An Interesting Surprise - Rowan Opposes Masonry!

by Christopher A. Ferrara

        In previous columns I discussed the pro-homosexual views of Dr. Rowan Williams, the newly designated "Archbishop" of Canterbury, who is also a Druid, and I noted that even some conservative Anglicans are up in arms about his appointment. The very appointment of Rowan demonstrates that "ecumenical dialogue" with the Anglicans is a complete waste of time.

        And yet Rowan has done something quite surprising: he has come out against Freemasonry, otherwise known as the Brotherhood or the Craft. According to a story by Jason Bennetto on the Independent.co.uk web site (November 15, 2002), Rowan believes "that Church of England ministers should not belong to the Brotherhood, an organisation he describes as incompatible with Christianity…"

        Rowan’s view is quite consistent with the constant teaching of the Catholic Church that Freemasonry is a secret society whose aims are utterly inimical to the one true Church. Freemasonry has been the subject of more papal condemnations than any other threat to the Church in Her entire history.

        Benetto’s article gives a good example of why the Church condemns Freemasonry:
"Some observers believe that at the heart of the Craft — and known only to those who reach the highest levels - there is a sinister quasi-religion based on a composite Masonic God, known as Jah-Bul-On. In his 1984 book The Brotherhood, Stephen Knight turned the spotlight on the inner workings of the Masons. ‘I have spoken to 57 long-standing Royal Arch Freemasons [one of the most senior groups], who have been happy to talk to me. All but four lost their composure when I said, 'What about Jah-Bul-On?’."

        Amazingly enough, "a spokesman for Dr. Williams said yesterday that many Christians believed that Jah-Bul-On was considered to refer to the ‘incarnation of Satan’. He added that the Masons promised in the 1980s to drop any reference to Jah-Bul-On because of the offence it was causing." Moreover, Benetto reports that "In a letter to Hugh Sinclair, a man who for years has been investigating the Brotherhood, Dr. Williams said: ‘I have real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession.’ He later said he questioned whether it was ‘appropriate for Christian ministers to belong to secret organisations’ and expressed ‘anxiety about the spiritual content of Masonry.’" And this from a man who favors the "ordination" of homosexuals and women as "priests." Go figure.

        The article, quoting Williams’s spokesman, notes the heavy infiltration of the Anglican clergy by Masons: "From the end of the 19th Century a lot of Anglican clergy got involved in Freemasonry. In the 20th Century a number of very senior clergymen were Masons. In the 1960s people started turning against the idea of secret societies and a number of Anglican ministers saw it as possibly Satanically inspired." Funny, but the Anglican Church’s abandonment of its teaching against contraception came at just about the same time - 1930 - that Anglican Masons had reached the ranks of senior clergy.

        The article concludes with an extremely telling observation about how English Catholics are no longer banned from being Masons, even though the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed the prohibition in 1983: "At one stage Catholics were banned from being Freemasons, but the two are no longer seen as incompatible providing Catholics belong to a British branch of the Masons." And why is that? "Critics believe this is partly due to the influence of members of the Brotherhood within the Catholic Church."

        Indeed, Masonic leaders of the 19^th Century openly boasted that in the 20^th Century they would succeed in their plan to infiltrate and revolutionize the Catholic Church - just as they did in the Anglican Church. In his book Athanasius and the Church of Our Time, Bishop Rudolf Graber quotes the prediction of Canon Roca, an apostate Catholic, who boasted of the "new Church" to come: "The new church, which might not be able to retain anything of the Scholastic doctrine in the original form of the former church, will nevertheless receive consecration and canonical jurisdiction from Rome…. [T]he divine cult, in the form directed by the liturgy, ceremonial, ritual and regulations of the Roman Church, will shortly undergo a transformation at an ecumenical council (!), which will restore it to the venerable simplicity of the golden age of the apostles in accordance with the dictates of conscience and modern civilization."

        Sound familiar? Rowan Williams has good reason to be leery of Freemasonry. The tragedy is that so many Catholic churchmen are less heedful of the danger than a pro-homosexual Anglican clergyman. And that, my friends, is scary.