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Article ATTACK ON FREEMASONRY IN MALTA. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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Attack On Freemasonry In Malta.
I am not a Mason myself , but I have reason to believe that it is attended by a very quiet and orderl y class of persons , chiefly English artizans employed in the dockyard . No act can have been committed that in any way deserves the slanders contained in the intemperate letter of this ill-advised old man . It is merely conjectured , that the Bishop has published this letter to show at home how zealous a servant of the Pope he is , and how watchful he is over the interests of the church . It is a
bugbear , which he has raised for the sole purpose of exciting alarm , and of showing his power as an exorcist . As the chief of that power which protects us against all that would enslave the human mind , I feel it my duty to put you in possession of the above circumstances . I enclose a pamphlet which I have published . It may give you some idea of our climate , population , and resources . I have the honour to be , Sir , your humble servant , Malta , Oct . 28 . S .
" Nos Don Franciscus Xaverius Carnana , Venerabilibus Fratribus et Dilectis Filiis , Capitulo , Clero , Populoque Diocesis Melitensis , salutem in Domino Sempiternam . " We feel it to be the duty of our pastoral ministry to conceal as much as possible such sins as may be committed by a few persons in secret , so that the bad example of these may not be made known to or followed by othersto the scandal of the church and corruption of good manners .
, Up to this period this policy has been followed by us , for our ecclesiastical doctrine teaches us , through the holy spirit , to listen for a time silently , and meanwhile search diligently;—' audi tacens simul et qucerens . ' We now draw your attention to that iniquitous congregation that detestable lodge ; for we are at a loss by what epithet to denounce a meeting held in a building in an obscure corner of the city of Senglea . After long suffering , we are still grieved to see that the several
means which , with evangelical prudence , we have hitherto adopted to overturn and eradicate this pernicious society have proved futile ; so that at length we feel ourselves under the necessity of publicly , loudly , and energetically raising our voice to exhort , in the name of our Lord , all our beloved diocesans to keep faraway from this infernal meeting , whose
object is nothing less tnan to loosen every divine and human tie , and to destroy , if possible , the very foundation of the Catholic church . We also threaten with the thunders of that church any persons who , unhappily for them , may belong to any secret society , whether as a member or in any way connected with , helping or favouring , directly or indirectly , such society or any of its acts . " We , with anguish at heart , heard long ago , almost immediately on its first assemblage , of the creation of this diabolical lodge , and being
very desirous that the land under our spiritual domination ( these islands of Malta and Gozo ) should continue in ignorance of what was doing , under the veil of darkness , in an obscure part of the city of Senglea , by a few ill-advised individuals , and that none of our flock should by chance , or from motives of interest , be tempted to join this pestilential pulpit of iniquity and error , —we have as yet only adopted the evangelical advice of secretly warning and admonishing , hoping always that the attacks made on the human and divine laws established among us might be foiled , ancl become harmless ; but seeing now , that in spite of all our silent workings , thc meetings of this lodge still continue , we
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Attack On Freemasonry In Malta.
I am not a Mason myself , but I have reason to believe that it is attended by a very quiet and orderl y class of persons , chiefly English artizans employed in the dockyard . No act can have been committed that in any way deserves the slanders contained in the intemperate letter of this ill-advised old man . It is merely conjectured , that the Bishop has published this letter to show at home how zealous a servant of the Pope he is , and how watchful he is over the interests of the church . It is a
bugbear , which he has raised for the sole purpose of exciting alarm , and of showing his power as an exorcist . As the chief of that power which protects us against all that would enslave the human mind , I feel it my duty to put you in possession of the above circumstances . I enclose a pamphlet which I have published . It may give you some idea of our climate , population , and resources . I have the honour to be , Sir , your humble servant , Malta , Oct . 28 . S .
" Nos Don Franciscus Xaverius Carnana , Venerabilibus Fratribus et Dilectis Filiis , Capitulo , Clero , Populoque Diocesis Melitensis , salutem in Domino Sempiternam . " We feel it to be the duty of our pastoral ministry to conceal as much as possible such sins as may be committed by a few persons in secret , so that the bad example of these may not be made known to or followed by othersto the scandal of the church and corruption of good manners .
, Up to this period this policy has been followed by us , for our ecclesiastical doctrine teaches us , through the holy spirit , to listen for a time silently , and meanwhile search diligently;—' audi tacens simul et qucerens . ' We now draw your attention to that iniquitous congregation that detestable lodge ; for we are at a loss by what epithet to denounce a meeting held in a building in an obscure corner of the city of Senglea . After long suffering , we are still grieved to see that the several
means which , with evangelical prudence , we have hitherto adopted to overturn and eradicate this pernicious society have proved futile ; so that at length we feel ourselves under the necessity of publicly , loudly , and energetically raising our voice to exhort , in the name of our Lord , all our beloved diocesans to keep faraway from this infernal meeting , whose
object is nothing less tnan to loosen every divine and human tie , and to destroy , if possible , the very foundation of the Catholic church . We also threaten with the thunders of that church any persons who , unhappily for them , may belong to any secret society , whether as a member or in any way connected with , helping or favouring , directly or indirectly , such society or any of its acts . " We , with anguish at heart , heard long ago , almost immediately on its first assemblage , of the creation of this diabolical lodge , and being
very desirous that the land under our spiritual domination ( these islands of Malta and Gozo ) should continue in ignorance of what was doing , under the veil of darkness , in an obscure part of the city of Senglea , by a few ill-advised individuals , and that none of our flock should by chance , or from motives of interest , be tempted to join this pestilential pulpit of iniquity and error , —we have as yet only adopted the evangelical advice of secretly warning and admonishing , hoping always that the attacks made on the human and divine laws established among us might be foiled , ancl become harmless ; but seeing now , that in spite of all our silent workings , thc meetings of this lodge still continue , we