Doctrine of the Church On Secret Societies % By REV. JOHN J. GRAHAM, I.P.P. Secret Societies"-Old and New By REV. WILLIAM B. HANNON International Catholic Truth Society 407 Bergen Street Brookl3m, N. Y. Cp 5 WILLIAM WINTER’S TRIBUTE William Winter, who for many years was recognized as America’s greatest dramatic critic, said: “To think of the Catholic Church is to think of the oldest, the most venerable and the most powerful religious institution exist- ing among men. I am not a churchman of any kind. That, possibly, is my misfortune; but I am conscious of a profound obligation of gratitude to that wise and august, austere yet tenderly human ecclesiastical power which, self-centered among the vicissitudes of human affairs, and provident men of learning, imagination and sensibility through- out the world, has preserved the literature and art of all the centuries, has made archi- tecture the living symbol of celestial aspira- tion, and in poetry and music has heard and has transmitted the authentic voice of God.” Doctrine of the Church On Secret Societies A MUCH MISUNDERSTOOD SUBJECT EXPLAINED By REV. JOHN J. GRAHAM, I. P. P. FAMOUS Catholic writer, in one of his wonderful books, thus describes the work of the church : ^‘The whole history of the Church may be viewed as in itself a vast and various procession, seen under all the vicissitudes of war, as a caravan of pilgrim soldiers, fighting their way from east to west. Now it is a little struggling band with the Apostles o,n the Roman roads or now encamped with obscure Proselytes of the Gate round the Jewish Synagogues in the Roman Provinces. Here we behold it an army of martyrs with the Pontiff at its head in the dim chambers of the Catacombs; there it is out before the world’s eyes, all gleaming with the ensigns of imperial favor and com- mand. One while it is pushing its way across the desert to reach the unevangelized nations ; another while it is curbing the inundations of the barbarians of the north. Now it has absorbed the whole civilized world in itself and in its medieval splendors ; and again it is mingled with the unbelieving multitude, cleaving for itself a passage through the crowd of base litera- ture, of wicked philosophies, of corrupted civilizations, and of debased diplomacies, never lost to the eye, always cognizable, always suffering, always royal, always un- like anything else in the world.” . : ^ . -In this description one may readily discover the nature of the warfare which the Church has waged from the beginning. By far the greater part has been with foes whose warfare has been in the open. Their 2 Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies designs have been evident to all. Their methods of attack could easily be discerned. The faithful were not ignorant of the intent of their foes. The battle was not fought in the dark but in the light. Bitter though the battle might be, it was, nevertheless, one in which the enemy stood face to face with the Church. It remained for the secret societies to change the character of the warfare by keeping its policies secret, to conspire in the dark, to attack when the innocent victim was least prepared to resist the onslaught, to falsify as to its purposes, to cover its real purposes by assertions of charity and good will and justice to all. It was because charity and good will and justice were strongly emphasized by these societies in their rituals, and books, and papers, which were widely circulated, that they were able to enlist the unwary in their cause. Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Their accomplished leaders became members of their cabinets, and there, gradually and with great secrecy, worked for the furtherance of their ends. As Leo the XIII well says in His Encyclical on Free Masonry :/'they spoke of their zeal for a more cultured refinement, and of their love for the poor; and they declared their one wish to be the amelioration of the condition of the masses, and to share with the greatest possible number all the benefits of civil life. So suc- cessful was their policy of deceit and hypocrisy, they were able, as the third Council of Baltimore states, to invade not only religious society but also civil society ; so that they corrupted the hearts and souls of the people and infected the very foundations of the State. Such and so wide-spread a conspiracy against both Church and State could scarcely hope to keep its policies absolutely concealed. At least, suspicions would soon be breathed abroad. And such was the case. .The •Church, to which our Blessed Lord had given the com- mission to teach and govern the faithful, sensed the danger and the true meaning of its aims. It lost no Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies 3 time in placing before the rulers of the different nations what, after exhaustive investigation, it learned to be a grave menace to the stability of the State, to the good of the Church, and the Faith of the people. Character of Societies Revealed. Very specific instances of the actions of the Secret Societies were made known, the laws of these societies were published, their rites and ceremonies were exposed, and all the Church declared regarding them was testi- fied to by members of the societies