Vatican to CBCP: Reiterate teaching that Catholics cannot be Freemasons

The Vatican reiterated the Catholic Church’s ban on its faithful joining Freemasonry, directing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to address the issue through “a coordinated strategy” across the country.

This development was contained in “note” issued by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) after its prefect, Victor Cardinal Fernandez, held an audience with Pope Francis on November 13 to discuss the letter sent by Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete, asking the DDF’s opinion on the best pastoral approach on dealing with Catholics who are members of Freemasonry.

In the note, the cardinal recalled how Cortes wrote to express his concern about the “continuous rise in the number of the faithful enrolled in Freemasonry” in his diocese. Cortes also asked the DDF for suggestions on how to respond to this situation both from a doctrinal and pastoral point of view.

Fernandez said that to “address this issue appropriately, it was decided that the Dicastery would respond by involving the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines itself, notifying the Conference that it would be necessary to put in place a coordinated strategy among the individual Bishops.”

In it, the cardinal suggested two approaches:

First, the Philippine bishops should reiterate, that on the doctrinal level, active membership in Freemasonry by a Catholic laity and even clerics is forbidden “because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry”. 

Under canon law, any Catholic who is publicly known to be a member of any Masonic Association and actively participates in its program and activities, or promotes its views, or holds any office therein, and refuses to renounce such membership despite at least one warning (Canon 1347) is to be punished with an interdict (Canon 1374), resulting in:

• Ineligibility to receive Holy Communion and other sacraments (Canon 1332)
• Inability to act as a sponsor in Baptism and Confirmation
• Exclusion from membership in parish or diocesan structures
• Denial of funeral rites, except in cases where signs of repentance are demonstrated before death (Canon 1184, §1, no. 3)
• Prohibition of Masonic services in the Church or cemetery surrounding Church rites, as directed by the bishop, to prevent public scandal (Canon 1184, §1, no. 3, and Canon 1374).

On a pastoral level, Fernandez said the Dicastery proposes that the CBCP “conduct catechesis accessible to the people and in all parishes regarding the reasons for the irreconcilability between the Catholic Faith and Freemasonry.”

He also suggested that the CBCP consider whether to make a public pronouncement on the matter.

The CBCP has in the past addressed the issue of Freemasonry among its adherents.

In February 2020, the CBCP issued a Pastoral guideline in dealing with individual Catholics who are members of Freemasonry.

In March 2023, the CBCP issued a clarification on the CBCP position on Freemasonry, expressing the CBCP’s “openness to the situation of individual Catholics (on a case-to-case basis) and not to the Masonic association as a whole, to determine if such Catholics deserve a less stringent approach (as otherwise required by Canon Law), particularly, if their joining the association is not necessarily [sic] tantamount to a formal renunciation of the Catholic faith.”

This is not the first time Cortes had his encounter with the Freemasons in his diocese.

In November 2020, Freemasons of Dumaguete broke ground for a Masonic obelisk dubbed “Dumaguete Tower” on a public park across the diocesan cathedral. The P50 million project was to be funded by a Freemason.

The Dumaguete Cathedral’s Parish Pastoral Council petitioned the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to disallow the construction of the 18-storey “tower”.

Msgr. Gamaliel Tulabing, Diocese of Dumaguete’s Judicial Vicar described the project as a membership campaign of a masonic lodge in the city.

“An obelisk is a pagan structure. Why build a 18-story masonic obelisk in front of the Cathedral,” he said.

The NHCP said the Board of Commissioners “are not in favor” of the project anywhere “within the public plaza of Dumaguete City”.

Dr. Rene Escalante, NHCP chairman, was quoted by CBCP News that the commission has already declared “all Spanish and American colonial period plazas and public squares in the country as national historical sites.”

Cortes welcomed the NHCP’s decision describing it as a “wonderful Christmas gift to all of us.”