The Freemasonry and counterfeit Christians.

What is Freemasonry?

For nearly two centuries the world has been confronted with a new and terrible phenomenon of which there is no complete parallel in any other period of history. Some style it Liberalism; others the anti-Christian movement; and others again prefer the more striking and dramatic name of The Revolution.

The Modern Revolution.

Different from all former political, social or religious innovations which were local, or confined to certain sections of the community, the modern Revolution is universal. In spite of differences of race, of climate, of economic position, it is everywhere essentially the same - restless, disruptive, materialistic, anti-patriotic and irreligious. It permeates all classes with ideas and principles which, while incompatible with real prosperity or peace, inspire its dupes with an unfounded hope of securing all they desire by means of destruction.

Its Anti-Christian Character.

A persistent war is waged directly or indirectly against the virtues and principles which lie at the very basis of society - religion, obedience and piety. The traditional institutions which have grown up in European society with the development of the Christian organization are set aside; and new principles are put forward, unknown to preceding generations, and more or less antagonistic to the natural and divine law. The separation of Church and State; the State control of education; perverted ideas of Liberty and equality - all these and many such false or ambiguous principles are adopted as fundamental, sometimes even in the constitution of so-called Christian States.

Religion (above all the Catholic Church) is singled out for attack. The principle of the subordination of civil society to a divine law seems to be one of the central objects of the assault. This truth in fact has become obscured even in the minds of Catholics; and the unnatural custom, hitherto practically unknown even among the pagan nations, of organizing society without reference to a Supreme Being has been adopted even in countries that are predominantly Catholic.

Its Anti-Social Principles.

The natural organization of the family is also undermined. Governments often refuse to see in it the indivisible and fundamental unit in the social organism. It is deprived of its religious consecration which even the pagan nations of previous ages usually retained; and the principle (also a modern innovation) of allowing the individual to dispose freely of the hereditary family homestead or estate has undermined its stability by removing its economic foundation.

The right of private property, while from time immemorial has been at the basis of European society, is now attacked; and new combinations and arrangements are conceived for employing and feeding the masses of humanity. Again, the natural organization of labour (founded upon reciprocal duties and rights as between master and man) which is traditional everywhere and in all periods of recorded history has been upset. The man is proclaimed the equal in all respects with the master; while the latter is exempted in the exercise of his property rights from all natural duties and responsibilities towards the man. The result is the unnatural and destructive class war now raging or being stirred up in most countries of the civilized world.

Its Unity Amid Varying Manifestations.

Ever since the early decades of the eighteenth century, when the principles of this destructive movement were first proclaimed aloud, the Revolution has not ceased in its onward progress. Its activities and manifestations vary with the varying character and circumstances of the different states and nations. In the countries of the Catholic culture, including Russia, where the old Christian principles had remained deeply embedded in the social organism, the progress of the Revolution is usually marked by violent political upheavals, such as have occurred or are in progress in France, Portugal, Italy, the Spanish colonies and Russia. Among the Protestant nations, already partially deChristianised, the process of disintegration, which meets little effective resistance, is more silent and less dramatic, although its effects are more thorough and complete. But everywhere and always, the dominating principles and the main tendency are the same - the elimination of the supernatural from human society and the destruction of everything that Christianity has produced.

Many writers, especially those who are non-Catholic, in striving to account for the movement, assign all kinds of various causes, such as the abuses connected with the old regime, the industrial revolution, the great scientific discoveries, the spread of literary knowledge as a result of the invention of printing, etc.

No doubt many or all of these causes may have contributed to promote some of the developments associated with the Revolution. But there is in it a central unchanging phenomenon which no such cause can explain - its clearly defined anti-Christian character.

Freemasonry Its Soul.

"The aspects of the problem", writes Claudio Janet, "are completely changed when we remember, that for the past century and a half, a powerful association whose principles are identical to those of the Revolution has spread over the world, enshrouding itself in mystery, exercising its activities in every part of the body politic, at one time through the press, the platform and the schools, at another by sedition, plots and conspiracies, but never varying in its efforts towards the one objective...The progress of the Revolution has been from the beginning in direct ratio with the spread and progress of Freemasonry. "Although holding in its vast embrace many other associations "apparently" of a different character from its own, Freemasonry always propagates the same principles: its tendencies and character never vary. The unity, the universality, and the unchanging anti-Christian character of Freemasonry give the key to the unity and the universality and the steady progress of the Revolution.

In other words, Freemasonry is the soul, the unifying element, the energizing force of Liberalism, and of the whole modern anti-Christian movement. This thesis, which has been again and again confirmed by the voice of the Supreme Pontiffs, we shall now strive to develop and explain.

Nature of Freemasonry.