themselves. Pope Clement the XII was the first Pope to undertake a thorough investigation of them. He published his expose in 1738, just twenty-one years after the founda- tion of the Free Masons. All that he decreed was further emphasized by Benedict the XIV, by Pius the VII, and more than once by Pius the IX. Each of these Popes condemned the secret society as it then existed, each giving the reasons for the condemnation. Pope Leo the XIII, reaffirming all that his predecessors had declared regarding these societies, furnishes us, in His Encyclical ''Humanum Genus,’’ a complete proof that the secret society which he is exposing, as well as other kindred societies are a menace. For, in speaking of other secret societies He says '^they are so bound together by community of purpose and by the similarity of their main opinions as to make, in fact, one thing which the sect of the Free Masons, which is a kind of centre from which they all go forth and whither they all return. Classification of Members. The Encyclical tells us that though they hold their meetings at times in the open, they are still found to retain the nature and the habits of secret societies. There are many things like mysteries which it is their fixed rule to hide with extreme care not only from strangers but from very many members also ; such as their secret and final designs, the names of their chief leaders, and certain secret and inner meetings, as well 4 Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies as their decisions and the ways and means of carrying them out. To accomplish this, they resort to classi- fications among their members as to their rights, offices and privileges. They have distinctions of orders and grades, and maintain a severe discipline. As to their oath, they swear that they will never to any person, at any time or in any way, make known the members, the passes or the subjects discussed. To be enrolled, it is necessary that the candidate promise to be strictly obedient to his leaders and masters with the utmost submission and fidelity and to be in readi- ness to do their bidding upon the slightest expression of their will; or, if disobedient, to submit to the direst penalties, and even death. As a fact, if any are judged to have betrayed the doings of the sect, or to have resisted commands given, punishment is inflicted on them not infrequently, and with so much audacity and dexterity that the assassin very often escapes the detection and penalty of his crime. From this it will be seen that the individual surrenders his personal liberty, for he is bound as a slave in the very tightest bonds to the will of another for any arbitrary act. He is armed for bloodshed after having secured immunity for the crime. And the secrecy with which all this is carried out, leaves both State and Church authorities ignorant as to what law against justice and natural uprightness may next be broken. Ultimate Overthrow of Religion. There can be but one issue if they succeed in their purpose, and that is the ultimate overthrow of the whole religious and political order of the world which the Christian teaching has produced, and the substitu- tion of a new state of things in accordance with their ideas. As to their professed religious opinions, these are based on naturalism, which takes human reason and nature for its guide. They deny that revelation has been taught us by God. No dofgma of religion or Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies 5 truth is admitted which human intelligence cannot pene- trate, nor any teacher who ought to be believed by reason of his authority. Is not this teaching a com- plete denial of the authority of the Church? For is it not the claim of the Church that she is the divinely appointed body to teach the word of God? Wherever they have been free enough to carry out their plans, they have striven to have the Church ig- nored — to have the authority of the Church be of no account in the State; to have Church and State ab- solutely separated, so that the Church's good influence will not have any effect on the laws of the State. They have gone further still. By every means in their power, they have tried to hamper the Church in her work by having laws framed to hinder freedom of action. This is made evident by laws that are oner- ous to the clergy, by laws that regulate the use of Church property, subjecting it to the power and ar- bitrary will of the administrators of the State ; and further laws that rooted out and scattered the religious orders. They aided very materially in the destruction of the temporal power of the Papacy, and have de- clared that they will never rest till they have destroyed the Papacy itself and whatever the Supreme Pontiffs have established for the sake of religion. Religious Indifference. It matters little to them what is a member's religion. All religions are equally correct to them, so they say, and religion should be held as an indifferent matter. This brings about the ruin of all religion, and es- pecially the Catholic religion, which, being the only true one, can not be classed with those that are not true. Generally they hold that there is some kind of a Supreme Being. Their members disagree as to the exact nature of