Francis - Towards a Masonic Fraternal Future?

by Aldo Maria Valli

“All the Masons of the world unite themselves to the petition of the Pope for “fraternity between persons of diverse religions”

The message which Spanish Masons have sent to Francis is truly full of enthusiasm and gratitude: “All the Masons of the world unite themselves to the request of the pope for ‘fraternity between persons of diverse religions.’”

The text was re-sent in a tweet by the Grand Lodge of Spain, which emphasized its identification with the views expressed by Francis in his Christmas Message.

“In his Christmas message from the central loggia of the Vatican,” wrote the Masons of the Grand Orient Lodge of Spain, “Pope Francis asked for the triumph of universal brotherhood among all human beings:


In affirming with emphasis the importance of the concepts expressed by Francis, the Grand Lodge of Spain observes: “The words of the Pope show how far the Church has come from the content of Humanum Genus (1884), the last great Catholic condemnation of Masonry.”

In the encyclical Humanum Genus Pope Leo XIII condemned Masonry without half-measures, stigmatizing “the great modern error of religious indifferentism and of the equality of all religions,” an attitude which the pope of that time called “the most opportune way to annihilate all religions, and especially Catholicism, which, because it is the one true religion, cannot be placed in a bundle with all the others without enormous injustice.”

According to the Spanish Masons, the way in which the present pope condemns religious fundamentalism and asks for fraternity and tolerance brings the Church alongside Masonry, uniting them in their commitment to universal fraternity, apart from their differences in the political, cultural, natural and religious fields.

The expression of esteem for the Pope by Masonry is noteworthy, but not surprising. After Paul VI, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (who has been an honorary member of the Rotary Club since 1999) is decisively the Pope most appreciated by international Masonry.

While John Paul II and Benedict XVI were strongly opposed by Masons, the Argentine Pontiff has received repeated praise from Masonry, both in Europe and in America. And certainly new praises are going to be coming in, since the Pope is now preparing to go to Abu Dhabi at the beginning of February, at the invitation of the Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for the Inter-Religious Meeting on Human Brotherhood, a theme which has always been dear to the heart of Masonry.

Over the course of time, even Italian Masons have made expressions of esteem and sympathy for Francis. Years ago, for example, Gustavo Raffi, who at the time was Grand Master of the Grand Orient Lodge of Italy, said to thousands of his fellow Masons gathered at a conference:
For those who would like to read the April 20, 1884 encyclical Humanum Genus of Leo XIII on the “condemnation of philosophical and moral relativism of Masonry,” you may find the text here. Which concludes, it must be recalled, with a quadruple, intense invocation: to the Virgin Mary “that she may show her power over these evil sects,” to “Saint Joseph, spouse of the Most Holy Virgin and Heavenly patron of the Catholic Church,” and to the “great Apostles Peter and Paul, the fathers and victorious champions of the Christian faith.”