The Catholic University of America Heresy By
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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA HERESY BY ASSOCIATION: The Canonical Prohibition of Freemasonry in History and in the Current Law A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Canon Law Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctorate in Canon Law By Edward F. Condon Washington, D.C. 2015 ABSTRACT Despite the remarkable continuity, over the centuries, of the Catholic Church’s condemnation of Freemasonry and the clarity of her rationale for doing so, the current canonical discipline of Catholic-Masonic issues is the subject of considerable confusion. The canonical prohibition of Catholic membership of a Masonic Lodge, or society, was expressly articulated in canon 2335 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which attached a penalty of excommunication, latae sententiae. Further canonical effects explicitly linked to Masonry were contained in six additional canons spread throughout the Code. The 1983 Code of Canon Law contains no explicit mention of Freemasonry. Canon 1374 provides for indeterminate penalties for those who joins societies which “plot against the Church”, but there is no consensus of what the canonical definition of plotting (machinationem) means, nor which societies, if any, might be intended by the canon. This dissertation seeks, through historical analysis of the origins of Freemasonry itself, and the Church’s teaching against it, to correctly place Freemasonry, specifically membership of a Masonic society by a Catholic, within the penal law of the 1983 Code. Chapter I traces the origins of Freemasonry and the Church’s opposition to it, through to the codification of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Chapter II is a parenthetical consideration of the particular phenomena of American Freemasonry, which is often held out to be somehow less noxious than the often explicitly anti-clerical European variety, and demonstrates its peculiar, but no less damnable, nature. Chapter III is an examination of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. It considers the canons on associations generally, and various condemned societies in particular, and extrapolates the significance of the canonical context of the Code’s treatment of Masonry as, variously, a crime against the faith and against authority. The chapter also offers a treatment of some basic principles of penal law, including imputability and the nature of crime and punishment in canon law. Chapter IV traces the canonical prohibition of Masonic membership by a Catholic through the process of reform and revision which resulted in the 1983 Code of Canon Law. It then examines the various scholarly commentaries on the subject, as well as how Masonry has been canonically treated under the ius vigens. Chapter V advances the argument that a Catholic joining the Freemasons can, in fact, commit two delicts by the same action: the delict of joining a prohibited society (c. 1374); and the delict of heresy (c. 1364). Masonic texts and rites of initiation are examined as possibly containing heretical material which a Mason explicitly embraces. The chapter finishes by establishing the existence, necessity, and justice of an enduring universal canonical prohibition of Catholic membership of the Freemasons. This dissertation by Edward Condon fulfills the dissertation requirements for the Doctorate Degree in Canon Law approved by Kurt Martens, J.C.D., as Director, and Robert J. Kaslyn, S.J., J.C.D., and John P. Beal, J.C.D., as Readers. _______________________________ Kurt Martens, J.C.D., Director _______________________________ Robert J. Kaslyn, S.J., J.C.D., Reader _______________________________ John P. Beal, J.C.D., Reader ii This work is completed with my love and gratitude to Rachel, who worked harder and gave more. It is respectfully dedicated to the Rev. Anthony Sacré of the Archdiocese of Westminster, a true father to his parish and brother to his community, and a priest like Melchizidek of old. And to Mr. Martin Ince, formerly of the City of London and Greater Manchester Police Forces, who inspired this work, and who told the bastards where to get off. iii “You can tell a lunatic by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that, sooner or later, he brings up the Templars.” - Umberto Eco iv Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………..………………..…1 Chapter I An History of Conflict……………..….…………………………………………….….5 Medieval Masters………….…………..………………………………….………………..7 Going Underground: From Trade Guild to Secret Society ………………….……...10 Grand Ambitions………………...……………………………………….………….……14 Masonry Crosses the Channel………………………………………………….……….22 The Church’s Response…………………………………………………………………..24 A Mason By Any Other Name…………………………………………………………..31 Church & State……………………………………………………………………….