this being; but whether there is such a being or not is of little concern, when there is ques- tion of admitting a candidate. When a society holds these loose opinions about a God, what becomes of doctrines which depend upon 6 Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies the existence of a God? What of the Creator of all things? What of Divine Providence? What of the existence of the soul? What of man’s life here on earth and of his life after death? And what becomes of public and private morality? For all virtue must have a sanction — must have a foundation. If God be taken away as the sanction, as the foundation, it would then seem that the only one left is the individual. And how inadequate the individual is to be his own guide, his own god, the history of peoples tell us. Wherever man is his own author of morality of justice and in- justice, the rule of action is dependent on the whims of the individual and changes as individuals will change. Standards of Morality Lowered. Further they have denied the fall of our first parents; and accompanying this there is the denial of the weakness of the human will, caused by sin. There is, then, no great struggle or steadfastness to be used to overcome the violence of the passions of our nature. As natural virtue and natural excellence are placed by them as the principle and rule of justice, we under- stand how low and how varied the standard of morality may become. We are not surprised that pleasure be- comes the principle aim of people ; that literature be- comes shameful ; that art has taken for its rule a so- called realism ; that everything that can contribute to man’s ease and self-indulgence is contrived ; that con- science is lulled to sleep, and the ultimate happiness which man is to seek is not the happiness of heaven but what can be obtained here on earth. Pope Leo, concluding on these points says : — ''Since no one is accustomed to obey crafty and clever men so submissively as those whose souls are weakened and broken down by the domination of the passions there have been in the sect of the Free Masons some who have plainly determined and proposed that, artfully and of set purpose, the multitude should be satiated with a boundless license of vice, and when this has been done, it would easily come under their power and Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies 7 authority for any acts of violence/' Pope Leo XIII, in speaking further of the Natural- ists, says that they hold that marriage belongs to the genus of commercial contracts which can rightly be revoked by the will of those who made it, and that the civil rulers of the State have power over the matrimonial bond; that in the education of youth noth- ing is to be taught in the matter of religion as of certain and fixed. Now to all this the Free Masons have given their full assent, and have endeavored to make them into a law and institution. So that in many countries where they have had the power they have had laws enacted which declare that only civil marriages are valid, and the marriage tie may be broken with comparative ease. So, too, have they endeavored to have the education of youth entirely in their hands, with the object of mould- ing that soft and pliant age and bringing it up after their own plan. Politics Summarized. The system of politics advocated by the Free Masons, in common with the Naturalists, is summarized as fol- lows :—^They hold that all men have the same rights and are in every respect of equal and like condition; that each one is naturally free ; that no one has the right to command another ; that it is an act of violence to require men to obey any authority other than that which is obtained from themselves. According to this, therefore, all things belong to the free people ; power is held by the command of the people so that, when the popular will changes, rulers may be lawfully deposed. The source of all rights and civil duties is either in the multitude or in the governing authority when this is constituted according to the latest doctrines. It is held also that the State should be without God ; that in the various forms of religion there is no reason why one should have precedence of another; and that they are all to occupy the same place. For some time past they have openly endeavored 8 Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies to bring this about with all their strength and resources. Should this be accomplished, there will surely be an indifference to all religion, which means its destruction, the destruction of every distinction of rank and prop- erty, and the overthrow of society as at present con- stituted. What this signifies can be readily understood. We will be brought back to the times before our Blessed Lord, Who obtained from His Father such immeasur- able blessings, God will be eliminated from the ar- rangement and administration of civil affairs as if He did not exist, and we become worse than the pagans who never eliminated the notion of a divinity and the need of religion from their daily affairs. Church Is Object. Now, to this whole system of irreligious and un- patriotic doctrine the Church has ever stood as an in- surmountable obstacle. She first detected it, then ex- posed it