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Generally, to be accepted for initiation as a regular Freemason, a candidate must: Be a man who comes of his own free will. Believe in a Supreme Being (which is left to open interpretation by the candidate, but they can not be an atheist). Be at least of minimum age from 18–25 years old depending on the jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions the son of a Mason, known as a “Lewis,” may join at an earlier age than others). Be of good morals, and of good reputation. Be of sound mind and body (lodges had in the past denied membership to a man because of a physical disability; however, now, if a potential candidate says a disability will not cause problems, it will not be held against him). Be free-born (or “born free”, i.e., not born a slave or bondsman). This is entirely an historical holdover, and can be interpreted in the same manner as it is in the context of being entitled to write a will. Some jurisdictions have removed this requirement. Be capable of furnishing character references, as well as one or two references from current Masons, depending on jurisdiction. There is plenty of evidence that Lev Davidovich Bronstein, alias Leon Trotsky, became a Freemason through his friend Alexander Parvus. He also maintained contacts with B’nai B’rith, a Jewish Masonic order, which aided Jewish “revolutionaries” in Russia. Leon Trotsky became a member of the Jewish Masonic order B’nai B’rith in New York, in January 1917. (Yuri Begunov, Secret Forces in the History of Russia, St. Petersburg, 1995, pp. 138-139.) He was already a member of the Misraim-Memphis freemasonry. He also belonged to the Shriner Lodge, which only Freemasons of the 32nd and higher degree were allowed to join. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Alexander Kerensky, Béla Kun, and other leading politicians have also been members among these select few. (Professor Johan von Leers, The Power behind the President, Stockholm, 1941, p. 148.) Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov alias Lenin, Zinoviev, Radek and Sverdlov also belonged to B’nai B’rith. Researchers who are specialised in the activities of B’nai B’rith, including Schwartz-Bostunich, confirmed this information. (Viktor Ostretsov, “Freemasonry, Culture and Russian History”, Moscow, 1999, pp. 582-583.) Together with Trotsky, Lenin took part in the International Masonic Conference in Copenhagen in 1910. (Franz Weissin, “Der Weg zum Sozialismus” / “The Road to Socialism”, Munich, 1930, p. 9.) The socialization of Europe was on the agenda. Alexander Galpern, then secretary of the Masonic Supreme Council in Russia, confirmed in 1916 that there were Bolsheviks among the freemasons. I can further mention Nikolai Sukhanov (actually Himmer) and N. Sokolov. According to Galpern’s testimony, the freemasons also gave Lenin financial aid to his revolutionary activity. This was certified by a known Freemason, Grigori Aronson, in his article “Freemasons in Russian Politics”, published in the Novoye Russkoye Slovo (New York, 8-12 October 1959). The historian Boris Nikolayevsky also mentioned this in his book “The Russian Freemasons and the Revolution” (Moscow, 1990). As far as Lenin’s mother Maria (maiden name Blank), she was a daughter of a rich landowner. Maria Blank’s father, Israel, was born in 1802 in Staro-konstantinovo in the province of Volynia. Lenin’s mother spoke Yiddish, German and Swedish but whether or not she had knowledge of Masonic teachings is harder to prove. Nikolai Svitkov’s “About Freemasonry in Russian Exile”, published in Paris in 1932 and according to him, the most important Freemasons from Russia were: Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin; Lev/Leiba Bronstein-Leon Trotsky; Grigori Zinoviev (Gerson Radomyslsky); Leon Kamenev (actually Leiba Rosenfeld); Karl Radek (Tobiach Sobelsohn); Maxim Litvinov (Meyer Hennokh Wallakh); Yakov Sverdlov (Yankel-Aaron Solomon)the man who ordered the execution of the Tsar and his family; L. Martov (Yuli Zederbaum); Maxim Gorky (Alexei Peshkov); among others... There is little doubt that Freemasonry is a satanic secret fraternal society that began among Protestant sects and is bent on the destruction of the Roman Catholic church. In Morals and Dogma, his classic guide to the 33 rituals of the Scottish Rite Lodge, Albert Pike, Sovereign Grand Commander, admitted that the Jewish Kabbalah (or Cabala) is the “true philosophy” and “the basis” on which Masonry was founded and he said: “Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable, blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!” [Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p. 321, 19th Degree of Grand Pontiff] “DEUS MEUMQUE JUS”. Freemasonry’s teachings and practices also use syncretism which is the blending of different religious beliefs into a unified whole. This is shown in Masonry’s religious rituals, which gather men of many faiths around a common altar, and place all religious writings along side the Bible on the Masonic altar. As far as whether women can become masons the answer is no because they are not males, but there is the Order of the Eastern Star for any woman who must be the daughter, widow, wife, sister, or mother of a Master Mason in order to join. The General Grand Chapter headquarters, the International Temple, is located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the former Perry Belmont Mansion. Clara Bartow was a member who when becoming a member of the Order said: “My father was a Mason; to him it was a religion, and for the love and honor I bear him, I am glad to be connected with anything like this.” So women can not become Master Masons but their equivalent as females is Worthy Matron. Masonic groups for English speakers fall in either of two categories; York or Scottish Rite freemasonry. York Rite Freemasonry has three separate and autonomous bodies: Chapter, Council, and Commandery. Scottish Rite Masonry has four: Lodge of Perfection, Chapter of Rose Croix, Council of Kadosh, and Consistory. No Masonic teaching has any connections to the Knights Templar who had to be of noble birth and who did not do any menial work with their hands. Freemasonry is derived from the guilds of skilled stone cutter workers, without a drop of noble blood, that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century so it does not have anything to do with the fictitious story about Hiram Abiff or any esoteric teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. You better than anyone know that Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent of each other and sovereign bodies that govern Masonry in a given country, a state, or a jurisdiction. There is no single governing body that presides over worldwide Freemasonry and connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition. Canon 2335 of the 1917 Roman Catholic code stated clearly that any Catholic who joined a Masonic organization or some other, similar group that plotted against the Church or against civil authority, incurred excommunication. The Church’s interpretation of Freemasonry’s main purpose was pretty clear: it was an association that plots against Catholicism. Membership in it was, therefore, obviously inconsistent with being a Catholic. The Code of Canon Law that was promulgated in 1983 by Pope John Paul II replaced the earlier code of 1917. This is what led to the confusion you talk about, however, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a Declaration on this very subject in 1983, the same year that the new Code of Canon Law was released. This document provides a theological interpretation of canon 1374. This Declaration asserts clearly that “the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged, since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.” So please tell any of your Roman Catholic friends who say that they are Masonic members about this. As a matter of fact the Knights of Columbus is the one of two institutions open to Roman Catholics, the other is The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, headquartered in Via Condotti, Rome,Italy, which is the only legitimate Order of Malta.