p. 218The Hierarchy of the United States

At the very first gathering of bishops in the United States, in the year 1810, they urged the faithful to keep aloof from all secret societies. On March 13, 1826, Leo XII. published his Encyclical “Quo Graviora” in which he says: “These sects must be repressed, for the cause of religion is, especially in these times, so bound up with the stability of society, that in no way can the one be sundered from the other. For all that belong to those secret societies, dearly beloved Catholic princes and sons in Jesus Christ, are the enemies, not less of your authority, than of religion also. They are making an attack upon both; they are plotting to overturn both from their foundation, and, if they prove able, they will, for a certainty, not permit either any religion or any royal power to exist. So great is the cunning and astuteness of these men, that, when they appear most bent on extending your power, then they are most busy in contriving its total overthrow. They give you very many reasons to persuade those who have in their hands the administration of affairs, that our power and that of the bishops, should be curtailed and weakened, and that many of the rights which belong to this See, and those which belong to the bishops who participate in our cares, should be transferred to the secular rulers. This they do not only from that most bitter hatred which they bear to all religions, but also from a cunning scheme, hoping that the people who are subject to your authority, when they see those restraints abolished, which were imposed by Christ and His Church, which He established, will be the more easily induced, with such an example before their eyes, to change, or even destroy the form of political government.”

“… Be assured that no one can join any of these societies, without becoming guilty of a most grievous crime. Therefore, all ye beloved children who profess the Catholic faith, shut your ears to the words of those, who, in order to persuade you to assent to join the lower grades of their society, affirm most emphatically, that in those grades nothing is permitted which is contrary to reason and religion; and further, that nothing is heard or seen which is not holy, and right, and pure. Yet that wicked oath which is taken in the lower grades is enough in itself to make you see that it is criminal to join even the lowest grades, or to remain after you have joined them. Moreover, although the weightier and more criminal matters are not usually committed to those who have not attained to higher grades, yet it is very plain that the power and audacity of these mischievous societies are increased in proportion to the numbers, and the unanimity of those who have inscribed their names. Therefore those who have passed the lower grades must be guilty of the crimes committed by those in the higher grades.”

When the Odd-Fellows and Good-Templars established lodges in the United States, the question was raised, whether these Orders were included in the above condemnation by Leo XII. To settle the controversy the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Most Rev. F. P. Kenrick, under date of Feb. 26, 1848, asked the Prefect of the Propaganda for a decision. After a lengthy correspondence from different sides, and the Roman authority having obtained all available information, Cardinal J. Ph. Fransoni, under date Sept. 7, 1850, replied that these societies were included in the letter of Leo XII, and consequently no Catholic could join them or remain a member.

In their Pastoral letter addressed to all the faithful in the United States, at the close of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, Dec. 7, 1884, the assembled bishops say: “… Our Holy Father Leo XIII., has lately shown that the Masonic and kindred societies … have … gone so far, in many countries, as to array themselves in avowed hostility against Christianity, and against the Catholic Church as its embodiment; that they virtually aim at substituting a world-wide fraternity of their own, for the universal brotherhood of Jesus Christ, and at disseminating mere naturalism for the supernatural revealed religion bestowed upon mankind by the Saviour of the world. He has shown too, that, even in countries where they are as yet far from acknowledging such purposes, they nevertheless have in them the germs, which, under favorable circumstances, would inevitably blossom forth in similar results. The Church, consequently, forbids her children to have any connection with such societies, because they are either an open evil to be shunned or a hidden danger to be avoided. She would fail in her duty if she did not speak the word of warning, and her children would equally fail in theirs, if they did not heed it.”

