What I hate when I read about things like this is that people believe that because I am a Catholic, I support this kind of activity.
Tom Drolesky said in Christ or Chaos
Aiding the Adversary, Overtly and Subtly
The news that a Catholic priest has been appointed as a "chaplain to a Masonic lodge in Italy has shocked many Catholics around the world. While we must oppose error and denounce scandalous actions, the fact that a Catholic priest has agreed to serve as a chaplain of a diabolical organization, devoted to the propagation of the belief that social order can be premised on a rejection of the necessity of belief in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity in Our Lady's virginal and immaculate womb and in every jot and tittle of the Deposit of Faith He has entrusted to His true Church, should come as no real surprise. After all, the Church's highest leaders have written and spoken in ways in the past forty years that have given voice to the Masonic ethos of religious indifferentism and separation of Church and State. We must pray and fast, beseeching Our Lady so that Pope Benedict XVI, who has said as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, that the Second Vatican Council was the Church's "reconciliation with the principles of 1789," will consecrate Russia to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart with all of the world's bishops. (Another article might pop up if I am particularly industrious after my lecture at Saint Joseph Church in Armada, Michigan, in a few hours.)
Catholic priest made chaplain to Italian Masonic lodge
Rome, Aug. 09 (CNA/CWNews.com) - In an unusual show of “openness” to the Catholic Church, a Masonic lodge in Italy has announced the appointment of a Catholic priest as chaplain. The news was announced during an address to members of the lodge by Grand Master Fabio Venzi of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Italy.
During his address announcing the appointment of the priest, whom he did not identify by name, Venzi explained what he considers to be the relationship between freemasonry and the Catholic Church. “If we examine the documents at our disposal and if we look at the contrasts of the presumed incompatibility of the Catholic Church with freemasonry, we might get the impression that we find ourselves in the presence of a comedy of errors,” he said. “The documents of the Holy See,” he continued, “are often based on Masonic realities which we consider 'irregular,' and therefore not representative of true Masonic tradition.”
Likewise, Venzi stated that “the first chapter of the book Freemasonry, by Zbigniew Suchecki of the Pontifical Lateran University and published by the Liberia Editrice Vaticana, notes: 'During the last century, the Grand Eastern Lodge of France and the Grand Eastern Lodge of Italy were among the most anti-clerical Masonic lodges in the world.' We hope that in the future, these lodges, which historically have represented the Anglo-Saxon Masonic tradition, not be considered typical.”
On the other hand, Venzi continued, “When a small opening was conceded, this was not done with much intelligence or common sense. I am referring to Canon 2335 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Under this norm, there was a sanction for Catholics who were members of organizations that in fact machinantur contra Ecclesiam, that is, that 'plotted against the Church'.”
Venzi noted that “we have always treated the Holy See with great respect, and we have even named a lodge after Pius II, Enea Silvio Piccolomini. This is unique in the history of freemasonry.”
At the end of address, Venzi announced the appointment of a grand official “who will probably be a part not only of the history of Italian freemasonry, but also of the history of freemasonry in the world, and I don't think I am wrong. The grand official I am appointing is a priest of the Catholic Church. Let me say it again, of the Catholic Church.”
With this appointment, Venzi claimed to be “making a gesture of openness. Never before has a Masonic lodge made such a gesture towards the Catholic Church, distancing itself from other irregular Masonic lodges that, with their anti-clericalism, have caused much harm to the image of freemasonry in the world.”
“We have played our part and we hope the Church will lay the groundwork and have the patience to deal with the peculiarities and differences within the world of freemasonry,” Venzi said in conclusion.