…...34 To G or Not to G: Freemasonry in Revolutionary Europe……………….………….41 Towards the 1917 Code: Freemasonry, Pius IX & Canonical Reform………….…49 Leo XIII…………………………………………………………………………….……….54 Conclusion………………………………………………………….………………….…...61 Chapter II Order in the New World: Masonry in America………………………………...63 Architects of a New Nation......................................................................................66 The Morgan Excitement & the Antimasonic Movement…………………………....72 Modern American Masonry………………………………..…………………………….76 Notes on American Masonic Structure & Higher Degrees……..…………………..82 Prince Hall: African-American Freemasonry……………….………………………..86 Freemasonry & the Ku Klux Klan………………………………………....................89 Into the Darkness: Masonic Ritual & the Rite of Entered Apprentice……………94 Mastering the Craft: the Third Degree & Higher Rites………………………..….107 Freemasonry & the Baltimore Councils……………………………………………..114 v Conclusion………………………………………………………………..………………118 Chapter III Masonic Membership Under the Pio- Benedictine Code of Canon Law…………………………………………………………………….………………....121 Associations in General in the 1917 Code…………………………………………...123 Penal Law in the 1917 Code..………………………………………………………….128 Anatomy of a Delict in the 1917 Code...................................................................129 Penalties in the 1917 Code………………………………………………………….….134 Penalties for Individual Crimes……………………………………………………….138 Freemasonry in the 1917 Code………………………………………………..………141 Masonry in Other Canons in the 1917 Code………………………………………...146 Similar Societies Under the 1917 Code………………………………………………152 The Fenians………………………………………………………………………...…….156 Canon 2335 & the Communist Party…………………………………..…………….158 Canon 2335 in Application………………………………………………….………….163 Canonical Equity & Canon 2335………...……………………………….……..…….168 How to Marry a Mason………………………………………………………….………171 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...……………………173 Chapter IV Ancient & Modern: Masonry in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.…………..176 Principled Reform……………………………………………………………………….178 False & Tendentious Interpretations…………………………….…………………..183 Towards Clarity………………………………………………………………………….191 A New Canon for a New Code…………………………………………………………202 The Final Word?.....................................................................................................209 Continued Confusion……………………………………………………………………211 A Clerical Mason…………………………………………………………………………215 vi A Particular Solution to a Universal Problem………………………………………218 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...222 Chapter V Heresy By Association: An Argument…………………………………………..226 The Delict of Heresy…………………………………………………………………….231 Bad Company: Heretical Associations in Canon Law……………………………..242 Heresy by Degrees………………………………………………………………………254 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...263 General Conclusions…………………………………………………………………266 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….......270 vii Introduction Freemasonry has been opposed by the Church for centuries and it has been the subject of the explicit condemnations of no fewer than eight popes. The canonical prohibition on membership, by a Catholic, of a Masonic Lodge or society, was expressly articulated in canon 2335 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which attached a penalty of excommunication, latae sententiae. Further canonical effects explicitly linked to Masonry were contained in six additional canons spread throughout the Code. The antipathy of the Church and the Lodge was universally known, if not perfectly understood. During the revision process, following Vatican Council II, the various schema for the new book of penal law initially omitted any canon on prohibited societies and made no reference to the Masons at all. During this time it began to be suggested that, in line with the conciliar imperative for subsidiarity, it was no longer appropriate to have a universal condemnation and prohibition of a society, even one as historically antagonistic as the Masons. It became common consensus that Masonry was not the same everywhere and that it should be left to the discretion of the local authority to determine if a group, including the Masons, in a particular area really merited censure. Following a confusing exchange of questions and answers 1 2 between various bishops’ conferences and the SCDF, many dioceses began to ignore the clear provisions of the 1917 Code still in force, and determine for themselves if Catholics might join the local Lodge. The 1983 Code of Canon Law contains no explicit mention of the Freemasons. Canon 1374 provids for indeterminate penalties for those who joined societies which “plotted against the Church”, but there is no consensus of what the canonical definition of plotting (machinationem) means, nor which societies, if any, might