Mr . McMillan to consider . From the Church ' s point of view Freemasonry demoralised social life . It was anti-Christian , and tended to the destruction of home life . It was also a

standing menace to civilised States . They had just seen the conclusion of a disastrous war between America and Spain . The Masons of Spain had lost her the last of her colonies . The Grand Master of the Spanish Masons ( having destroyed his country and obliterated her commerce ) , when he heard

that the Spanish forces had been defeated , fighting against every odds , gave a sardonic laugh and remarked , "Spain is a decaying country . " So much for the patriotism of Masons . Don Carlos , of Portugal , lost his throne through the treachery of the Masonic Lodges . The Emperor of Brazil , a highly educated man , and the most enlightened ruler that the world

had seen in this age , would not appoint Freemasons to political positions , nor to Catholic bishoprics , saying that he had enough sins to answer for , but he would never answer to God for appointing Masons to such positions . The Brazilian revolution was purely a Masonic revolution .

Masonry was inimical to good order and government , arid was opposed to every kind of law in the Church , and to Church education . There was no degradation that they had not striven to inflict upon the Church . The temple to infidelity being erected in France had cost millions of Catholic

money , and the French Masons were going to convert it into a Masonic temple . Did they wonder that the Masons were anti-Christians ? But they ( the Masons ) were almost more , for they aimed at the destruction of Christianity—it was publicly proclaimed on the Continent of Europe . The

policy , drift , and the whole heart of English Masonry was the same as Continental Masonry . This point , when Bradlaugh challenged the Prince of Wales to deny it , was admitted , it being stated that the English body was not sufficientl y advanced for that fact to be generally known .

The Catholic Church condemned Masonry , but not Masons . She had done so for many good reasons . Masonry was powerful enough to destroy commerce and the education of the youth . It poisoned the wells of justice , by influencing judge and jury . The Church opposed the Order on religious .

social , and political grounds . In concluding , Father Dawson said , perhaps there were a few Masons in Auckland cognisant with all the tricks of the Order , but he had sought not to level a word against any individual . The Church solely condemned Masons for the well-being of society , and the s tability of the throne . "— " New Zealand Herald . "

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

"A SPRIG OF ACACIA . "

THE death is announced of Brother Robert Davies , formerly head master and proprietor of the Chorlton-cum-Hardy High School , which took place at Southport , at the age of 56 . He was a P . M . of Chorlton Lodge , No . 1387 , and also a P . P . G . Std . B . of West Lancashire .

A DISTINCTLY mournful function was the funeral of Bro . John Jordrell P . M . of the Callender Lodge , No . 10 5 , which took place recently at Withington . He had served the various offices , and was highly respected by all the Brethren . The Rev . D . T . Reece Chaplain of the Lodge officiated , and many members of the Craft were present .

Catholics And Freemasonry.

CATHOLICS AND FREEMASONRY .

r IlHE following additional letterson this subject areextracted JL from the " Catholic Times " : SIR , —For a Catholic , one would have supposed that the Pope's Encyclical condemning Freemasonry would have settled the question about the " craft " onoe and for all . Let Father Wyndham's anti-Masonic Catechism be studied by those who would write on the subject .

Your correspondent " G . F . R . " misses the point at issue . Freemasonry is condemned by the Catholic Church because Freemasonry is a " religion . " It is therefore rightly termed a sect by Frenchman and Italians . Now if a religion it must have a foundation , and " other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid , which is Jesus Christ . " Is Freemasonry based on Christ ? If not , tbe words of Christ condemn it aud show its anti-Christianity : " He that is not with Me is against Me . "

Even were Freemasonry moral and law-supporting , it must come under the ban of the Church as much as Ritualism does for " other foundations , " etc . Yours , etc ., GILBERT HIGGINS .

SIB , —Will any Freemason give your readers the " verse and chapter , " as it were , for establishing that Freemasonry existed , as an institution—if at all —before the sixteenth century , say before Lselius Socinus , its founder ; or existed , in England , before the year 1640 ?

