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Dec 29th, 2019
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Joined: Nov 2001
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Originally posted by Andy:
No�you should be sorry my friend�everyone knows that the Protocols of Zion is a famous anti-semantic tract used to justify the destruction of the Jews�my mother is Roman Catholic as am I, but my father is Jewish and we lost Jewish family members in Poland due to the holocaust. I ask you frankly, �is there an anti-semantic undertone in the BC?�
Andy, Please participate in a less confrontational way. If you are actually accusing Byzantine Catholics of being anti-Semitic please provide specific, documented references of this that are verifiable before you continue. Admin
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Joined: Oct 2002
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Dear Fr. Mark,
I find that the Orthodox Churches in North America tend not to teach regarding the inconsistencies of Free Masonry with Orthodoxy, although I believe that they should and could thus avoid many problems.
In the diocese where I serve, several priests have refused to bury the dead until masonic symbols (clothing or otherwise) were removed. While these brave clergy paid the price of losing support from some of the wealthy, they will receive a great blessing later. Pray for them.
I recently allerted a presbyter, knowing the deceased to have been a mason, and thus allowing him to call the family in advance of the funeral and avoid any scandal.
It doesn't really matter what form other movements take; religious, political, humanistic, or otherwise. There are many Lords and Gods but for us there is one Lord and God. For us, there is the Gospel and then there is everything else.
In Christ.
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I too was shocked to see Remie recommend the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion'. That work is a piece of anti-Semitic trash. You might as well recommend the "Turner Diaries".
As an active member of the ARA, I'm apalled to see that book being mentioned as a scholarly work.
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Dear Mikey, I know nothing about that book, but I thank you for your straightforward way of referring to it and describing for us who haven't heard of it. I want to add that Andy's outburst, including his charge of Anti-semitism, is understandable. Again, Andy and you have to forgive us ignorant ones who never heard of that book. It sounds that, in not having read it, I wasn't missing anything!  And if Andy is still speaking to me, I wanted to let him know that his is not the only family who lost Jewish relatives in Poland during the Holocaust. Alex
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I work at a library and have read 3 different books on masons. But so much of what they believe is not in writing. What I have read so far is consistent with last years Ecumenical gathering in Assisi where many different religious leaders gathered and prayed to their respective deities with the Pope in the forefront. This is what I have read about the Masonic belief in God. The masons believe in the rights of the individual to choose their own religion. The only thing that I have found that may cause a problem is the belief that no human can speak infallibly.
Abba Isidore the Priest:
When I was younger and remained in my cell I set no limit to prayer; the night was for me as much the time of prayer as the day.
(p. 97, Isidore 4)
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Dear Odo,
I never asked you to take my word for it - the Masons do indeed have their own belief system.
It is syncretistic - which is why they can say "each individual may choose his or her own beliefs."
They emphatically deny the Trinity and the Incarnation of God in Christ.
Speak to a Catholic priest about this.
Speak to the Mason(s) who invited you to join.
Ask them who "Jabulon" is.
In any event, the Pope, in 1983, renewed the ban for Catholics to join the Masons.
If nothing else convinces you, that should.
Alex
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Dear Odo,
I want to make a helpful analogy. Here is an ostensible employment posting:
Start now! Great pay! Excellent benefits! All shifts available! Set your own schedule! Call Mr. X at (101) 345-6789 to schedule an interview.
Would you inquire? Perhaps? But one always wonders why the add doesn't tell us what type of work, or what the pay is, or why Mr. X feels obligated to conceal his name. I would ask a friend about this add prior to calling Mr. X.
I would do the same prior to contacting the masons.
In Christ.
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It was explained to me in non-religious terms. Religion is not an issue with the mason that invited me. I was told it was a group of men who did fund raising and kept quit about it. They are not interested in religion or politics or a pat on the back. He said there was a lot of dinners and pool playing. I had asked him about having a catholic join and he told me their was a catholic (Latin) priest in the temple in the area and if I would like he would set up a meeting between him and I. So I'm going to speak to him. If each member is encouraged to hold his own belief how can the masons in general reject the Holy Trinity?
Abba Isidore the Priest:
When I was younger and remained in my cell I set no limit to prayer; the night was for me as much the time of prayer as the day.
(p. 97, Isidore 4)
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Dear Odo,
The point is that the Masonic Ritual has its own theology - and it doesn't include the Trinity.
That means that you will be joining a group that does indeed have a religious world of view that is contrary to the Christian one.
Take a look at the back of an American dollar.
There are many Masonic symbols there.
The U.S. notion of separation between church and state only applies to the Christian Church.
All the major buildings in Washington were "consecrated" using Masonic rituals.
Again, if they didn't refer to religion AT ALL, there would be no problem.
