Freemasonry And The Pope.

and all the other faithful must refuse them any countenance if they would avoid sharing their fate . They are to bo interdicted from all christian society , for the Pope assures us that thej r are the very persons with whom the Apostle forbids us to eat , or so much as to exchange salutation . Finally , the divine

aid , and that of the Virgin and the Apostles are solemnly invoked , and the Pope concludes by expressing his conviction that with such assistance he shall succeed iu extirpating this abominable association . We cannot but ask ourselves in simple

astonishment , —What does all this mean ? Is the Pope inspired or frenzied , or is he merely practising his Latin so as to keep his hand in . for the Emperor jSapoleon when he commences the withdrawal of his troops from Eome ? The Pope , we know , in Secret Consistory , talks neither English nor any

other modern language , and it may be that this astonishing fulmination is only his way of saying that he disapproves of Freemasonry . We are all more or less familiar with the Freemasons . Wc

know that the } 7 have an elaborate organisation , and call each other long names , that they wear upon occasions very strange aprons , that they preserve certain antiquated ceremonies , and , above all , thai they give very good balls and excellent dinners , and are generally a very hospitable and liberal set

of men . We know , again , that the Freemasons profess to take certain solemn oaths , and to be in possession of some secrets which explain the whole mystery of political society upon architectural principles , or something- equally magnificent . But as to assertions that they devote themselves to " an

unheard-of atrocity of penalties and chastisements in case they should break their oath , " we feel pretty sure that the Pope must be misinformed . We have never observed that they were oppressed by any such weight as would--necessarily hang ovet

their minds if they were at all times conscious that a single inadvertence would expose them to such tremendous danger . It would require , in fact , even in a Catholic , a very strong faith in the infallibility of the Pope to accept his descrip tion of this Society . Indeed , we sincerel y condole

with the Roman Catholics if they are to be absolutely debarred , for the future , from enjoying Masonic hospitality . Must the faithful , as a French journal inquires , immediately cut their Masonic friends and refuse them even a distant bow ? Freemasonsso far as we know anything about

, them , are neither revolutionists nor atheists . If we are not mistaken , Lord . Palmerston himself is one of their number , and the late Marshal Mag-nan , one of the pillars of the new French regime , was the head of tho Order in France . What can the

Pope be thinking of to select this innocent and convivial association for these tremendous denunciations ? If he had simply consigned all the Fenians , in so man ) ' words , to eternal perdition unless they immediately repented and revoked their wicked errors before the nearest priest

the Allocution might have appeared to possess some point , some justification . But wdiat have the Freemasons done to provoke such a demonstration ? It is said that the Archbishop of Paris lately gave great offence at Rome by attending the funeral of Marshal Maguan . The Archbishop

was probably profoundly ignorant of the wicked devices of the Marshal and his fellow Masons , and ordinary observers must avow themselves equally iu the dark . In truth , it reminds us of Jupiter thundering in a clear sky , to witness these rattling thunderbolts let loose upon so

unobtrusive a society as the Freemasons . Jupiter , like Homer , must , -we suppose , nod sometimes , and the Secret Consistory must , one would think , have gone to sleep , and this allocution must have been delivered and have been listened to in

a dream . We have , in short , often had occasion to remark , that the papacy is either greatly above or greatly below the level of common sense . In the present instance , we have not much hesitation in deciding in which category the papal allocution

is to be placed . We can only explain such an uncalled-for burst of pontifical wrath on the supposition that the Pope is profoundly ignorant of all the circumstances of modern life and society . In Italy , indeed , where the excessive jealousy of the Church tends to invest even the most innocent

combinations of men with a political meaning , it is possible that even Freemasonry may assume some distinct character of antagonism to the papal pretensions . But that the Pope can think it worth this violent allocution only proves how completely he is in the dark as to the real influences which

are actuating men's minds . It is not Ireemasonry , nor any other secret society , which has withdrawn from Catholicism so much of the intelligence of Italy and of Europe , and has robbed the papacy of its ancient possessions . Itis simply that general advance of free thought and of personal liberty

which has exposed at once the unfoundedcharacter of the papal claims and the injurious nature of their assumptions . Ridiculous , in some respects , as are such exhibitions , it is impossible not to feel a certain melancholy when we behold the pathus fihting in the air . In former days it

pacy g at least knew in what direction to strike , and its blows were as well aimed as they were vigorously delivered . At the present clay it appears to have lost at once its sagacity and its vigour . It is blind to its real danger , and its language is as impotent in its violence as its blows are feeble and misplaced .

It lives in a world of four centuries ago , and judges alike of men and of events hy a mediaeval standard . If the Pope could but leave the Vatican for awhile , avid p lace himself in one of the real centres of modern life , in London or Paris , or even in Florence , he would discover at once that

he had been living , writing , aud speaking entirely in the clouds . Such societies as the Freemasons may have been formidable a few centuries ago ,