Vatican to CBCP: Reiterate teaching that Catholics cannot be Freemasons

The Vatican reiterated the Catholic Church’s ban on its faithful joining Freemasonry, directing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to address the issue through “a coordinated strategy” across the country.

This development was contained in “note” issued by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) after its prefect, Victor Cardinal Fernandez, held an audience with Pope Francis on November 13 to discuss the letter sent by Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete, asking the DDF’s opinion on the best pastoral approach on dealing with Catholics who are members of Freemasonry.

In the note, the cardinal recalled how Cortes wrote to express his concern about the “continuous rise in the number of the faithful enrolled in Freemasonry” in his diocese. Cortes also asked the DDF for suggestions on how to respond to this situation both from a doctrinal and pastoral point of view.

Fernandez said that to “address this issue appropriately, it was decided that the Dicastery would respond by involving the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines itself, notifying the Conference that it would be necessary to put in place a coordinated strategy among the individual Bishops.”

In it, the cardinal suggested two approaches:

First, the Philippine bishops should reiterate, that on the doctrinal level, active membership in Freemasonry by a Catholic laity and even clerics is forbidden “because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry”. 

Under canon law, any Catholic who is publicly known to be a member of any Masonic Association and actively participates in its program and activities, or promotes its views, or holds any office therein, and refuses to renounce such membership despite at least one warning (Canon 1347) is to be punished with an interdict (Canon 1374), resulting in:

On a pastoral level, Fernandez said the Dicastery proposes that the CBCP “conduct catechesis accessible to the people and in all parishes regarding the reasons for the irreconcilability between the Catholic Faith and Freemasonry.”

He also suggested that the CBCP consider whether to make a public pronouncement on the matter.

The CBCP has in the