My argument against tbe antiquity (!) of Freemasonry , against the absurd allegation that it has any connection with the Knights Templar , or with the Temple of Solomon , or the Tower of Babel , or with Noah's Ark , if not with the Garden of Eden itself , but that it is of much more recent growth is , in my mind , vory simple .

It is this ; that I do not see of any Pope before Clement All . ( who denounced " the contagion "" of the Society of "liberi muratori , '' or Freemasons , " wbo bind themselves , by a rigorous oath upon the Bible , and under the most terrible penalties , to keep concealed the secret practices of their association " ) denouncing such a sooiety . Considering that the Popes are placed as " watchmen on the top of towers , never holding their peace " —and

precious little , you may depend , escapes their attention , in this world , from those heights I—some Pope , long before the last named , would , surely , on detection , and upon the first appearance of such a society , have sounded the clarion note of alarm , in his time , like vigilant chanticleer at the approach of the bird of prey . But I hear of none throughout the centuries ; unless , forsooth , the Popes themselves happened to be all Freemasons !

This , in my opinion , is about the best , or , at any rate , a good proof of the non-existence of Freemasonry before the sixteenth century . On the other hand , one of your correspondents says that Freemasonry is not the same in England as on the Continent , inferring that it is of a milder type , more gentle , bucolic and contemplative , I suppose . But let us talk

common sense . Is the oath tho English Mason takes of a milder type than that of his Continental Brothers ? Is there in the English oath nothing binding , equally with the Continental one , under the most terrible penalties , " to keep concealed the secret practices of this association ? " If the terrific oath be the same here , in order to guard exactly the same secrets , where is the difference between English and Continental Freemasonry ?

Of course , I am merely groping for light ; should some Freemason , or your correspondent , kindly answer preceding two points in my communication satisfactorily I shall freely acknowledge that I shall know then a thing or two more than I knew hitherto . Yours , etc ., GBOPER .

SIR , —Your correspondent " G . F . R ., " also " London Catholic " and other Catholics who may desire to know the reasons why Catholics are forbidden to be Freemasons , will find such reasons amply given in a book published by Blessrs . M . H . Gill and Sons , 50 Upper Sackville Street , Dublin ,

1876 , entitled "Irish and English Freemasons and Their Foreign Brothers Their System , Oaths , Ceremonies , Secrets , Grips , Signs , and Passwords . " By Michael Di Gargano . With coloured illustrations . Yours , etc ., AN IBISH PARISH PHIEST .

SIB , —Father Wyndham ( Bayswater ) published a catechism on Freemasonry lately . It can be had at most Catholic booksellers , price ld Freemasonry has been frequently condemned by the Holy See . The last was the Bull " Humanum Genus , " by Leo XIII . No Catholic worth the name can advocate that universal secret society , the real object of which is the same all over the world , whatever certain persons may assert to the contrary . Yours , etc .,

SIB , —If "London Catholic " be not content with your editorial reply , but wishes to study Freemasonry for himself , I would refer him to Beeves and Turner , Strand , and Kenning , Great Queen Street , London , both publishers of many works on Masonry . For works written from a Catholic standpoint I would refer him to "Eobertson ' s Lectures , " "Secret War / are , " "Freemasonry , by Dupanloup , " all published by Burns and Gates . Also " English Freemasonry , " by Fouquet , Cadieux , and Derome , Montreal ( 1898 ) , Father Wyndham's pamphlet ( Washbourne ) .

