"FREEMASONRY."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9115, 25 July 1888, Page 6

"FREEMASONRY."

SERMON BY THE REV. FATHER HACKETT.

At St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday evenin"- the Very Rev. Father Hackett preached on°the subject of "Freemasonry." Father Hackett, in introducing the subject, said he would rather have left it untouched, but the duties of his ministry as a Catholic priest compelled him to speak openly and fearlessly. Attempts had recently been made in certain quarters in this City to induce Some Catholic young men to join the Masonic brotherhood— a society which was opposed in all parte of the Christian world by the Catholic Church. How far these attempts had been successful had not up to the present time been ascertained. This, however, was known—that Masonry had found a zealous and not very truthful exponent of its principles and practices among us— man who was once, to their sham« be it said, a Catholic, and who having lost his faith, was now in the camp of the enemy, endeavouring to induce others to follow in his footsteps. This was the sole reason why he (Father Hackett) came before them that evening to speak on "Freemasonry." Some Catholics would judge of Freemasonry from what they read in the newspapers friendly to the society, or from the characters of individual Masons of their acquaintance they were reluctant to believe what the Pope, bishops, and priests of the Catholic Church said against the society. In the eyes of many, Masonry was but a benevolent society, whose sole aim and object was charity—a society with no thought of conspiracy save that of uniting in one common fraternity all classes of society in the world. To such as those he addressed himself that evening, as well as to those who were not Catholics, and who considered that the Catholic view of Masonry was prejudiced, unfounded, and unreasonable. On the origin of Masonry there rested a dark cloud, which Masons themselves were not fully able to lift. It claimed, however, to be of very remote origin, for they had it on the authority of a distinguished Mason himself—M. de Branville, ex-officer of the Grand Orient of Paris — that the religious doctrines of Masonry were the continuation of the Egyptian mysteries preserved in the Temple oflsis and transmitted by the Templars, who, in order to escape persecution, founded the Masonic Association. In the constitution drawn up by the Masonic Order in Italy, the following articles of religious belief were found :—" Article No. 4 : Masonry recognises its God in the principle of the natural and moral order under the symbol of the Great Architect of the Universe." " Article No. 8: Masonry proposes to itself as its final object to unite all men in one vast family, which may and ought to take the place of all Churches founded on blind faith and theocratic authority, and of all kinds of religious worship, thereby to constitute the true and only Church of Humanity." The doctrine contained in these articles was anti-Chris-tian, for two reasons—first, by reason of what it excluded, and secondly by reason of what it asserted. Father Hackett referred to the meaning of the phrase " Great Architect of the Universe," and pointed out that a learned Freemason named Juje, who amongst other offices held that of Grand InspectorGeneral of the 33rd degree, Grand Orient of Paris, in his writings states that the phrase "Great Architect of the Universe" means that "Masonry recognises but one God coeternal with being itself, not divisible into persons, not subject to human misery, and who consequently never died nor can die." According to this testimony, the religious belief of Masonry did away completely with the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, the Blessed Trinity, and altogether ignored the Three Divine Persons. Christian belief was a belief in the- Blessed Trinity, but here there was but one God, "the Great Architect of the Universe." It was also asserted that God could not die: therefore, Masons ignored the great work of the Redemption of man. In all their articles the name of Jesus Christ never once occurred. M. Hayman, another learned Mason, said that the phrase, "Great Architect of the Universe, was a generic denomination of God. which every Mason might accept for the God he adored, even those who did not believe in God: and in a speech delivered in 1863, in which he referred to the spread of Masonry in England, Mr. Hayman said, "Those whose reason and good sense do not find satisfaction in the ancient dogmas of Christianity flock in crowds to the English Masonic temples, where reason, good sense; and philosophy are represented under a. touching symbolism." From this it would appear that Freemasonry was in England a substitute for Christianity.FatherHackett quoted the writings of Goffin, who, in 1863, founded the Lodge Venders, which lodge received letters of authorisation from the Grand Lodge of Memphis, of Lout** don. Goffin, in his "Popular History of Freemasonry," held that no person should be admitted into his lodge, the Lodge of Verviers, " who will not make a formal engagement in writing never to have recourse to the ministry of the Church in case of having to contract marriage, and who will not oblige himself never to consent to receive religious burial after death, to that effect signing a Masonic will by which fulfilment of the obligation may be secured." How far this represented the feelings of the English Lodge which granted the letters of institution to the Verviers Masons, they had no means of ascertaining, but there existed between the English and Verviers lodges the same relationship that exists between ,-a mother and her daughter. The preacher read the Louvain Declaration, which is to the effect that Freemason meant Freethinker, and that all philosophical doctrines had liberty in the order; this was, too, the opinion of the Philadelphi of London, which, in a manifesto issued by them, statedthat "in order to labour for the general welfare there is no need to bear the stamp of any church, of V any secijt,. of any philosophical system, or the beilJN band of any Government whatsoever." Up to the year 1865 the documents and articles of' the Sooietyof the Philadelphi Masons contained the following inscription : — To the glory of the Great Architect of the Universe," but in the year 1866 that motto was erased, and the following substituted in its stead :— "In the name of reason and of ' universal • fraternity." It might .'be said that the passages he had" quoted were merely the views of individual Masons ; but !if they were; why not repudiate them?. Why did' Freemasons continue to remain in close relationship with those who held these opinions? The secrecy which shadowed the meetings and the workings of the- Society at once stamped it as objectionable. Secrecy was the hiding-place of moral evil. If the aims and the ends of Masonry were good, why not reveal them to the world ? Freemasons said that the Catholic Church condemned their order unjustly; but why did they not lay bare their organisation, and prove that the Catholic Church was a false accuser ? It was said that Masonry was a benevolent society; so were the societies of St. Vincent de Paul and the Hibernian Society: why not imitate these bodies in their openness ? Again, it was immoral and dishonourable in a man to bind himself down by a solemn oath to obey the commands of irresponsible leaders. One could hardly imagine that human liberty would descend so low as to assent to an oath such as the following—" If I violate my obligation. ... I allow my tongue to be torn away, my heart to be dragged out, my body to be burned, reduced to ashes, and flung to the winds, so that no memory of me remain among men." This was admitted to be the oath of Freemasonry by M. de Branville, of the Grand Orient of Paris. If Masonry was a benevolent society, why seal the lips of its members by such an oath as this? Who gave any Mason the right over his own body—the right to give up his body to be burned ? God alone was the owner of man's body. Supposing a Catholic entered the Masonic Order for the purpose of gaining some temporal advantage, and at the hour of death would send for the priest, that man was acting dishonourably to the Masons, and was a deceiver and a cheat. Men who had left the Masonic Order and had joined the Catholic Church were marked men; they were followed everywhere—not certainly to be murdered, but to be kept out of any position under Masonic control. He knew Masons who had entered the Church, and who were hunted men. Father Hackett concluded by appealing to the Catholic men who were amongst his hearers to keep their faith. There was a crowded congregation present, including many persons of other denominations.

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