But they do.
Mormon missionaries at my door told me they accept Jesus as equal to the Father.
However, that goes against what their own theologians say.
Alex
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Odo:
You will not have access to a lot of Masonic knowledge, since they are sworn by a blood oath to keep their rituals and beliefs secret. What you may find fairly easily is what they want to be read. I have read some books written by Evangelicals who were high up in the Masons (33rd degree) and left after they realized Masonry stood in the way of their faith in Christ. I also remember reading some of my father's lierature as a child (he was a 3rd degree). I could not join an organization that is sworn to help another member even if they are wrong and deserve punishment. In the Army I saw Masons get preferential treatment when they violated military law on a regular basis - from fellow Masons. I heartily recommend to you NOT to get involved. You will be asked to compromise your Catholic beliefs or end up unknowingly supporting those who wish to undermine the Church.
Andrew:
When my father died, the funeral director and my brother wanted to bury my father in his regalia, and I adamantly refused for this to happen. I had just become Catholic and had learned about their history of trying to destroy the Church. My brother was OK with it, since I felt so strongly about it, but the funeral director was kind of clod to me after that...........didn't see a "G" on him, though.........
Andy:
Shalom! My wife is of Jewish descent, and that makes my children of Jewish descent. Her grandfather was a Worshipful Master of a Jewish Masonic Lodge in NY. And my father liberated the Flossenberg death camp (he had help...). I have all his pictures for those who try to say it never happened. I'm pretty sure we're not anti-Semetic..........welcome to the board!
Slava Isusu Christu!
Glenn
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner
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Originally posted by Remie:
(and also the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion") Well-known Anti-Semitic and vicious forgery
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Dear Glenn,
Thank you for your in depth witness, Servant of God!
As you know, the Masons were originally a Catholic Guild and many Popes belonged to it before 1707 when the Masons were excommunicated.
The Catholic Masons, resembling in a way the Knights of Columbus with their degrees et alia, took a vow and invoked the "Four Holy Crowned Ones" who lived near the Temple of Solomon.
The Catholic Templars also developed the Masons and a number of rituals, including the "Masonic Temple" itself come directly from the Templars, before their arrest on Friday the 13th - from whence the superstition.
But for many Catholics today, Freemasons are those who will fix the parish church steps for free . . .
Alex
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Odo, here's an excerpt on tbe official Catholic view of Freemasonry: What is the Catholic Church's official position on Freemasonry? Are Catholics free to become Freemasons?
Freemasonry is incompatible with the Catholic faith. Freemasonry teaches a naturalistic religion that espouses indifferentism, the position that a person can be equally pleasing to God while remaining in any religion.
Masonry is a parallel religion to Christianity. The New Catholic Encyclopedia states, "Freemasonry displays all the elements of religion, and as such it becomes a rival to the religion of the Gospel. It includes temples and altars, prayers, a moral code, worship, vestments, feast days, the promise of reward and punishment in the afterlife, a hierarchy, and initiative and burial rites" (vol. 6, p. 137).
Masonry is also a secret society. Its initiates subscribe to secret blood oaths that are contrary to Christian morals. The prospective Mason swears that if he ever reveals the secrets of Masonry--secrets which are trivial and already well-known--he wills to be subject to self-mutilation or to gruesome execution. (Most Masons, admittedly, never would dream of carrying out these punishments on themselves or on an errant member).
Historically, one of Masonry's primary objectives has been the destruction of the Catholic Church; this is especially true of Freemasonry as it has existed in certain European countries. In the United States, Freemasonry is often little more than a social club, but it still espouses a naturalistic religion that contradicts orthodox Christianity. (Those interested in joining a men's club should consider the Knights of Columbus instead.)
The Church has imposed the penalty of excommunication on Catholics who become Freemasons. The penalty of excommunication for joining the Masonic Lodge was explicit in the 1917 code of canon law (canon 2335), and it is implicit in the 1983 code (canon 1374).
Because the revised code of canon law is not explicit on this point, some drew the mistaken conclusion that the Church's prohibition of Freemasonry had been dropped. As a result of this confusion, shortly before the 1983 code was promulgated, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement indicating that the penalty was still in force. This statement was dated November 26, 1983 and may be found in Origins 13/27 (Nov. 15, 1983), 450. Another site: www.io.com/~janebm/churchlaw.html [ io.com] ChristTeen287
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Abba Isidore the Priest:
When I was younger and remained in my cell I set no limit to prayer; the night was for me as much the time of prayer as the day.
(p. 97, Isidore 4)
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Dear Odo, If you were here in person, I'd give you a Masonic handshake someone once taught me long ago . . . All praise to the Architect of the Universe, Brother! Alex
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