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  • May 1, 1874
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The Masonic Magazine, May 1, 1874: Page 20

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    Article ROMAN CATHOLICISM AND FREEMASONRY.—THE CHATHAM OUTRAGE. ← Page 4 of 4
Page 20

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Roman Catholicism And Freemasonry.—The Chatham Outrage.

sonic body , iu a speech in the House of Lords , on the 7 th of June , I 860 , are worthy of being quoted in this connection . "I am not a member of the body , but I believe a more loyal , peaceable , charitable , and benevolent body

does not exist . " And such being the verdict in favour of Freemasonry of the Parliament of Great Britain , pronounced after long and full experience of the manner in which it has been carried onwhich nothing during the

, greater part of a century now elapsed lias led the parliament even to think of changing , and which has recently been confirmed by the voice of one of the most distinguished and most respected of British Statesmenis it to be

toler-, ated that the liberty of Britons is to be abridged at the mere pleasure of a foreign priest ? And are we to stand calmly by and see this clone to any portion of our countrymen , and actually

to give salaries to men who are engaged in enforcing the papal prohibition of Freemasonry , by means which are inconsistent with the veiy semblance ol christian charity , and repugnant to the common feelings of humanity ? The

case is made all the worse by " the fact that Romanism , although boasting so much of its unchangeableiiess , has not been consistent with itself iu this respect , but whilst sometimes assuming an attitude of hostility to Frecmasomy

, lias at other times been perfectly tolerant of if , has opposed it in one country and bus refrained from all opposition in another . Most of the Freemasons of France are Roman Catholics , but the church does not refuse to

acknowledge them as its , members , nor to perform its ordinary services over their graves . In Ireland also , and even in England , many Roman Catholics are Freemasons , as well in America and elsewhere . Not , a lew Roman Catholic

priests are members of the Masonic bod . )' , and Pope Pius IX , himself , was in bis comparatively early life initiated into the order , taking the oaths usually taken by its members , however he may since—without publicly intimating the

fact—have granted to himself a dispensation from them . We trust the lodge of which the late Sergeant Johnstone was a member , the Buckley "Lodge , Chatham , will promptly take up the subject of Mr .

Cuffe ' s conduct , and bring it under the consideration of the Grand Lodge of England , that the influence of the Grand Lodge , and thus of the Freemasons of England generally , may be exerted for the vindication of the cause

of liberty and charity . What Mr . Cuffe has done may be regarded as a mere attempt to excite the alarm of Roman Catholics , but if his conduct receives no speedy and salutary check , his example may perhaps speedily be followed by some of his brethren . The Prince of

Wales is Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England , and various members of the Royal Family have been in former days . Is he to be told that the order to which lie belongs is proscribed to any portion of his Royal Mother ' s

subjects ? Other members of the Royal Family have , at various times during the last hundred years , been Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of England . Is every Roman Catholic priest to be allowed to step forward and say to

the members of his flock , this which the law of the country fully allows and stamps with its approbation , " I forbid to you under the authority of the Pope ? " AVhat law , then , is to be supreme in Britain , —that of Britain , or that of Koine ? But if Koman Catholic

priests arc to assert such power , and so to take away the liberty of the members of their church , are they to be paid for doing so by the British nation ? The subject is well worthy of the attention of the government and the

parliament , nor do we suppose that , except on the part of the most extreme Ultrainontanes , a single voice will be lifted up in justification of the conduct of the salaried priest at Chatham , or to save him from such penalty as may be deemed his due . His deprivation of office would have a most salutary effect on othersl ike-minded witli himself

