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Article FOREIGN FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article FOREIGN FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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Foreign Freemasonry.
FOREIGN FREEMASONRY .
"TjlOREIG-N Freemasonry" wai tho subject of an _ I _ interesting pipor deliverel by Mr . D . M . O'Connor before a large gathering of tho mombors of the Manchester branch of tho Catholic Truth Sosioty in Bishop ' s Hou 30 , Salford , on Tue 3 clav night , tho 14 th inst .
Much disappointment was occasioned by t e announcement that his Lordship the Bishop of Sal for . 1 hid found it impossible to piesido at the meeting , his chest boing affected by the weather . Considering that they were deprived of tho great pleasure and honour of his Lordship ' s
presence , Dr . Casartelli moved that tho Very Rev . Canon Corbishley , on whose invitat on they wore thcr ? , should preside . This motion was seconded by Mr . Councillor McCabe Vice-President , and carried unanimously . Mr . O'Connor proceeded to deliver his address , 'he substance of which is as follows : —
Clement the 12 tb , on tho 28 th April 1738 , condemned the Freemasons , and that condemnation was confirmed by Benedict tho 14 th in his Providias Romanorum of 8 th May 1751 , and afterwards by Pius the 7 th , Lao the 12 th , Pius the 9 th , and by Leo the 13 th in his Humanum Genus of
20 th April 1884 , and his Encyclical of 15 th Octobar 1890 . Considering the origin of Masonry , the speaker said , perhaps tbe most general opinion found tbe origin of Masonry in the Templars , and it would appear not a little if the cast-off clothing of that discredited body was worn
by the society . Some would have Cromwell and his fellows for their forefathers , others tbe Crusaders , the Druids , tbe builders of Solomon ' s Temple , vvbilo many cast longing eyes on the Eleusinian mysteries , the rites of Memphis or Heliopolis . Bolder spirits gave the Gyranosoplvists of
India the credit of their origin , though no one less than Adam himself would satisfy at least two writers . The simplest theory was , " God made light : therefore , God
was the first Mason . " But the founder of modern Speculative Masonry lies in an exile ' s grave outsido the small village of Luclavia , not far from Cracow , on whoso grave these words might be deciphered ,
"Tofca licet Babylon destrusit fcecU Sntbern . » , Muroa Calviuus : avl fuadatmnti CJjcinius . " Luther unroofed Catholicism ; Calvin laid its walls ; bat its foundations Socinius dostroyed . AVhat were tho ideals Freemasonry had evolved from the principles Socinus left
it ? He would show them on the authority of Masons themselves . In his ritual of xMasonic apprenticeship the learned Mason Rajon , an admitted authority , said " Freemasonry is a universal socioty submissive to the laws of each country . In every state , as in each Lodge it is a close
body composed of the elite of men ; a society , the basis of whose doctrine is the love of God under the style of the Great Architect of the Universe , and the love of mankind . Its rule the relig ion of nature and the universal mortality . Its motive , truth , light , liberty . Its principle , equality ,
fraternity and benevolence . Its means , persuasion and good example . Its fruit , in virtue , fellowship and progress . Its aim , the protection and happiness of humanity which it tends to unite under one flag . Its centre is wherever the human race exists . " The German Seydel and Jonasfc , in
his history of the Grand Orient of France , accorded with this . But their impression of this society would depend upon how far below the surface they could reach . Mr . Morley in his book " On Compromise " said " at the bottom of all the great discussions of modern society lie two
momentous questions , whether there is a God ; and whether the soul is immortal , " " The basis of Masonic doctrine , " said Bagon , "Is the love of God . " The God of the Masons , " cried the Mason Proudhon in his book entitled '' Justice in Revolutions and in the Church , " "is
neither substance , cause , soul , Creator , Father , Word , Love , Paracleto , Redeemer or devil . ... No altar , no images , no sacrifice , no prayer , no sacrament , no forgiveness , no mysteries , no priesthood , no profession of faith , no creed . Freemasonry is not a church , it rests neither on
dogma or worship . It affirms nothing reason cannot clearly comprehend , and it only respects humanity . Tbe theology of the Lodge , in a word , is the antithesis of theology . " Ho was the man who wrote , " God is an evil ;
property , theft and government , capital and Catholicism , the three instruments of anarchy . " He was an atheist whoso idea was : — f { Man , sovereign in his cottago home , independent of God and man ! " Another form of bis
Foreign Freemasonry.
