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Dear Brad C.,

For the Catholic Church, the difficulty comes from as much as what is NOT said as what is said.

The protests of Masons notwithstanding, it is my understanding that the ceremonials of the Lodge do impart lessons with religious content, urging men to recognize the Creator through His natural works.

For Catholics, the recognition of God through His creation is called natural revelation. We believe that all men can come to know of the existence of God through reasoned apprehension of natural revelation. And we believe that this knowledge is a good thing.

However, we believe that men should not be taught about natural revelation without also being taught about Divine revelation. At least, we don't believe that Catholics should be taught this way. We believe that the result of this sort of teaching is the error of naturalism, seeing only the natural revelation, and rejecting the Divine revelation.

Personally, I used to give short shrift to this argument. How can one condemn an organization for teaching that part of the truth that is most universally accepted, while leaving alone that part of the truth that is most universally controverted?

However, over the years, I've encountered a fair number of "Catholic Masons." These were Catholic men who had become Masons in good faith, not fully realizing the Church's prohibition against Masonic membership. In conversing with these men, they were initially unbelieving that Catholics may not hold Masonic membership. However, with a little bit of time, they all came to accept that the Catholic Church authentically prohibits Catholics from belonging to the Lodge.

But I then noticed a curious, and very alarming thing in these men. Almost without exception, these men began to bitterly ridicule the Catholic Church and Catholic Faith. They used naturalistic arguments against various doctrines and dogmas, including the Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, the Real Presence of the Eucharist, even the Resurrection.

These incidents happened years apart, and the men with whom I conversed didn't know each other, or belong to the same Lodges. Nonetheless, every single one of them chose to remain a Mason and to leave the Catholic Church, on the way, rejecting most of Divine revelation.

Whether this is an intentional result of Freemasonry or not is way beyond my ability to discern. I can only look at the results. It appeared that these men were so imbued with the natural revelation that they had come to disdain the Divine revelation, just as the Catholic Church had said men would.

I don't know whether the poster MarkBsnr was a Mason before becoming a Catholic, or vice versa. If the former, he is the first Catholic man to become a Mason, and to ultimately reject Masonry, of whom I'm aware.

sitetest

sitetest,

In several discussions I have had outside of the lodge room, others have said similar things to what what you have just written to me.

Basically, what it boiled down to was that in days of old, the RCC wanted to be the sole source of knowledge in these matters, and rejected any group that intruded into their domain.

While I am not Catholic, as you can probably tell; I have been a proud member of the Masonic community for a number of years. Through out those years, I can't begin to count the number of men that I have met and am honored to call my brothers.

On the other hand, my wife is Catholic and the church will not recognize our now 12 year marriage because her first has not been annulled. Despite the fact that her ex has committed unspeakable acts and sins, which were well known by the church at our previous home.

Didn't mean to get off track there, I do wish you the best and appreciate your reply.

In the 19th (?) century, there was a fellow named Johnny Logan who was a stage entertainer of a Vaudeville sort, a Catholic by birth and a Mason. He confronted a very dour Masonic leader in Philadelphia and told him that no one had ever seen the dour fellow smile or even extend a hand of charity towards others and that most folks would never think well of a Masonic Order with such a public face of humorlessness and lack of charity. To his credit, the dour fellow did not argue but recognized the wisdom of Johnny Logan and caused the creation of the Shriners (clowns, silly clothing, little go-karts in later years, lots of fun and humor and all for children's charities). Johnny Logan eventually returned to Catholicism before his death and was buried as a Catholic.

Second story of interest to my fellow Knights of Columbus but also to those who think we object to the Masons for not requiring Catholicism of members. As you may recall, I originally lived for many years in or near New Haven, Connecticut where the Knights of Columbus Supreme Headquarters is a major local employer. There is another organization in New Haven (or its suburb Hamden) known as the Knights of St. Patrick. It is strictly local but was founded in the same year as the Knights of Columbus. Eight of the K of C's eleven founders were also among the nine who founded the Knights of Columbus. Only Fr. McGivney was not a member of the Knights of St. Patrick. The Knights of St. Patrick is limited (or was limited) to 400 members who must be Irish by ancestry and is strictly NON-religious, having been founded to smooth relations between Catholic Irish and non-Catholic Irish (whether Scots-Irish Presbyterians or any other religion). The St. Patrick reference was strictly ethnic and not at all religious. No initiation rites, no secret work, no mumbo-jumbo just good works in the community like scholarships and honoring policemen, firemen, and others who deserve to be honored and, of course, a St. Patrick's Day parade every year in New Haven. Many members of the Knights of St. Patrick are also members of the Knights of Columbus and always have been and many Knights of St. Patrick have always been Protestants or freethinkers. They have proven for about 125 years that Catholic and non-Catholic Irish can get along and cooperate in positive efforts and, if that is possible, anything in the way of positive cooperation is possible across denominational lines.