Leo XIII, speaking of the incessant war waged against virtue and truth by the kingdom of Satan upon earth, goes on to say that the leaders of that war are none other than, "the strongly organized and widespread association called the Freemasons." Later on the same Pontiff describes the purposes of Freemasonry to be, "the utter overthrow of that whole religious order of the world which Christian teaching has produced, and the substitution of a new state of things according to their own ideas, based on the principles and laws of pure Naturalism."

Let us now see how far this definition of the purposes of Freemasonry accords with the descriptions of the Craft given by the most widely recognized Masonic authorities.

Masonic Definitions of Freemasonry.

According to the English and American masonic rituals Masonry may be defined as, "A peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." Again, The Universal Manual of Freemasonry describes Freemasonry as, "the activities of closely united men, who, employing symbolic forms borrowed principally from the builder's art and from architecture, work for the welfare of mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others, and thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind, which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small scale."

Still another recognized Masonic authority declares that Freemasonry may be best described as, "a science which is engaged in the search after divine truth."

From these authoritative definitions we gather that Masonry is a closely organized body of men professing a special type of morality and belief, who, like the Catholic Church, are working with the definite purpose of propagating their morals and doctrines amongst the whole human race. We gather also that their moral and philosophic system is peculiar (viz, different from the Christian system, on which the traditional European civilization is founded), and that it is veiled from the ordinary gaze.

Masonic Moral and Social System.

In the Christian concept of society, morals as well as social rights and duties are founded upon man's relation to God and the example and teaching of Our Divine Lord. The whole Christian organization of society has been erected upon this basis. In the Masonic idea human virtue and morality are quite independent of the Deity, and of the law of Christ whose Divinity is ignored or denied. Hence, Freemasonry is essentially opposed to Christianity and destructive of the Christian organization of society. It is Naturalism, which may be described as a scientifically elaborated system of paganism.

Freemasonry the Counter-Church.

Now since the Catholic Church alone represents Christianity in its perfection, Catholicism is the natural enemy and indeed the only effective opponent of Freemasonry. Again, seeing that the Catholic priesthood is the central and consolidating element of the Christian social organism, the Masonic watchword, "Le Clericalisme, viola l'ennemi", (Clercalism is the enemy) is easily understood. This is the central idea which must be grasped if one is to understand the real character and workings of Freemasonry in all of its varied phases and aspects. It is the modern "Counter-Church", the solvent and destroyer of everything which Christianity has erected or produced.

Freemasonry has in fact its creed (more or less identified with the vague ideas gathering around the ambiguous shibboleths of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity), its faithful, its orders of various types, and its hierarchy of administration and government. All its different ranks and orders are founded on a common basis; for the members of all are received into the body by the same initiation, which is a quasi-baptism and profession of faith; and all tend more or less definitely to the common end. Like the Catholic Church too, Freemasonry propagates its principles and permeates society with its spirit in a multitude of different ways. It makes its influence felt in the legislature, the press, the economic organization of the State and the social customs of the people; and gradually and almost imperceptibly (except when it is confronted with a strongly organized Christian community or a deeply-rooted Catholic social tradition for the destruction of which open violence is found necessary) it moulds the social organism after its own ideals, which are the direct antithesis of the ideals of Christianity. Gautherot, commenting on the well-known passage which occurs in two different letters of Pius IX, where the Pope signalizes Freemasonry as, "the Synagogue of Satan, which is arraying its army in opposition to the Church of Christ", describes Freemasonry as a synthesis of all the heresies, and, as it were, the meeting together of all the uprisings of man against God, and a kind of, "mobilization of all the powers of Evil against those of Good."

And the Religion of Liberalism.

The following extracts from an address delivered by the Belgian Liberal and Masonic leader Goblet d'Aviella, at a select Masonic gathering in Brussels (1847), will illustrate more fully the essential opposition of Freemasonry to Christianity:

"Experience proves that this programme [viz, of negation and destruction] is not sufficient if we are to battle with devotedness and enthusiasm...against a Church which is doubly powerful owing alike to its role in the past and its lofty aspiration for the future, which excels in the skill , the numbers and the discipline of its adherents, which addresses itself to every age and sex and rank in life, which binds its members to itself by so many and by such powerful bonds in every sphere of human activity.

To meet such an adversary with weapons equal to its own, the Liberals have to complete their programme by a consistent system of positive teaching, envisaging men in every relation and aspect of human nature, and enabling them to solve the great problems of modern society. Such a system will supplement the political associations by giving them a rallying point on a moral, philosophical, religious and social plane...The Masonic Lodges are the only places in which one can study and formulate with fulness and scientific objectivity the whole series of problems which affect men's rights, duties, mutual relations, and final destiny.

Freemasonry being at the same time traditional and progressive, local and cosmopolitan...transcends time and space. It rests on traditions whose origin is lost in the twilight of history: it possesses a symbolism...It is by means of this fulness of organization that Freemasonry is in a position to rival its great enemy, the Church of Rome. It is thus that it becomes the natural - I will even add the necessary - compliment of Liberalism.