brother Mason , Banqui ' s cry : " Neither God nor master . ' Worthy words for a revolutionist and hideous traitor to his friends . The initials representing . "To the glory of the great Architect of the universe , " appanded to the statutes and most solemn acts issued by the Lodges , had no value
whatever . On the death of King Laopold the Lodge of the Grand Orient of Belgium displayed the device " The soul , emanating from God , is immortd . " The Lodgo "Steadfast , " of Lou vain , complained bitterly of thig " violation of liberty of conscience by this profession of two
dogmasthe existence of God and the immortality of the soul . " The following official announcement stilled the troubled waters : " Since the preceding year the Grand Orieut , in a circular addressed to every Lodge in its obedience , had professed the principle of liberty of conscience without limit , aud
that consequently it did not belong to it to establish in point of religion or philosophy a body of dootrine to which our brothers are compelled to adhere . If the principle of the immortality of the soul appear in the ritual or in the formularies , if the idea of God be there produced under
the style of the Great Architect of the universe it is because they are traditions of tho Order , but never has the Grand Orient imposed or proclaimed a dogma on either of these points . In our days it would be childish to insist , under pretext of a formula which has no meaning and holds
no conscience , upon mooting questions which do not admit of any solution . About the same time the utility of the formula was questioned in France , when Bremond , a councillor of the Order , thus expressed himself : " Masoury does not impose these two beliefs , but sho keeps them and
proclaims them as she retains the honour of proclaiming and preserving the motto which says , " all men are free , equal , and brothers . " As for Italy , in the Constituent Assembly Brother D'Ayala had a scruple of logic , not of conscience ,
which was settled by the Grand Master , as follows : " We invoke the G . A . O . T . U ., it is true , bat that ia nothing but a generic expression which offers any one opportunity of revertine to the first cause . The uath is likewise addressed
to this being , whom one appreciates according to his individual belief . " And this was confirmed on several occasions . In 1835 iu Italy the Mason Malegari wrote to his fellow-Mason , Dr . Breidstein , that the secret Supreme Chief had ordered two of their members who hated
Catholicity to take Holy Communion , and it was stated as a well-known fact that couut Cavour , the better to cajole Italy and Catholic Europe , gave orders that the Masonic pro 3 S shonld proclaim him a sincere Catholic . The Carbonari was the advance guard of Masonry in Italy , and in 1822 a Lodge
was inaugurated by a Jew , Piccolo-Tigre , who declared the Masonic Lodge to be the recruiting ground for the Carbonari . Another leader of the same Lodge boldly
announced the Masonic method of sapping Catholicity and monarchy . Said he , " popularise vice amongst the masses , Let them breathe it in by the five senses . Let them drink it in . Let them be saturated with it . . . Make hearts
vicious . It is a widespread corruption we have undertaken ; the corruption of the people by the clergy , aud of the clergy by us . " In further explanation of his loathsome policy he said it wa 3 true iu a sense that to bring down Catholicism they would have to suppress woman , but
as they would not suppress woman let them corrupt her . That Masonry was opposed to Christianity many Masons also proved . One of the Masonic reviews for the year 1848 proclaimed openly that , " Excepting a few private Lodges the great majority of the Order not only do not admit
Christianity , but even oppose it to the death . From this they would infer that Masonry would display a powerful lasting opposition to Catholicity , and they would be correct . Mr . O'Connor , continuing , said—Founded undoubtedly within the bounds of Christianity ,
Freemasonry had pushed beyond all limits , mental and moral . Finding the personality of God a curb it made God an idea . When as an idea He led to misapprehension . He was retained a 3 a motto or generic expression until the idea of God and the soul lapsed into a meaningless
unreality . Masonry had sacrificed its belief in the existence of God aud the immortality of tho soul . Its pretensions to that belief was only one of the many frauds avowedly practised by its members . It was opposed to the merest idea of Christianity . The deadliest hatred of its members was
for Catholicity , and tlte object of their corrupting influence was exactly the same all over the Continent . No wonder Freemasonry was under the baa of the Catholic Church . There was only one power on earth which could successfully combat the Masonic power . Amid tho surging flood
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Foreign Freemasonry.