and then condemned it. The secret society has realized this and as a consequence, has made the Church the principal object of its attack. It knows only too well that the Church is today the only moral body that stands in the way of its progress ; and it has re- sorted to every species of calumny to at least weaken the influence of that body. It has accused the Church of undermining the State, of instilling into the hearts of youth unpatriotic no- tions, of being the enemy of all progress and of being the foe of science and the arts. It matters little to them that the Church brought the world out of the darkness of paganism into the light of God ; that she preserved to all the literature of ancient times ; that she has striven at all times to bring civilization to be- nighted nations ; that she covered Europe with won- derful works of architecture, which challenge the ad- miration and the competition of even our age; that she has ever been the keen fosterer of all forms of true science and uncorrupted art; that she has dotted the earth with institutions of learning and charity that no Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies 9 Church has ever equalled. Despite it all, the Church is their bitterest enemy, and I think they can prove their case. Likewise the Church recognizes the Secret Society as Her bitterest enemy, and I think She has proven Her case. And so, the battle is on. Condemnations of Popes. ' The condemnations of the Popes were first aimed against the Masons and the Carbonari ; and these con- demnations were further extended by Pius the IX, in His encyclical ^'Apostolicae Sedis,’' where excommunica- tion is pronounced against those who give their names to the Masons or the Carbonari or any other sect of the same nature, which conspire against the Church or lawfully constituted Governments, either openly or covertly, as well as those who favor in any manner these sects or who do not denounce their leaders and chiefs. The condemned societies here described are asso- ciations formed to antagonize the Church or the lawful civil power. A society to be of the same kind as the Masons, must be also a secret society. It is of little consequence whether an oath to observe the secrets or not, is required. Any society that plans public and unmistakable attacks on Church and State falls well within the scope of the secret society. So that, not only those societies which are directly under the formal censure of the Church but all others that are of the same nature. As the Congregation of the Holy Office declared in its instructions of 1884; That there may be no possi- bility of error when there is question of judging which of these pernicious societies fall under censure or mere prohibition, it is certain, in the first place, that the Masonic and other sects of the same nature are excom- municated, whether they exact or do not exact an bath from their members to observe secrecy. Besides these, there are other prohibited societies, to be avoided under grave sin, among which are especially to be noted 10 Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies those which under oath communicate a secret to their members to be concealed from everybody else, and which demand absolute obedience to unknown leaders. Decree of Holy Office. To the secret societies condemned by name, the Con- gregation of the Holy Office, in 1894, in a decree ad- dressed to the hierarchy of the United States, added the Odd Fellows, the Sons of Temperance, and the Knights of Pythias. The Odd-Fellows were organized in 1812, in England, though some lodges date back much longer. Their Pocket Manual declares that this organization is formed after the model of all other secret bodies. Their secret work is to be absolutely unrevealed. They have their chaplains, altars, high-priests, ritual, order of worship and funeral ceremonies. The Sons of Temperance had its origin in New York in 1842. The work of this order is not confined to temperance; and this is evidenced by its mode of initia- tion, the form of its obligation, and the manner of re- ligious worship. The order of the Knights of Pythias was founded by Free-Masons in 1864. Rosen says of them — ''The prin- cipal objectionable features on account of which the Catholic iChurch has forbidden its members to join the Knights of Pythias, and demanded a withdrawal of those who joined it, are: First, the oath of secrecy by which the members bind themselves to keep secret whatever concerns the doings of the Order, even from those in Church and State who have a right to know, under certain circumstances, what their subjects are doing. Secondly, this oath binds the member to blind obedience, which is symbolized by a test. Such an obedience is against the law of man’s nature, and against all divine and human law. Thirdly, Christ is not the teacher and model in the rule of life, but the pagans Pythagoras and Damon, Pythias and Dionysius. Their ritual shows that they have oaths, degrees, pre- lates, and a ritual that contains religious worship. Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies 11 Faithful Forbidden to Belong. The decree of the Holy Office concerning tlie Odd- Fellows, Sons of Temperance, and Knights of Pythias, though not declaring them to be condemned under censure, says: ‘‘The Bishops must endeavor by all means to keep the faithful from joining all and each of the three aforesaid societies; and warn the faithful against them, and if, after proper monition, they still determine to be members of these societies, or do not effectually separate themselves from them, they are to be forbidden the reception of the Sacraments. This the general legislation of the Church regarding these societies. But a decree of January 18th, 1896, allows a nominal membership in these three societies, if in the judgment of the Apostolic Delegate, four conditions are fulfilled: First, that the society was entered in good faith. Second, that there be no scandal. Third, that grave temporal injury would result from withdrawal. Fourth, that there be no danger of perversion. To these provisions, the Delegate generally adds that a promise be exacted from the person seeking membership that he will not attend any meetings or frequent the lodge- rooms, that he send his dues by mail or by a third party, and that in case of death the society will have nothing to do with the funeral. It is clear that the position which the Pastor of Souls must take towards all secret societies which the Church has in any way condemned must be the same as that which the Church had laid down for the Bishops. In a word, every means must be adopted to keep the faithful from joining them; and if they have joined them to urge them to withdraw. Should they appear in the confessional, they must be told that they can not receive absolution, they must be informed that the Confessor has not faculties to absolve, and that they should come to see him regarding their case. If they are Masons, nothing is to be done but to let them know that they can not remain members of that society. If they are members of any of the other 12 Doctrine of the Church on Secret Societies three societies, they should be urged to leave them, and if they insist in requesting that their case be referred to the Delegate, then, the confessor must see that all conditions laid down for membership are fulfilled. If the conditions be not fulfilled, absolution must be de- ferred until the member has given up the society. Conditions for Marriages. Canon 1065 of the Code states that the faithful are to avoid marriages with those who are members of societies condemned by the (Church. Whether it be a Mason who is a Catholic and who desires to marry a non-Catholic, or who desires to marry a Catholic; or a Catholic woman desiring to marry a Catholic or non- Catholic Mason, great care must be taken to let the parties know the danger to which they are exposing themselves. In no case is the Parish Priest to take part in any of these marriages, without having first consulted the Ordinary, who may permit him to be present if he, the Ordinary, is satisfied that proper care is to be given to the Christian education of the children and there is only remote danger of perversion. Christian burial is to be refused to members of these secret societies if they are commonly known to be members of them. The faculty of allowing a Catholic to remain a mem- ber of any of the Societies was granted to the Apostolic Delegate in 1896. On June 27th, 1913, The Holy Office, while leaving the Faculty of the Delegate intact, extended the Faculty to the Metropolitans of each of the Provinces of the United States. This Faculty is for all the Dioceses of the Province. The conditions for membership are the same as those which the Delegate must exact from a Candidate. If an unbaptized Protestant and Catholic, then Disparitas Cult and promises. If baptized Protest- ant then Mixtae Religionis and promises. If a Catholic and a Catholic woman, then no dispensation and no promises. Unless a Mason gives some sign of repent- ance, no Christian burial. Secret Societies—Old and New By REV. WILLIAM B. HANNON influence of secret societies is no new thing, but one of the oldest facts of history. Before civiliza- tion dawned in Greece, Egypt had secret societies or mysterious confederations. The same kind of societies existed in China from the earliest times, and were found in Persia and India, and it is recorded that Pythagoras established a secret society at Crotona, Italy. The Egyp- tian cult of Isis spread throughout the Roman Empire, though forbidden and proscribed. The muffled organiza- tions of the Thugs and Assassins flourished in Moham- medan countries. The Catholic middle ages, like the early days of Christianity, had various secret orders and mystical fra- ternities, such as the Rosicrucians and the Vehmgerichte secret association of Germany, whose object was to bring evil-doers to justice, and it cowed even the Emperors themselves. The Inquisition, so unjustly connected in the average non-Catholic mind with the Papacy, was a semi-political and religious body to repress heresy when Catholicism was the State religion of Europe. A formidable secret body representing the workmen of Europe was formed in London in 1864, and took for its basis the principles of trades unionism. Its founders, Messrs. Tolain and Fribourg, were Parisians, and the association was chiefly comprised of foreign refugees. Branches were formed in various Continental