Masons

CATHOLIC JOURNALS

From THE CATHOLIC ANSWER, July/August 1990. "Q. My brother in the Philippines is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and a Mason. I told him he cannot be both; he says there is no contradiction.

"A: There seems to have been some confusion over Masonic membership for Catholics during the 1970s, but that was cleared up by the Holy See during the 1980s. The answer is unequivocally negative: Membership in the Masons is completely at odds with Christian faith, if for no other reason than the fact that it is indeed a religion combining deism, naturalism, anti- clericalism and a host of other less savory aspects of the post- Enlightenment era...It should be obvious that if no Catholic in good standing can be a Mason, a fortiori, no extraordinary minister of Holy Communion could be."

CHRISTIAN COMMENT

According to Jim Shaw, former 33rd degree Mason (Box 884, Silver Springs, FL 32688), the following Vatican officials are Masons. Dates given are dates of initiation.

Cardinals Sebastiano Baggio 8/14/57, Jean Villot 8/6/66, Leo Suenens 6/15/57, Ugo Polatti 2/17/69, Michele Pellegrino 5/2/60, Archbishops Agostino Cassaroli 9/28/57, Annibale Bugnini 4/23/58, Mario Brini 7/13/69, Bishop Fiorenzo Angelini 10/14/57, Msgr. Pasquale Macchi, private secretary of Paul VI, 4/23/58.