Your correspondent " G . F . R ., " of 14 th April , belongs to tbe Radical school : by one stroke of his pen he would repeal the deliberate condemnation of five Popes . " Assured " by Masons , it is " clear " to him that English Masonry is beyond reproach . Is he aware that Masons of a higher degree are bound not only not to reveal their secrets to the uninitiated , but not even to Masons of an inferior order ? He is mistaken when he thinks that modern

Masonry does not differ from tho Catholic guilds of a few centuries ago . If he study the history of Freemasonry he will find that these guilds at first concerned themselves solely with architecture ; afterwards , to acquire influence and patronage , they received as associates persons who knew nothing about the craft , and in the course of time they became purely social and political societies , and as such were suppressed in Holland , Bavaria ,

Switzerland , Italy , Spain , Portugal , and Russia , in the eighteenth century . " G . F . R . " is " assured " that Masonry contains nothing detrimental to any form oi religion . Let him but read any Masonic ritual and he will find it filled with blood-curdling oaths . " Freemasonry should be condemned , " says O'Connell , "for its irreligious use of holy things , and for its frequent and blasphemous oaths . "

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1899-05-06, Page 4” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 21 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_06051899/page/4/.
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Title Category Page
THE GIRLS SCHOOL FESTIVAL. Article 1
ROYAL ARCH. Article 1
NORTH AND EAST YORKSHIRE. Article 1
SUFFOLK Article 1
WEST LANCASHIRE. Article 2
NEW HALL AT PORTLAND. Article 2
KNIGHT TEMPLARY. Article 2
IRISH CHARITY. Article 3
FROM OUR EXCHANGES. Article 3
ATTACK ON THE CRAFT. Article 4
"A SPRIG OF ACACIA." Article 4
CATHOLICS AND FREEMASONRY. Article 4
Untitled Ad 5
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Article 7
MUNICIPAL FREEMASONRY. Article 7
FOREIGN FREEMASONRY. Article 8
GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND. Article 9
CATHOLICS DRIFTING TO MASONRY. Article 9
LODGE MEETINGS NEXT WEEK. Article 10
Untitled Ad 10
Untitled Ad 10
Untitled Ad 10
Untitled Ad 10
REPORTS OF MEETINGS. Article 11
INSTRUCTION. Article 11
PROVINCIAL. Article 11
ENTERTAINMENT NOTES. Article 12
The Theatres, &c. Article 12
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Attack On The Craft.

ATTACK ON THE CRAFT .

A SHORT time since , at St . Patrick ' s Cathedral , Wyndham Street , Auckland ( N . Z . ) , the Rev . Father Dawson preached a sermon in reply to the speech made by Bro . C . C . McMillan D . G . M . ( E . G . ) , representative of the Masonic Lodges at the recent opening of the new Costley wards at the Auckland Hospital .

Father Dawson said Mr . McMillan stated that the chief of the Order was His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , that the bluest blood of the British aristocracy filled important positions in the Grand and Provincial Lodges—statesmen , warriors , lawyers , bankers , merchants , traders—and

that all classes and conditions of men owed allegiance to the Order ; yet , said the preacher , with all this "blue blood , " their contributions to charitable institutions amounted to not more than £ " 65 , 000 in one year . The Catholic Church in New Zealand , the poorest of

her order , devoted that amount annually to education . " At death the rites of Christian burial were denied to a Roman Catholic Freemason , and he was allowed to be buried like a dog , " said Mr . McMillan . There could be , Father Dawson said , no such thing as a Catholic Mason . The moment a

man became a Mason he ceased to be a Catholic . If the Masonic burial was only fit for a dog—well—he left that for Mr . McMillan to consider . From the Church ' s point of view Freemasonry demoralised social life . It was anti-Christian , and tended to the destruction of home life . It was also a

standing menace to civilised States . They had just seen the conclusion of a disastrous war between America and Spain . The Masons of Spain had lost her the last of her colonies . The Grand Master of the Spanish Masons ( having destroyed his country and obliterated her commerce ) , when he heard

that the Spanish forces had been defeated , fighting against every odds , gave a sardonic laugh and remarked , "Spain is a decaying country . " So much for the patriotism of Masons . Don Carlos , of Portugal , lost his throne through the treachery of the Masonic Lodges . The Emperor of Brazil , a highly educated man , and the most enlightened ruler that the world

had seen in this age , would not appoint Freemasons to political positions , nor to Catholic bishoprics , saying that he had enough sins to answer for , but he would never answer to God for appointing Masons to such positions . The Brazilian revolution was purely a Masonic revolution .