cities, but the French were the predominant element. It aimed at abolishing Governments, religion, marriage and all of the old institutions of civilization. It spread its revolu- tionary tentacles all through Europe, and spasmodic or real rebellion characterized the times and followed in its track. Garibaldi gave this international society a certain de- 14 Secret Societies—Old and New gree of support, but Mazzini, despite the extreme views which he held, strongly disapproved of it, and warned Italian workmen against it. Napoleon III more or less temporized with this formidable body that overlooked all patriotism and advocated a social state where wages should be abolished and the produce of labor be shared entirely by the workers. Nothing less than the destruc- tion of society was to be the end of the society. Open Nihilism was advocated by its chief speakers and Avriters. A creed of negation was its rallying cry ; religion, virtue, history, man and God were all to be denied. Karl Marx persuaded the London Council to admit the Swiss Alliance as a branch, and from that point the International became a political body and the forerunner of the Red Republic and the Commune. M. Dupont, a French member of the English Council, planned a revolu- tion in Ireland, spreading thence to other countries. The Paris Red Republic, after the Franco-Prussian War, was the work of the International incendiaries. War against the State and family, with lust for plunder and hatred of God, were the objects of the movement. When several Continental Governments proscribed this ultra-revolutionary society, it found hospitality in Lon- don, where the assassin, the incendiary and brigand plotted without hindrance. The pitiless ferocity and total disregard for others Avith AAEich secret societies act Avhen they gain the upper hand is in itself a proof that the cruelty and selfishness Avhich the innovators are so fond of imputing to others belong equally to themselves. They attempt to impose their opinions on an unwilling AA^orld, Avith the penalty of death for resistance, AAEich is the last refinement of despotism. The French Revolution, and its rapacity and blood- shed, Avere the outlet of such teachings. Community of goods, the absorption of the individual in the State, the unrestrained intercourse of the sexes are all' dreams of the pagan AA^orld. Secret Societies—Old and New 15 The Italian Revolution and the plunder of 'the States of the Church, the ferocity of the Portuguese affair and the Socialistic attempts at Barcelona all show the blood- thirstiness of secret conclaves. The Utopias of Socialistic and Communistic dreamers make great figures in poetry and philosophical romances, but they are nothing but misery and degradation in reality. The outbursts in the insurrections of 1848 and 1870 in Paris reveal the genius of mob vengeance when engi- neered by secret conspirators. In such furious move- ments of Demagogueism all the devotion is shown by the victims, none by the sanguinary tools of the cult. One of the most pathetic documents sent to the heads of the Commune in 1870 on behalf of the Archbishop of Paris was that of the Protestant members of Paris who, with an admriable forgetfulness of sectarian divisions, ad- dressed a noble protest against his execution. The ''Journal des Debats’' also records the action of Pere Guerrin, a foreign missionary priest, who was ar- rested on his return from his arduous labors. He was placed in a cell with a man and his wife and family. The priest observed the sorrow of the family at the approach- ing execution of the head, and suggested that he would go as a substitute in the man’s place. The priest wore a layman’s dress, and in the hurry with the victims, pro- posed that he would go in the next batch without his identity being ascertained. With touching simplicity he said to the man : "You are a married man, and for the sake of your wife and family are bound to live. As for me, I am a priest and missionary, and went out to China in quest of martyrdom, and did not meet it there. I shall find it here, if I can make it useful to you and contribute to save your life.” The layman would not listen to such an act of heroic abnegation, although the priest begged repeatedly to be his substitute. Fortunately the diabolic Commune was 16 Secret Societies—Old and New defeated before any more victims could be sacrificed, so the inhabitants of the cell received liberty. The Catholic Church has reason to condemn Free- masonry. It is not alone a secret society but an anti- religion with a travesty on the most sacred truths. It is a post-Reformation creation, although it would have the world believe that it goes back into the remote He- brew twilight of the period of Solomon’s temple for its origin. Half of the evils of modern Europe can be laid at the door of secret societies owing to their machinations. The Orange Society, for example, has perpetuated big- otry and persecution in Ireland since its inception. It lives in the Battle of the Boyne, with its class ascend- ancy, instead of the twentieth century. Its evil ramifica- tions extend throughout the English-speaking world, perpetuating worn-out shibboleths and hatred against Irish Catholics. PASS THIS LEAFLET ALONG. SERIES