“The Masonic Magazine: 1874-05-01, Page 20” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 23 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01051874/page/20/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
Monthly Masonic Summary. Article 1
THE INITIATION OF PRINCE ARTHUR INTO FREEMASONRY. Article 2
THE AREA ROUND ST. PAUL'S. Article 3
THE OLD MASONIC POEM. Article 3
BOOKSTORE PRIORY. Article 5
THE LIFE OF BRO. GEORGE OLIVER, D.D. Article 8
THE NEW MORALITY, 1874. Article 11
A COOL PROPOSAL. Article 12
ROYAL ARCH ADDRESS. Article 14
MODERN MEANINGS TO OLD WORDS. Article 17
ROMAN CATHOLICISM AND FREEMASONRY.—THE CHATHAM OUTRAGE. Article 17
THE MYSTIC TIE. Article 21
PUZZLES. Article 21
Reviews. Article 24
WEARING THE MASONIC EMBLEMS. Article 25
SYMBOL LANGUAGE. Article 26
FREEMASONRY AS A CONSERVATOR OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. Article 26
A SPEECH BY MARK TWAIN. Article 29
READING MASONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. Article 30
Our Archaeological Corner. Article 30
Questions and Answers. Article 31
Monthly Odds and Ends. Article 31
TOO GOOD TO BE LOST. Article 32
ADVICE . Article 32
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Roman Catholicism And Freemasonry.—The Chatham Outrage.

sonic body , iu a speech in the House of Lords , on the 7 th of June , I 860 , are worthy of being quoted in this connection . "I am not a member of the body , but I believe a more loyal , peaceable , charitable , and benevolent body

does not exist . " And such being the verdict in favour of Freemasonry of the Parliament of Great Britain , pronounced after long and full experience of the manner in which it has been carried onwhich nothing during the

, greater part of a century now elapsed lias led the parliament even to think of changing , and which has recently been confirmed by the voice of one of the most distinguished and most respected of British Statesmenis it to be

toler-, ated that the liberty of Britons is to be abridged at the mere pleasure of a foreign priest ? And are we to stand calmly by and see this clone to any portion of our countrymen , and actually

to give salaries to men who are engaged in enforcing the papal prohibition of Freemasonry , by means which are inconsistent with the veiy semblance ol christian charity , and repugnant to the common feelings of humanity ? The

case is made all the worse by " the fact that Romanism , although boasting so much of its unchangeableiiess , has not been consistent with itself iu this respect , but whilst sometimes assuming an attitude of hostility to Frecmasomy

, lias at other times been perfectly tolerant of if , has opposed it in one country and bus refrained from all opposition in another . Most of the Freemasons of France are Roman Catholics , but the church does not refuse to

acknowledge them as its , members , nor to perform its ordinary services over their graves . In Ireland also , and even in England , many Roman Catholics are Freemasons , as well in America and elsewhere . Not , a lew Roman Catholic

priests are members of the Masonic bod . )' , and Pope Pius IX , himself , was in bis comparatively early life initiated into the order , taking the oaths usually taken by its members , however he may since—without publicly intimating the

fact—have granted to himself a dispensation from them . We trust the lodge of which the late Sergeant Johnstone was a member , the Buckley "Lodge , Chatham , will promptly take up the subject of Mr .

Cuffe ' s conduct , and bring it under the consideration of the Grand Lodge of England , that the influence of the Grand Lodge , and thus of the Freemasons of England generally , may be exerted for the vindication of the cause

of liberty and charity . What Mr . Cuffe has done may be regarded as a mere attempt to excite the alarm of Roman Catholics , but if his conduct receives no speedy and salutary check , his example may perhaps speedily be followed by some of his brethren . The Prince of

Wales is Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England , and various members of the Royal Family have been in former days . Is he to be told that the order to which lie belongs is proscribed to any portion of his Royal Mother ' s

subjects ? Other members of the Royal Family have , at various times during the last hundred years , been Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of England . Is every Roman Catholic priest to be allowed to step forward and say to

the members of his flock , this which the law of the country fully allows and stamps with its approbation , " I forbid to you under the authority of the Pope ? " AVhat law , then , is to be supreme in Britain , —that of Britain , or that of Koine ? But if Koman Catholic

priests arc to assert such power , and so to take away the liberty of the members of their church , are they to be paid for doing so by the British nation ? The subject is well worthy of the attention of the government and the

parliament , nor do we suppose that , except on the part of the most extreme Ultrainontanes , a single voice will be lifted up in justification of the conduct of the salaried priest at Chatham , or to save him from such penalty as may be deemed his due . His deprivation of office would have a most salutary effect on othersl ike-minded witli himself

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