“Whenever, therefore, the Church has spoken authoritatively with regard to any society, her decision ought to be final for every Catholic. He ought to know that the Church has not acted hastily, nor unwisely, nor mistakenly: he should be convinced that any worldly advantages which he might derive from membership in such society, would be a poor substitute for the membership, the sacraments, and the blessings of the Church of Christ; he should have the courage of his religious convictions, and stand firm to faith and conscience. But if he be inclined or asked to join a society on which the Church has passed no sentence, then let him, as a reasonable and Christian man, examine into it carefully, and not join the society until he is satisfied as to its lawful character.”

“There is one characteristic which is always a strong presumption against a society, and that is secrecy. Our Divine Lord Himself has laid down the rule: ‘Every one that doeth evil, hateth the light and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved: but he that doth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God’ (John iii, 20, 21). When therefore associations veil themselves in secrecy and darkness, the presumption is against them, and it rests with them to prove that there is nothing evil in them.”

“But if any society’s obligation be such as to bind its members to secrecy, even when rightly questioned by competent authority, then such a society puts itself outside of the limits of approval, and no one can be a member of it, and at the same time be admitted to the sacraments of the Catholic Church. The same is true of any organization that binds its members to a promise of blind obedience to accept in advance and to obey whatsoever orders, lawful or unlawful, that may emanate from its chief authorities, because such a promise is contrary both to reason and to conscience. And if a society works or plots, either openly or in secret, against the Church, or against lawful authorities, then to be a member of it is to be excluded from the membership of the Catholic Church. These authoritative rules, therefore, ought to be the guide of all Catholics in their relation with societies. No Catholic can conscientiously join, or continue in, a body which he knows that any of these condemned features exist. If he has joined it in good faith and the objectionable features become known to him afterwards, or if any of these evil elements creep into a society which was originally good, it becomes his duty to leave it at once. And even if he were to suffer loss or run risk by leaving such a society or refusing to join it, he should do his duty and brave the consequences, regardless of human considerations.”

Of the decrees of the Council, twelve paragraphs of Caput III. are devoted to secret societies. The above words from the Pastoral are used and in paragraph 249 the decree reads: “If a society, besides being secret and oath-bound, has a chaplain of its own, and a ritual prescribing prayers and religious services, then such a society becomes also heretical and schismatical, and members incur the censures against heretics and schismatics, viz.: They cannot be counted any longer as Catholics.”

When in 1894 the Roman authorities pronounced sentence against the societies of the Odd-Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Good Templars and Sons of Temperance, and all similar societies, most strenuous efforts were made to have the decree changed, but of no avail. In one of the many responses given by Rome, the Sacred Congregation observes: “This is not a question of mere ecclesiastical law, which does not bind under serious loss, but it is one of the natural and divine laws, and of not giving scandal under that law.”

No Catholic can belong to any of these societies and at the same time receive the sacraments of the Church. The final decision of Rome has never been changed, and these societies are absolutely condemned. The only cases in which relief is afforded is by an appeal to the Apostolic Delegate at Washington. There are a few cases where extreme hardship would be created through the loss of insurance, for which premiums had been paid regularly for a number of years. The adjustment will practically depend upon the circumstances of the appealing members.

For any appeal to the Apostolic Delegate to be considered worthy of consideration, the following four conditions must exist in the same case:

First. If the Catholic member in question entered the society before he was aware that it was forbidden by the Church.

Second. If there be no scandal, or if the same be removed by the timely declaration of the party in question that his sole motive in remaining is not to lose the financial benefits, and that he will abstain from all intercourse with the forbidden society.

Third. If the member in question cannot leave the society except with grave damage to himself or his family.

Fourth. There must not be the least danger to himself or to his family of being perverted by the sectaries, especially is the case of sickness or death to be considered, so that the danger of an un-Catholic funeral be entirely absent.

No priest or bishop can absolve a member of any of these societies, but recourse must be had in the individual case to the Apostolic Delegate. It is needless to remark that the four conditions above enumerated will hardly ever concur in any single practical case. This ought to settle the question concerning Catholics and secret societies, but it seems that it is necessary for Rome to condemn one after the other by designating each one by name.