₦airaland Forum

VATICAN CITY -

The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million.

"Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday.

The department, known as the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, issued its opinion, dated Nov. 13 and countersigned by Pope Francis, in response to a bishop from the Philippines alarmed by the growing number of Freemasons in his country.

The same office said last week that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings.

The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion".

Masonic lodges are normally male-only societies, associated with arcane symbols and rituals. They have also sometimes been linked to conspiracy theories alleging undue influence on world affairs.

According to the United Grand Lodge of England, modern Freemasonry "is one of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world", rooted in the traditions of medieval stonemasons.

The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

It lists the late Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip, former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, late actor Peter Sellers, former England soccer manager Alf Ramsey and authors Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle as famous Freemasons from the past

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/vatican-confirms-ban-catholics-becoming-freemasons-2023-11-15/

Who are the freemasons?
Funny!

buharibanjo:
Who are the freemasons?
Funny!

Are you one of them?

Haters of the Catholic no go trend this one because e hard to twist it against the Vatican.

you are encouraging Catholics to accommodate gays and trans and yet cancelling freemasonry. hypocrisy.

this pope is one of the most useless pope!

Abeg who are the freemasonry??

No be bricklayers dem dey call mansory??
So wetin freemasonry mean abeg?

I care only about what brings something to the table

obiekunie01:
you are encouraging Catholics to accommodate gays and trans and yet cancelling freemasonry. hypocrisy.

this pope is one of the most useless pope!

Even worst was said about Jesus and there is virtually no Pope that has not been called names and even tagged the Antichrist.

Even God gave up on humans and in Nigeria's case, God left us on autopilot. God:- Nigerians do what you like.

That's ironic considering the pope is one of them

It is just for public show. We all know what really happens behind closed doors amongst themselves. They can keep deceiving the public that don't know anything but we that know their secrets are not moved by this public show off.

KAM3KAZI:
That's ironic considering the pope is one of them

Is there any evidence?

Courz:
It is just for public show. We all know what really happens behind closed doors amongst themselves. They can keep deceiving the public that don't know anything but we that know their secrets are not moved by this public show off.

You know their secrets?!

No, Two.

HeatSeeker:
Are you one of them?