Masonry was inimical to good order and government , arid was opposed to every kind of law in the Church , and to Church education . There was no degradation that they had not striven to inflict upon the Church . The temple to infidelity being erected in France had cost millions of Catholic

money , and the French Masons were going to convert it into a Masonic temple . Did they wonder that the Masons were anti-Christians ? But they ( the Masons ) were almost more , for they aimed at the destruction of Christianity—it was publicly proclaimed on the Continent of Europe . The

policy , drift , and the whole heart of English Masonry was the same as Continental Masonry . This point , when Bradlaugh challenged the Prince of Wales to deny it , was admitted , it being stated that the English body was not sufficientl y advanced for that fact to be generally known .

The Catholic Church condemned Masonry , but not Masons . She had done so for many good reasons . Masonry was powerful enough to destroy commerce and the education of the youth . It poisoned the wells of justice , by influencing judge and jury . The Church opposed the Order on religious .

social , and political grounds . In concluding , Father Dawson said , perhaps there were a few Masons in Auckland cognisant with all the tricks of the Order , but he had sought not to level a word against any individual . The Church solely condemned Masons for the well-being of society , and the s tability of the throne . "— " New Zealand Herald . "

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

"A SPRIG OF ACACIA . "

THE death is announced of Brother Robert Davies , formerly head master and proprietor of the Chorlton-cum-Hardy High School , which took place at Southport , at the age of 56 . He was a P . M . of Chorlton Lodge , No . 1387 , and also a P . P . G . Std . B . of West Lancashire .

A DISTINCTLY mournful function was the funeral of Bro . John Jordrell P . M . of the Callender Lodge , No . 10 5 , which took place recently at Withington . He had served the various offices , and was highly respected by all the Brethren . The Rev . D . T . Reece Chaplain of the Lodge officiated , and many members of the Craft were present .

Catholics And Freemasonry.

CATHOLICS AND FREEMASONRY .

r IlHE following additional letterson this subject areextracted JL from the " Catholic Times " : SIR , —For a Catholic , one would have supposed that the Pope's Encyclical condemning Freemasonry would have settled the question about the " craft " onoe and for all . Let Father Wyndham's anti-Masonic Catechism be studied by those who would write on the subject .

Your correspondent " G . F . R . " misses the point at issue . Freemasonry is condemned by the Catholic Church because Freemasonry is a " religion . " It is therefore rightly termed a sect by Frenchman and Italians . Now if a religion it must have a foundation , and " other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid , which is Jesus Christ . " Is Freemasonry based on Christ ? If not , tbe words of Christ condemn it aud show its anti-Christianity : " He that is not with Me is against Me . "

Even were Freemasonry moral and law-supporting , it must come under the ban of the Church as much as Ritualism does for " other foundations , " etc . Yours , etc ., GILBERT HIGGINS .

SIB , —Will any Freemason give your readers the " verse and chapter , " as it were , for establishing that Freemasonry existed , as an institution—if at all —before the sixteenth century , say before Lselius Socinus , its founder ; or existed , in England , before the year 1640 ?

My argument against tbe antiquity (!) of Freemasonry , against the absurd allegation that it has any connection with the Knights Templar , or with the Temple of Solomon , or the Tower of Babel , or with Noah's Ark , if not with the Garden of Eden itself , but that it is of much more recent growth is , in my mind , vory simple .