Impress therefore on your neophytes that Freemasonry is not, as some superficial observers suppose, a child's play, a convivial society...much less a purely benevolent institution, or even a replica of our political associations. Tell them that Freemasonry is above and beyond all a school of perfection and scientific formation and propaganda, a sort of laboratory where the great ideas of modern social life are combined and fashioned into a consistent whole with a view to their propagation in the world outside in a tangible and a practical shape. Tell them in one word that we are the philosophers of Liberalism. Tell them all this, but with the reserve which Masonic secrecy requires."

Freemasonry a Religion or a Substitute for Religion.

From its own description of itself, Masonry is to be regarded as a "religion" - that is if one can conceive religion without God. It has to do with "divine truth", and has its special system of morals and worship and its own peculiar liturgy, ritual and symbolism. It aims, like the Catholic Church, at training the mind and moulding the character of its members in accordance with its own peculiar ideals, and strives to propagate its tenets and morals among all mankind. The works of Ragon, Pike, Mackey, and other Masonic authors are largely occupied in unfolding the Masonic doctrines concerning the ruling powers of the universe and describing the rites and observances by which man is to render due homage to them.

Br. A. G. Mackey writes - and all Masonic authors corroborate his words - "Masonry is undoubtedly a religious institution...its religion being of the universal kind, in which all men agree." Hence, Masonry as a religion is the very antithesis of dogmatic Christianity, which is Catholicism. It is at best some kind of common denominator which belongs equally to all religions (except the true one) and none - a religion in which Protestants, pagans, idolaters, Mohammedans, Hindus, Parsees, Buddhists, Theosophists, Mormons, etc, may all meet on common religious ground. Catholics, however, are excluded, for the true religion cannot vary or contradict itself.

Hence, both Catholic and Masonic authorities agree that the two systems are mutually exclusive.

In order to appreciate fully the implications contained in the universality of the Masonic creed, which is a fundamental principle in Freemasonry, we must remember that the Freemasons put forward their system as applying a "perfect and all-sufficing religion; making a man complete in morality and intelligence, with a state of religion added to ensure him the protection of the deity, and to guard him from going astray - so that "nothing more can be suggested which the soul of man requires." Hence, Masonry is meant to be a complete religious system, whose fundamental principle is a recognition and worship of "The Grand Architect of the Universe." Those who are only in the outer circles of the fraternity may not at first understand who or what that Grand Architect is. Little by little, however, the system and all that underlies it become more apparent; and, as the initiated studies the symbolism and ritual more deeply, he comes to realize the full worth of that moral, intellectual and religious formation which Masonry imparts, and which "contains all that the soul of man requires."

Real Character of the Masonic Religious Cult.

Owing to the policy of deception which Masonic leaders avowedly adopt, it is difficult to analyze with accuracy and certitude the essence of the underlying religion of Masonry, and we shall not attempt the analysis here. Suffice it to say that the real inner Masonic religion upon which the whole system hinges is founded upon some type of Cabalistic or Jewish Pantheism, and implies, or is, a deification and worship of unregenerate humanity. Its degrading character is indicated sufficiently for our present purpose by the nature of the symbolism and cult with which esoteric Masonry is associated.

According to the vast majority of the great Masonic authors, the Masonic secret cult is derived from the ancient "mysteries" of India, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome. These mysteries are nothing more or less than those obscene and indescribable forms of worship, in which the generative processes of nature, symbolized by the human organs of reproduction, were the object of licentious homage, that this worship is the real pivot of the Masonic "religion", and the centre of Masonic ritual and symbolism, incredible as it may seem, does not admit of reasonable doubt.

For although it is denied by some Anglo-American writers, such as the English Oliver, their denials and their attitude show inconsistency and in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, cannot be seriously maintained. Hence, whatever one may hold as to the identity of the Masonic deity, called the Great Architect, namely, whether or not it be Satan himself, this much at least is certain: that the religion of Masonry is closely connected with the most hideous and degraded of the pre-Christian cults, one which is commonly believed to betray the direct and immediate influence of the Evil One.

Character of Masonic Symbolism.

Most of the Masonic symbolism, in its original and proper meaning, refers primarily to the Solar and Phallic worship, associated with the mysteries above referred to. This fact is testified to by the great authorities of Anglo-American Freemasonry - Pike, Mackey, Thomas Webb Smith, William Preston, Hutcheson, etc. Ragon, the "sacred author", adds his testimony to that of the Anglo-American writers. Ragon expressly says that the Masonic god is the god of the Pyramids, thus, identifying the Masonic cult with the religion of the ancient Egyptians and this epitome of the Masonic creed is fully justified by the interpretation of the Masonic rites and symbols furnished by Ragon himself, and the recognized Anglo-American Masonic authorities.