FOREIGN FREEMASONRY .
"TjlOREIG-N Freemasonry" wai tho subject of an _ I _ interesting pipor deliverel by Mr . D . M . O'Connor before a large gathering of tho mombors of the Manchester branch of tho Catholic Truth Sosioty in Bishop ' s Hou 30 , Salford , on Tue 3 clav night , tho 14 th inst .
Much disappointment was occasioned by t e announcement that his Lordship the Bishop of Sal for . 1 hid found it impossible to piesido at the meeting , his chest boing affected by the weather . Considering that they were deprived of tho great pleasure and honour of his Lordship ' s
presence , Dr . Casartelli moved that tho Very Rev . Canon Corbishley , on whose invitat on they wore thcr ? , should preside . This motion was seconded by Mr . Councillor McCabe Vice-President , and carried unanimously . Mr . O'Connor proceeded to deliver his address , 'he substance of which is as follows : —
Clement the 12 tb , on tho 28 th April 1738 , condemned the Freemasons , and that condemnation was confirmed by Benedict tho 14 th in his Providias Romanorum of 8 th May 1751 , and afterwards by Pius the 7 th , Lao the 12 th , Pius the 9 th , and by Leo the 13 th in his Humanum Genus of
20 th April 1884 , and his Encyclical of 15 th Octobar 1890 . Considering the origin of Masonry , the speaker said , perhaps tbe most general opinion found tbe origin of Masonry in the Templars , and it would appear not a little if the cast-off clothing of that discredited body was worn
by the society . Some would have Cromwell and his fellows for their forefathers , others tbe Crusaders , the Druids , tbe builders of Solomon ' s Temple , vvbilo many cast longing eyes on the Eleusinian mysteries , the rites of Memphis or Heliopolis . Bolder spirits gave the Gyranosoplvists of
India the credit of their origin , though no one less than Adam himself would satisfy at least two writers . The simplest theory was , " God made light : therefore , God
was the first Mason . " But the founder of modern Speculative Masonry lies in an exile ' s grave outsido the small village of Luclavia , not far from Cracow , on whoso grave these words might be deciphered ,
"Tofca licet Babylon destrusit fcecU Sntbern . » , Muroa Calviuus : avl fuadatmnti CJjcinius . " Luther unroofed Catholicism ; Calvin laid its walls ; bat its foundations Socinius dostroyed . AVhat were tho ideals Freemasonry had evolved from the principles Socinus left
it ? He would show them on the authority of Masons themselves . In his ritual of xMasonic apprenticeship the learned Mason Rajon , an admitted authority , said " Freemasonry is a universal socioty submissive to the laws of each country . In every state , as in each Lodge it is a close
body composed of the elite of men ; a society , the basis of whose doctrine is the love of God under the style of the Great Architect of the Universe , and the love of mankind . Its rule the relig ion of nature and the universal mortality . Its motive , truth , light , liberty . Its principle , equality ,
fraternity and benevolence . Its means , persuasion and good example . Its fruit , in virtue , fellowship and progress . Its aim , the protection and happiness of humanity which it tends to unite under one flag . Its centre is wherever the human race exists . " The German Seydel and Jonasfc , in
his history of the Grand Orient of France , accorded with this . But their impression of this society would depend upon how far below the surface they could reach . Mr . Morley in his book " On Compromise " said " at the bottom of all the great discussions of modern society lie two
momentous questions , whether there is a God ; and whether the soul is immortal , " " The basis of Masonic doctrine , " said Bagon , "Is the love of God . " The God of the Masons , " cried the Mason Proudhon in his book entitled '' Justice in Revolutions and in the Church , " "is
neither substance , cause , soul , Creator , Father , Word , Love , Paracleto , Redeemer or devil . ... No altar , no images , no sacrifice , no prayer , no sacrament , no forgiveness , no mysteries , no priesthood , no profession of faith , no creed . Freemasonry is not a church , it rests neither on
dogma or worship . It affirms nothing reason cannot clearly comprehend , and it only respects humanity . Tbe theology of the Lodge , in a word , is the antithesis of theology . " Ho was the man who wrote , " God is an evil ;
property , theft and government , capital and Catholicism , the three instruments of anarchy . " He was an atheist whoso idea was : — f { Man , sovereign in his cottago home , independent of God and man ! " Another form of bis
Foreign Freemasonry.
