Vatican looks at Masons Number 2367
PERTH, WA: DECEMBER 9 — 15, 1983 ADDRESS 26 John Street, Perth, WA, 6000 PO Box 50, Aberdeen Street, Perth, WA, 6000
VATICAN CITY — The status of Catholics who join Masonic lodges has come to the fore again with a Vatican declaration such people commit serious sin and may not receive the Eucharist. The announcement was made two weeks ago on the eve of the promulgation of the new code of canon law which does not include joining the Masons as grounds for automatic excommunication, as did the previous code. "The negative judgment of the Church remains unchanged in regard to Masonic a ssociations, because their principles h ave always been consideredrreconcilable with the doctrine o f the church and because membership inthemremainsprohibited," said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect for the Vatican Congregation for The Doctrine of The Faith, w hich issued the announcement. "Members of the faithful who belong to Masonic associations cannot receive Holy Communion." Cardinal Ratzinger also said the announcement on the Masons had been approved by Pope John Paul 11. Cardinal Ratzinger added local church authorities do not have the right to pronounce judgments on the Masons in any way which implies the easing of the Church restriction.
John PaulII The statement of Cardinal Ratzinger is likely to add confusion to the situation where some bishops in the United States, England and other countries have been permitting Catholics to join local lodges on the ground they are not actually antiCatholic.
some South American countries the Masonic lodges are deemed to be anti-Catholic if not anti-religious. One Rome source said the congregation had issued the statement to NC News "to alert Catholics worldwide to t he fact some Masonic groups include anti-Catholic activity and that if they joined the Masons the\ could get caught up in that activity." The source added, however, m any Masonic groups, especially in the United States, are not anti-Catholic and that Church law does not preclude attendance at Masonic social activities. The declaration would allow a local bishop to seek an exemption but would require him to apply to R ome to grant it, said officials of the doctrinal congregation and the (US) national conference of Catholic bishops.
Penalty Ten years ago the Vatican lifted the excommunication penalty and replies from R ome to different bishops suggested they were entitled to proceed along these lines. In continental Europe and
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Archbishop's installation
Before leaving to complete his engagements in Geraldton, Archbishop Foley met with ABC religious programmes director Mr Tony Howes and Monsignor P G J O'Reilly to discuss the televising of the installation ceremony.
Those people unableto be accommodated in St Mary's Cathedral for A rchbishop Foley's installation next week will have an equal if not better view of the ceremony on ABC TV — and twice at that. This was the comment of Monsignor Pat O'Reilly, Dean of St Mary's Cathedral, this week as he faced the impossible task of allocating the limited cathedral seating to invited guests and the general public. Channel Two will record the ceremony on Wednesday night and show the full ceremony at 11am on Sunday December 18. In the new year it is likely to be seen again in a one hour edited version to b e screened in all s tates as a regular r eligious television segment. Monsignor O'Reilly said the allocation of seating had been made as representative as pos-
Cathedral ceremony seat limit sible and every one of the 105 parishes of the archdiocese had been given some places. S pecial provision had been made for the places more closely associated with Archbishop Foley, such as the diocese of Geraldton, St Mary's Cathedral where he was a dministrator and the Lynwood parish where he was parish priest and which will send a big contingent.
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