Dear Parishioners,

Recently the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a document restating that Catholics cannot be Freemasons. This document was authorized due to the request of Bishops in the Philippines who were concerned about a number of Catholics becoming Freemasons there.

What is Freemasonry? It is a fraternal organization where the members are oathbound to keep the secrets of their society. Freemasonry promotes a deistic Great architect version of God and believes that we can equally please God no matter our religious beliefs. Since these beliefs are incompatible with being Catholic, Catholics cannot be Freemasons. This ban has existed since the 1738 through papal bull and has never been rescinded.

Why bring this up now? I know that many are confused about this subject and may harbor certain Freemasonic beliefs. So, this letter to the Bishops of the Philippines is a good occasion to address this issue. If anyone would like to repent from being a member of the Freemasons, feel free to reach out to me because there is a special prayer of release that goes along with that confession.

What is wrong with believing in deism? Deism is the belief that God created the world and then no longer intervened in the world. This belief comes from the Enlightenment which saw all miracles as being superstitious. Obviously, Catholics do believe that God does intervene not only in the case of miracles, but also in the sacraments and the Incarnation of Our Lord.

What’s wrong with believing that all religions are equal? We profess every Sunday that God founded one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We are saved by being members of that Church. We lift up all other people to the mercy of God and recognize non-Catholics as being imperfectly united to the Church in so far as they are. But to say there is any other way to be saved except by being a member of Christ’s body is to undermine the Church that Christ founded and died for.

So, does that mean only Catholics go to heaven? No, it is possible for someone who is not Catholic in this life to receive the mercy of God and enter into heaven. However, that would mean that they are Catholic in heaven since they would embrace the truths of the faith at that time. Also, all Catholics have a duty to share the faith with others and encourage them to become Catholic since it is better for people to know and embrace the truth before they die. Ultimately God is the judge of everyone, not us.

God bless!

Fr. Carter