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Article REJECTED LETTERS.* ← Page 5 of 8 →
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deprive religion itself of its efficacy , in fact , deprive man of the most valuable endowments from his Creator , will , memory , and understanding , the perversion of which causes all the sins of the world . Because the letters and pastorals of the English and Irish bishops , which incidentally only cited the authority of the papal edicts against " the sect , " ancl other unlawful secret societies , —those edicts not having been published in this country , ancl having become obsolete , it is
reasonable to presume that such letters ancl pastorals were directed against political Freemasonry in Canada , where , during the late insurrection , the secrecy of Freemasonry was saicl to have been abused and violated by the cowardly partizans of revolution , —against AVhite Boys , Ribbonmen , and the like political secret societies in Ireland , ancl against the trades' combinations ancl unions in England , ancl by no means intended to condemn Freemasonry as practised in these realms as unnecessary or immoral .
THIRD OBJECTION . SECRECY . That secrecy , being " a test of evil , " prohibited ancl condemned by the church , a secret society , secret sign , password , or watchword , ceremonies , and degrees , arid a secret oath , ( or affirmation , ' ) being rush and unlawfultending to evilare therefore immoral .
, , That the oath ( or affirmation ) to secrecy , attributed to Freemasons and the like , obliging them to keep secret whatever may occur within the Lodges , — \_ a most extraordinary objectionf \ being a usurpation of the power delivered by Christ to his apostles and their successors , ' ¦ what ye shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven , " St . Matt-, which imposes an inviolable secrecy upon all things revealed in the confessional , to be broken onlin heaven—is therefore impious and immoral .
y , That " secret societies" are antisocial , anti-Catholic , and anti-Christian , inasmuch as they are by " secrecy placed beyond the control of the lawful authority " of magistrates , and of the church ; therefore dangerous and immoral . That , under the secrecy of Freemasonry revolutions have been perpetuated , and states overthrown , therefore destructive and immoral .
NOT SO , — Because in no council of the church have secrecy , a secret society , a secret sign , or a secret oath , ( or affirmation , ) been " prohibited or condemned as being immoral , " otherwise if " secrecy were a test of evil " always , secrecy might be alleged against numberless societies , associations , commercial unions , and others ; even the annual meeting of the Catholic clergy in May , ivhere none but a priest of the mission , not even their
bishop is admitted . Freemasons , in fact , meet not more secretly at the Freemasons' Tavern , and other Lodges at other public places and taverns all over the world . Because a " secret sign " is no more than the password or watchword in the army and navy , by which brothers or friends may be knoivn from strangers or foes . Secret degrees and ceremonies are merely a test of merit and for the exclusion of bad characters . They are of the greatest antiquity , and sanctioned by custom everywhere . Because an oath ( or affirmation ) to keep secret a crime ivould be con-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Rejected Letters.*
deprive religion itself of its efficacy , in fact , deprive man of the most valuable endowments from his Creator , will , memory , and understanding , the perversion of which causes all the sins of the world . Because the letters and pastorals of the English and Irish bishops , which incidentally only cited the authority of the papal edicts against " the sect , " ancl other unlawful secret societies , —those edicts not having been published in this country , ancl having become obsolete , it is
reasonable to presume that such letters ancl pastorals were directed against political Freemasonry in Canada , where , during the late insurrection , the secrecy of Freemasonry was saicl to have been abused and violated by the cowardly partizans of revolution , —against AVhite Boys , Ribbonmen , and the like political secret societies in Ireland , ancl against the trades' combinations ancl unions in England , ancl by no means intended to condemn Freemasonry as practised in these realms as unnecessary or immoral .
THIRD OBJECTION . SECRECY . That secrecy , being " a test of evil , " prohibited ancl condemned by the church , a secret society , secret sign , password , or watchword , ceremonies , and degrees , arid a secret oath , ( or affirmation , ' ) being rush and unlawfultending to evilare therefore immoral .
, , That the oath ( or affirmation ) to secrecy , attributed to Freemasons and the like , obliging them to keep secret whatever may occur within the Lodges , — \_ a most extraordinary objectionf \ being a usurpation of the power delivered by Christ to his apostles and their successors , ' ¦ what ye shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven , " St . Matt-, which imposes an inviolable secrecy upon all things revealed in the confessional , to be broken onlin heaven—is therefore impious and immoral .
y , That " secret societies" are antisocial , anti-Catholic , and anti-Christian , inasmuch as they are by " secrecy placed beyond the control of the lawful authority " of magistrates , and of the church ; therefore dangerous and immoral . That , under the secrecy of Freemasonry revolutions have been perpetuated , and states overthrown , therefore destructive and immoral .
NOT SO , — Because in no council of the church have secrecy , a secret society , a secret sign , or a secret oath , ( or affirmation , ) been " prohibited or condemned as being immoral , " otherwise if " secrecy were a test of evil " always , secrecy might be alleged against numberless societies , associations , commercial unions , and others ; even the annual meeting of the Catholic clergy in May , ivhere none but a priest of the mission , not even their
bishop is admitted . Freemasons , in fact , meet not more secretly at the Freemasons' Tavern , and other Lodges at other public places and taverns all over the world . Because a " secret sign " is no more than the password or watchword in the army and navy , by which brothers or friends may be knoivn from strangers or foes . Secret degrees and ceremonies are merely a test of merit and for the exclusion of bad characters . They are of the greatest antiquity , and sanctioned by custom everywhere . Because an oath ( or affirmation ) to keep secret a crime ivould be con-