Masonic Publishing Company

Reviews

• The Naked Truth of Masons and catholics

  This book is the result of what started off as a personal investigation caused by the unexpected revelation in a Philippine newspaper that by my being a member of the Freemasons, I was denied virtually all access to the rites given by my Roman Catholic Church. In other words, I was automatically excommunicated in all but words. Being an enthusiastic Mason, I had never witnessed anything in the rites and actions that in any way appeared to be anti-Christian, the opposite in fact. Thus, it wasn’t enough for me to discover that this ruling had been passed down through centuries – but I needed to understand the reason such a rift existed even to this day. The book follows my investigation. It involved reading many books and pamphlets by both Masons and non-Masons. Virtually all of these books involving Masonic history appeared to have one flaw. Masonry was examined as though it was inside its own box, and had nothing to do with the world around it. Once one starts to examine the events of each period outside of the box containing Masonry, one can see a deliberate effort by the various kings and parliaments of England and Scotland to exercise control of this national body. Masonry was one of the very few trades where the bulk of members were transients. With the absence of newspapers and other media, word-of-mouth could be a powerful weapon. Generally, effective control of a country could be achieved by isolating discontent, easy in such times, except stonecutters were by the very nature of the job, transients, who could easily spread anti-royal or government dissatisfaction. Thus, the Grand Masters of the Assembly of All England, based in York, were aristocrats or highly-placed clergy. The shift from the Catholic Church to Protestantism also played its part and is outlined. With the shift in political and ruling power-base from York to London, an unauthorized take-over occurred. This occurred shortly after the appearance of newspapers, and we can see by the status of elected Grand Masters in York, who in the main were Yorkshire based, the acceptance of this shift. The masons no longer were the sole bearer of news and so in the eyes of the crown and administration, their political importance was diminished. In London, the Masons had just become one more club for the enjoyment of aristocrats and wealthy merchants. The book then traces the breakdown between Masonry and the Catholic Church, commencing with John Theophilus Desguliers in 1717. His history and early childhood shows he clearly had very good reasons to be a rabid anti-Catholic. It shows the link between him and James Anderson, the self-proclaimed Reverend whose sermons were also anti-pope/Catholic and who was the reputed author of the new Masonic Constitution adopted in 1722-23. This Constitution was revised in 1738, and the expanded version re-wrote the history books. The new Constitution laid down by Anderson and scripted by Desagulier had eliminated acknowledgement of the Holy Trinity (the bases of the Catholic Church) written into the constitution in 926 by Prince Edwin and replaced it with a simple belief in a Supreme Being. Desagulier took steps further to remove masonry from the Catholic Church with the inventions of Hiram Abiff and the 3rd degree; this clearly shows how masonry was taken over by the reformist, the Presbyterian, Protestant and Huguenot faction of England. Upon being informed of events and the new constitution, Pope Clement XII stupidly took the proffered bait, played right into the hands of Desguliers and Anderson, and excommunicated all Catholic Masons. This effectively dealt a massive blow to Catholics in Britain. Stonecutters either had to resign from their lodge or their Church. It was a victory for the Reformists of the newly proclaimed lodge of London, a magnitude that no physical battles on the field of conflict could have achieved. When viewed alongside the events happening in the country at that time, it makes for interesting reading. The conspiracy and the high jacking of masonry from the Grand Lodge of all England at York was nearly complete, it only remained to implement acts of parliament to eventually outlaw the Grand Lodge of all England at York The book then follows the efforts to eliminate the Grand Lodge of All England at York in 1799 and center power in London. The book clearly shows how Freemasonry has been used by vested interests for hundreds of years. It shows how rabid religious reformists were able to not only control Freemasonry, but were aided and abetted by a knee-jerk action of one pope. In a religious administrative system, such as that of the Roman Catholic Church it does not allow future generations to say the popes actions were wrong. The book also deals with the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church in that the highest members of the Catholic Church i.e. Bishops, Popes and Cardinals were masons and today there are still members who administer the church. Why they were not excommunicated from the church? And the lay Catholic is persecuted and denied any rights within the Catholic Church especially here in the Philippines. There are a few chapters dealing with a pope who was a mason for 35 years before being expelled for un-Masonic conduct. The evidence regarding the behavior of this pope is overwhelming and there is no doubt re his actions. Catholics will find this part most interesting to say the least. This book is written in the hope that it will create sufficient debate that will admit that Freemasonry is predominately Christian-based and not a threat to the church. Now has come the time for and perhaps it is time for a new Constitution to be considered also for the Catholic Church to revise its condemnation of a beautiful society of good men. Brother Joe Riley PS Catholics, in between the years of 926 to 1717 were the only Freemasons certainly up to 1532 and the reformation. In fact, it was the only organization in England that afforded them equality within society since the day King James VII of the Scots (James II of England) had been deposed. (He had wanted everyone within the boundaries of his kingdoms to worship according to their own conscience.) With the Stewarts out of the political picture in Britain, "liberty of conscience" and the concept of equality were firmly ousted. This meant that politics reverted back to the status quo, and no one but Anglicans had any rights at all. In order to retain this status quo, all lodges in England, or as many as possible, were to be taken over, subverted, even eradicated if necessary. Although 1717 saw a new, London-based Masonic impetus, working to restore the Stewarts to their rightful inheritance, the plan was foiled after the failure of the Atterbury plot to overthrow George I in 1722. In 1723, at the end of the Duke of Wharton's grand mastership, the Grand Lodge of England was taken over by Hanoverian infiltrators. (...interesting to note, in passing, that the lodge's archival records, from its inception in 1717 to June 24, 1723, have totally vanished.)

  10

  Joe R.
  Review Date: 24/01/2009 Report review