The response of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by the Pope, responds to the request of a Philippine Bishop: it reiterates that membership of lodges and the Catholic faith are irreconcilable.
Catholics are still forbidden to join Freemasonry. This is reiterated in the response of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of 13 November 2023, signed by Prefect Victor Fernandez and with the approval of Pope Francis. The Dicastery responded to the request of Monsignor Julito Cortés, Bishop of Dumanguete in the Philippines. Cortes, “after having illustrated with concern the situation of his diocese, due to the continuous increase of the faithful of Freemasonry, asked for suggestions to adequately face this reality from the pastoral point of view, taking into account also the doctrinal implications”.
To answer the question, the Dicastery decided to respond by involving also the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, “notifying that it would be necessary to implement a coordinated strategy among each Bishop that includes two approaches”.
The first concerns the doctrinal level: the Dicastery reiterates that “active membership of the faithful in Freemasonry is forbidden, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry (cf. the Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of 1983, and the same Guidelines published by the Bishops’ Conference in 2003)”.
Therefore, the note clarifies, “those who are formally and consciously members of Masonic lodges and who have embraced Masonic principles are covered by the provisions of the aforementioned Declaration. These measures also apply to any ecclesiastic registered in Freemasonry”.
The second approach concerns the pastoral level: the Dicastery proposes to the Philippine Bishops “to carry out a popular catechesis in all parishes on the reasons for the incompatibility between the Catholic faith and Freemasonry”. Finally, the Bishops of the Philippines are invited to evaluate the opportunity to make a public pronouncement on this subject.
The November 1983 Declaration was issued on the eve of the coming into force of the new Code of Canon Law. The Code replaced that of 1917 and among the new features noted – some with satisfaction, others with concern – was the absence of the explicit condemnation of Freemasonry and the excommunication of its affiliates, which was present in the old text. The Declaration, signed by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and the Secretary of the Congregation, Jérôme Hamer, and approved by John Paul II, reiterates that Catholics enrolled in Masonic lodges are “in a state of grave sin”.