brother Mason , Banqui ' s cry : " Neither God nor master . ' Worthy words for a revolutionist and hideous traitor to his friends . The initials representing . "To the glory of the great Architect of the universe , " appanded to the statutes and most solemn acts issued by the Lodges , had no value
whatever . On the death of King Laopold the Lodge of the Grand Orient of Belgium displayed the device " The soul , emanating from God , is immortd . " The Lodgo "Steadfast , " of Lou vain , complained bitterly of thig " violation of liberty of conscience by this profession of two
dogmasthe existence of God and the immortality of the soul . " The following official announcement stilled the troubled waters : " Since the preceding year the Grand Orieut , in a circular addressed to every Lodge in its obedience , had professed the principle of liberty of conscience without limit , aud
that consequently it did not belong to it to establish in point of religion or philosophy a body of dootrine to which our brothers are compelled to adhere . If the principle of the immortality of the soul appear in the ritual or in the formularies , if the idea of God be there produced under
the style of the Great Architect of the universe it is because they are traditions of tho Order , but never has the Grand Orient imposed or proclaimed a dogma on either of these points . In our days it would be childish to insist , under pretext of a formula which has no meaning and holds
no conscience , upon mooting questions which do not admit of any solution . About the same time the utility of the formula was questioned in France , when Bremond , a councillor of the Order , thus expressed himself : " Masoury does not impose these two beliefs , but sho keeps them and
proclaims them as she retains the honour of proclaiming and preserving the motto which says , " all men are free , equal , and brothers . " As for Italy , in the Constituent Assembly Brother D'Ayala had a scruple of logic , not of conscience ,
which was settled by the Grand Master , as follows : " We invoke the G . A . O . T . U ., it is true , bat that ia nothing but a generic expression which offers any one opportunity of revertine to the first cause . The uath is likewise addressed
to this being , whom one appreciates according to his individual belief . " And this was confirmed on several occasions . In 1835 iu Italy the Mason Malegari wrote to his fellow-Mason , Dr . Breidstein , that the secret Supreme Chief had ordered two of their members who hated
Catholicity to take Holy Communion , and it was stated as a well-known fact that couut Cavour , the better to cajole Italy and Catholic Europe , gave orders that the Masonic pro 3 S shonld proclaim him a sincere Catholic . The Carbonari was the advance guard of Masonry in Italy , and in 1822 a Lodge
was inaugurated by a Jew , Piccolo-Tigre , who declared the Masonic Lodge to be the recruiting ground for the Carbonari . Another leader of the same Lodge boldly
announced the Masonic method of sapping Catholicity and monarchy . Said he , " popularise vice amongst the masses , Let them breathe it in by the five senses . Let them drink it in . Let them be saturated with it . . . Make hearts
vicious . It is a widespread corruption we have undertaken ; the corruption of the people by the clergy , aud of the clergy by us . " In further explanation of his loathsome policy he said it wa 3 true iu a sense that to bring down Catholicism they would have to suppress woman , but
as they would not suppress woman let them corrupt her . That Masonry was opposed to Christianity many Masons also proved . One of the Masonic reviews for the year 1848 proclaimed openly that , " Excepting a few private Lodges the great majority of the Order not only do not admit
Christianity , but even oppose it to the death . From this they would infer that Masonry would display a powerful lasting opposition to Catholicity , and they would be correct . Mr . O'Connor , continuing , said—Founded undoubtedly within the bounds of Christianity ,
Freemasonry had pushed beyond all limits , mental and moral . Finding the personality of God a curb it made God an idea . When as an idea He led to misapprehension . He was retained a 3 a motto or generic expression until the idea of God and the soul lapsed into a meaningless
unreality . Masonry had sacrificed its belief in the existence of God aud the immortality of tho soul . Its pretensions to that belief was only one of the many frauds avowedly practised by its members . It was opposed to the merest idea of Christianity . The deadliest hatred of its members was
for Catholicity , and tlte object of their corrupting influence was exactly the same all over the Continent . No wonder Freemasonry was under the baa of the Catholic Church . There was only one power on earth which could successfully combat the Masonic power . Amid tho surging flood