IV. No. 3. Catholics or Masons ^^FTEN people ask with indignation, — “WHY IS THE CHURCH AGAINST THE MASONS?” % A Catholic plans to join a Masonic Lodge, or a Mason wishes to enter the Catholic Church, or a Catholic girl wants to marry a Mason, or the family of a deceased “Catholic Mason’’ tries to arrange for a funeral Mass. Then the trouble begins. The priest instructs the Catholic not to join the Lodge, tells the Mason he must resign Masonry in order to enter the Catholic Church, warns the girl she should not marry a Mason, explains to the family that they cannot have a funeral Mass. Now the average observer is apt to take for granted that all these prohibitions are caused by some UNJUSTIFIABLE PREJUDICE on the part of the Catholic Church. Many Masons are known to be very friendly towards the Catholic Church. They sup- port charities of their own, and subscribe generously to the re- ligious and philanthropic works of others. Masons often affirm that in Masonic assemblies they have never heard a single word spoken against either religion or social order. In view of all this, the observer may conclude that the Catholic Church, having suffered irom the activity of secret societies in European countries and in past ages, is working off • AN ANCIENT GRUDGE on the harmless Masons of the United States. However, Catholics who have studied the subject present many reasons to justify the action of the Church in condemning Masonry. . In the first place. Masonry tends to become a sort of rival religion.^ This can be verified in the writings of popular Masonic authors and also in the lives of very many Masons who have gradually abandoned orthodox Protestantism or Catholicism, and contented themselves, so far as religion is concerned, with the profession of Masonry. Another objection is that the Masonic oath amounts to an unwarranted surrender of the individual conscience into the hands of unknown and possibly UNPRINCIPLED superiors. History has shown that the oath easily lends itself to grave abuse.^ Still another objection is the fact that Freemasonry, in various times and in different countries, has inflicted serious in- juries upon the Catholic Church. In fact, Latin Masonry has practically proclaimed war on Catholicism. It has achieved the confiscation of Church property and the enactment of anti- Catholic legislation in Italy, France and Portugal. The Grand Orient boasts that recent anti-Catholic agitation in Spain, Mexico, South America and the Philippine Islands was the work of Masons. In connection with that fact. Catholic writers make these two points: First: There is a certain degree of unity and fellowship among Masons all over the world. Secondly: The Masons in America often seem to grow more violent in their hostility to the Catholic Church in pro- portion as they advance to the higher degrees of Masonry. Father Kenny states it is significant that every anti-Cath- lA recent writer in The Week, thus summarizes the main objections to Freemasonry: 1. It promotes indifferentism, making all religions meet on the plane of a highly vaporized Deism. 2. It treats the Bible, Prayer and Religious Ritual as empty formulas and stage effects. 3. Most important, it benumbs the instinctive yearning of the soul for true religion and in the end destroys it altogether. 2Theodore Graebner, a Lutheran minister, has written, “Yet we should not permit the more sinister aspect of the lodge system to escape us, its signiflcance as a secret empire, binding its members to an alliance which has no precedent or justification in human history, which is not only a constant potential menace to the fundamental safeguards of citizenship and is the very antithesis of the American ideal of the square deal, but which has left its trail on the administration of our courts, sparing nei- ther the bench nor the jury-box.’* oiic association like the A. P. A., Guardians of Liberty, etc., is invariably MANNED BY MASONS^ Again, the leading organs of Masonry, such as The New Age of Washington, and The American Freemason, are very pronounced in their hostility to the Catholic Church. The New Age adopts almost the same tone as The Menace; and The American Freemason has stated editorially, “There can be no peace, nor even truce, between Freemasonry and the official Roman Church.’’ Moreover, the author of the most popular books in Masonic literature, the best sellers, are VIOLENT ANTAGONISTS of the Catholic Church. In proof of this, reference may be made to the works of Pike, Richardson, Buck and Stewart.^ These writers make it plain that the Catholic opposition to Masonry is not based merely on imaginary prejudices. Their readers should, in fairness, draw the same conclusion as the Protestant editor who wrote: “The anti-Catholic attitude taken by Masonic lodges generally, and especially in their official organs, such as the New Age, forces Catholics to view Masonry with suspicion and distrust, if not prejudice.” “The very nature of Freemasonry, and especially its anti- Catholic proclivities, places the Catholic Church in a position where IT MUST OPPOSE the great secret order to be consistent with its teachings.”