In order to convey to our reader a succinct but intelligible account of this difficult portion of our subject which, to be frank, we fear to handle (it is no easy task to touch even lightly on what is blasphemous and obscene), we believe we cannot do better than transcribe a passage from the "Lyceum", written nearly a quarter of a century ago, in which the distinguished writer already referred to, with a pen more skilled than ours, strives to convey,

"within the limits which respect for his readers imposes...what, according to the authorized interpretation...of the Craft, is the symbolical purport of the rites admitting to one or other of the Masonic degrees.

The three first degrees of the order - those of the Apprentice, of Fellow Craft or Companion Mason, and of Master Mason - common to all rites of Masonry are known as symbolic degrees. [Note: Those three degrees form the basis upon which the whole Masonic system is erected]. The candidate is admitted to them by a series of fantastic ceremonies, which we need not describe in detail...the full significance of which is not yet revealed to him. He learns nothing but the symbols and the "sacred" words themselves. He is besides copiously edified by allusions to God and the Bible the deeper meaning of which is withheld till he reaches the higher degrees of the order. Indeed, it is not till he arrives at the thirty-third degree (in the Ancient Scottish Rite) - that of Sovereign Grand Inspector General - that the genuine "mysteries" which underlie these outward forms are laid bare to him. When the final stage of the illumination is reached he learns such "truths" as the following:"

The rite of initiation for Apprentice Masons represents in dramatic fashion the origin or birth of the Nature god of the great all. It imports the non-existence of a supernatural personal God...It signifies that no being is wholly material, that the two principles, matter and form, male and female, are always two in one and one in two, eternally generating. It signifies that god is a bi-sexual being, a hermaphrodite, and that creation is the beginning of the process of generation.

The initiation rite of the Second Degree represents the normal condition of the Nature god, is always in labour, always generating. It imports that god is a hermaphrodite, that his name has always signified the god of generation...Jehovah...signifies he-she, that is, the two sexes in one. The dual principle, male and female, is represented by the square and the compass; by the compass, symbol of Osiris, the male; and by the square, symbol of the earth, Isis, the female

"The initiating rite of the master's degree introduces us to the story of Hiram, one of the architects of Solomon's Temple, as related in the Targum. But Hiram must be regarded here as an allegorical being, symbolizing the Grand Architect of the Universe. In this rite the process of generation is represented as complete; God and the name of God, which the candidate is supposed to have been seeking, are discovered. The name of the deity thus revealed is Moabon - the name given to the child of Lot and his daughter; that is to say, in further interpretation, this child is man - child of the union of the sun with his daughter the earth. This deity is also called Mac-Benac, "offspring of putrefication", inasmuch as death and decomposition must precede the beginning of life; the seed must die before the plant lives. This [says Ragon] is the important phenomenon, the ineffable mystery, the key of nature which the ancient sages succeeded in discovering, and which they adopted as the basis of their doctrines, and the subject of their legends...the legend of the ages, understood according to this interpretation, the revolting atrocities of Saturn, and of the incestuous Phaedra, etc, are nothing else than interesting enigmas, which involve facts well worthy of being handed down to us."

It is not necessary to pursue the explanation further, or to introduce our readers into the still deeper "mysteries of Masonry". We spare them any description of the ritual of the higher degrees, such as the blasphemous profanations of the history of the Last Supper of our Divine Lord, which occur in the ritual of initiation of the eighteenth or Rose Croix degree. What has been said so far will suffice to illustrate the character of the "divine truth" the discovery and propagation of which are represented as the essential scope of Freemasonry; and to indicate the nature of the peculiar system of morality which Masonic allegory veils and its symbols illustrate. From all this our readers will easily understand how inveterate is the antagonism between Freemasonry and the Catholic Church. They are opposed to eachother as uncompromisingly as light is to darkness, good to evil, or as Satan is to God.

"The genius of Freemasonry [writes Br. Buck] and the genius of Rome constitute the most complete antithesis possible to imagine. No such complete denial of every claim set up by clericalism [ie: Catholicism] can anywhere else be found as confronts it in Freemasonry."

Just so fast as the world is converted to the ethical principles of Freemasonry, just so fast and so far the world repudiates every principle and every claim and practice of Roman clericalism [Catholicism].

In conclusion ,I ask the whole world of Catholics today ,let's keep praying for Church, pray for the conversion of people , pray for our priests from devil's attack, pray one another . Catholics should be millitants in this century , hold your rosary and pray rosary frequently , a weapon against Satan's attack in our modern Life.

Seek the devine truth, live the Truth strongly, be true Christian.

From the book Freemasonry and the Anti-Christian Movement by Rev. E. Cahill. S. J. 1930. Dublin. Éire.