It is this ; that I do not see of any Pope before Clement All . ( who denounced " the contagion "" of the Society of "liberi muratori , '' or Freemasons , " wbo bind themselves , by a rigorous oath upon the Bible , and under the most terrible penalties , to keep concealed the secret practices of their association " ) denouncing such a sooiety . Considering that the Popes are placed as " watchmen on the top of towers , never holding their peace " —and

precious little , you may depend , escapes their attention , in this world , from those heights I—some Pope , long before the last named , would , surely , on detection , and upon the first appearance of such a society , have sounded the clarion note of alarm , in his time , like vigilant chanticleer at the approach of the bird of prey . But I hear of none throughout the centuries ; unless , forsooth , the Popes themselves happened to be all Freemasons !

This , in my opinion , is about the best , or , at any rate , a good proof of the non-existence of Freemasonry before the sixteenth century . On the other hand , one of your correspondents says that Freemasonry is not the same in England as on the Continent , inferring that it is of a milder type , more gentle , bucolic and contemplative , I suppose . But let us talk

common sense . Is the oath tho English Mason takes of a milder type than that of his Continental Brothers ? Is there in the English oath nothing binding , equally with the Continental one , under the most terrible penalties , " to keep concealed the secret practices of this association ? " If the terrific oath be the same here , in order to guard exactly the same secrets , where is the difference between English and Continental Freemasonry ?

Of course , I am merely groping for light ; should some Freemason , or your correspondent , kindly answer preceding two points in my communication satisfactorily I shall freely acknowledge that I shall know then a thing or two more than I knew hitherto . Yours , etc ., GBOPER .

SIR , —Your correspondent " G . F . R ., " also " London Catholic " and other Catholics who may desire to know the reasons why Catholics are forbidden to be Freemasons , will find such reasons amply given in a book published by Blessrs . M . H . Gill and Sons , 50 Upper Sackville Street , Dublin ,

1876 , entitled "Irish and English Freemasons and Their Foreign Brothers Their System , Oaths , Ceremonies , Secrets , Grips , Signs , and Passwords . " By Michael Di Gargano . With coloured illustrations . Yours , etc ., AN IBISH PARISH PHIEST .

SIB , —Father Wyndham ( Bayswater ) published a catechism on Freemasonry lately . It can be had at most Catholic booksellers , price ld Freemasonry has been frequently condemned by the Holy See . The last was the Bull " Humanum Genus , " by Leo XIII . No Catholic worth the name can advocate that universal secret society , the real object of which is the same all over the world , whatever certain persons may assert to the contrary . Yours , etc .,

SIB , —If "London Catholic " be not content with your editorial reply , but wishes to study Freemasonry for himself , I would refer him to Beeves and Turner , Strand , and Kenning , Great Queen Street , London , both publishers of many works on Masonry . For works written from a Catholic standpoint I would refer him to "Eobertson ' s Lectures , " "Secret War / are , " "Freemasonry , by Dupanloup , " all published by Burns and Gates . Also " English Freemasonry , " by Fouquet , Cadieux , and Derome , Montreal ( 1898 ) , Father Wyndham's pamphlet ( Washbourne ) .

Your correspondent " G . F . R ., " of 14 th April , belongs to tbe Radical school : by one stroke of his pen he would repeal the deliberate condemnation of five Popes . " Assured " by Masons , it is " clear " to him that English Masonry is beyond reproach . Is he aware that Masons of a higher degree are bound not only not to reveal their secrets to the uninitiated , but not even to Masons of an inferior order ? He is mistaken when he thinks that modern

Masonry does not differ from tho Catholic guilds of a few centuries ago . If he study the history of Freemasonry he will find that these guilds at first concerned themselves solely with architecture ; afterwards , to acquire influence and patronage , they received as associates persons who knew nothing about the craft , and in the course of time they became purely social and political societies , and as such were suppressed in Holland , Bavaria ,

Switzerland , Italy , Spain , Portugal , and Russia , in the eighteenth century . " G . F . R . " is " assured " that Masonry contains nothing detrimental to any form oi religion . Let him but read any Masonic ritual and he will find it filled with blood-curdling oaths . " Freemasonry should be condemned , " says O'Connell , "for its irreligious use of holy things , and for its frequent and blasphemous oaths . "

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