^ After all, the American sense of fair play should really commend the Catholic Church for coming out into the open with a public declaration. The Church quite consistently re- quires that Catholics must not encourage or support an or- sAmericati Masonry and Catholic Educationt by Rev. Michael Kenny, S.J., p. 12. 4Pike speaks of the Roman Church’s “insidious influence which are incessantly making rotten the foundations of our free government.” Richardson appeals to Masons to array themselves “as one band of brothers against the avowed purposes of the Hierarchy of Rome.” Buck says of the Catholic Church, “Her religion is as immoral as her politics are irreligious and devilish.” Stewart says the Catholic schools are “the breeding ground of con- victs and traitors, nurseries of treason under the cloak of religion.” The President of the Grand Orient of France said, “The Roman Church founded on the Galilean myth began to decay rapidly from the very day on which organized Masonry was first established.” 5C. A. Windle, Truth and Light, July, 1926, p. 24. ganization which has attacked the Church in the past and can easily be turned into a powerful foe in the future. As prominent Masons are making strenuous efforts to align ail the Masonic forces in opposition to the Catholic Church, it is only reasonable that the Catholic Church should warn her members that they cannot be ON BOTH SIDES AT ONCE. Perhaps a true story will serv'? as a fitting conclusion. A distinguished Catholic Missionary during an address to non- Catholics, explained the Church’s attitude on Freemasonry. At the close, a man approached him aii^ said, “I listened care- fully to you and, though I am a Mason, I must admit you are perfectly right. For the first time in my life I perceive the Catholic point of view. There can be' no doubt that the Cath- olic Church should enjoy the right of every other organization to limit her membership by the conditions which she herself lays down.” For further information on this subject see A Study in American Freemasonry, by Arthur Preuss. (B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis.) Freemasonry, by Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J. (Catholic Truth Society, London.) American Masonry and Catholic Education, by Rev. Michael Kenny, S.J. (I. C. T. S., Brooklyn.) Freemasonry, by Lucian Johnston, (I. C. T. S., Brooklyn.) May Catholics be Masons? by Rev. Joseph I. Malloy, C.S.P.. (The Paul- ist Press, New York.) FOUR-PAGE LEAFLETS Prepared by The Paulist League Suitable for Distribution in Large Quantities SERIES IV Catholic Schools. Indulgences. Ku-Klux Klan. Can a Priest Forgive Sins? Catholics or Masons? Marriage. Galileo. Divorce. St. Bartholomew’s Day. Birth Control. Price, 50c per hundred; $4.50 per thousand; carriage extra (Minimum order, 100 leaflets of any one title) Send for a free catalogue of 250 five-cent pamphlets to THE PAULIST PRESS 401 West 59th Street New York, N. Y. Instructive Reading for Our Catholic Men and Women Catholicism and Reason. By Hon. Henry 0. Dillon. What Catholics Do Not Believe. By Most Rev. P. J. Ryan, D.D. Church or Bible. By Rev. Arnold Damen, S.J. What the Catholic Church Is and What She Teaches. By Rev. E. R. Hull, S.J. American Democracy and Catholic Doctrine. By Sylvester J, McNamara, M.A. (144 pages; 25 cents per copy, postage* prepaid.) We beg to commend to every thoughtful Catholic this very important and able treatise. Particularly do we recommend it to students in high schools and colleges, and to all who are interested in Constitu- tional history. The author has gone to the sources of representative government, and we believe that he demonstrates his thesis—that not from the reli- gious rebellion of the sixteenth century, but from representative Catholic philosophers and theologians, came the first unequivocal teachings that govern- ments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed; that the duty to govern wisely and justly is as important as the loyalty of the governed, and that injustice and tyranny justify the oppressed in repudiating and deposing tyrant rulers, even though such men claim to rule by '^divine right.'’ THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY 407 Bergen Street. Brooklyn. N. Y. NOTHING TO FEAR FROM THE TRUTH [The Ave Mania, Nov. 1, 1924.] The Church has nothing to fear or to suffer from the truth. She suffers only when it is distorted, or when it is hidden or ignored. Ignorance is ever with us, and old errors die hard on account of being constantly revived. This is the case with regard to the Church and Democracy. It has been so widely proclaimed that “Democracy and Civil Liberty are fruits of the philosophy of the Reformation” that, owing to incessant , reiteration on the part of ill- informed writers and a still less informed public, the assertion passes for a well-established fact. To correct this error, and to dispel this ignor- ance is the twofold purpose of Mr. Sylvester J. McNamara, M. A., in his treatise entitled “American Democracy and Catholic Doctrine.” In some 160 well documented pages he shows the “great debt Democracy owes to Catholicism.” Published by the International Catholic Truth Society, Brooklyn, N. Y. \ (The price of “American Democracy and Catholic Doctrine” is 25 cents a copy—$20.00 per hundred. Address 407 Bergen Street, Brook- lyn, N. Y.)