Freemasons And The Church Of Rome.

FREEMASONS AND THE CHURCH OF ROME .

LONDON , SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 25 , 1865 .

A Defence of the Order , in Answer to the late Allocution of Pope Pius the Ninth , directed against tha Freemasons and the Fenian ? . ,, The mock-heroic conspiracy of the Fenians in Ireland has given Pope Pius the Ninth an opportunity to bark at the heels of Freemasonry , in humble imitation of some of his predecessors . The usual mode of dealing- with such attacks is to

brin g into play indifferent contempt , but oui enemy of the Seven Hills has so managed to noose himself in a halter of lies , that we cannot refrain from shooting the bolt , and having a tug at his legs . Not that we imagine that our sli g ht

wei ght could ever choke orf the Hol y Father ; still , in defence we take up the pen , and tell him that he lies most villanously in his recent allocution

against our society . We here present our readers with a copy of it . It was delivered b y Pius iu a secret consistory , held at Eome on the 25 th September , which the CriornaJe di Roma " is authorised to declare that

the Pope , in his last allocution , spoke , as at all times , from the promptings of his own conscience , with full independence . " We mi ght cavil at the worth of this statement , when we remember that Pius is full of years and infirmities ; but of course ,

being infallible , his brain is not liable to be affected by such mundane troubles , and our sole wonder is that a Pope , with , his boasted powers , ever dies . "Venerable Brethren , —Among the numerous machinations and artifices by which the enemies of the Christian have

(?) name dared to attack the Church of God , and sought to shake and besiege it by efforts superfluous in truth , must undoubtedly be reckoned that perverse society of men vulgarly styled Masonic , which , at first confined to darkness and obscurity , now comes into light for the common ruin of religion and human society . Immediately that onr predecessors , tho Roman Pontiffs , faithful to thoir pastoral office , discovered its snares and

frauds , they considered there was not a moment to lose in holding in check by their authorit }' , and in striking and lacerating by a condemnatory sentence as with a sword , this sect , pursuing crime and attacking holy and public things . Our predecessor , Clement XII ., by his Apostolic letters , proscribed and rebuked this sect , and dissuaded all the faithful not only from joining it , but also from

promoting or encouraging it in any manner whatever , since such an act would entail the penalty of excommunication , which the Roman Pontiff can alone remove . Benedict XIV . confirmed , by his constitution , this just and legitimate sentence of condemnation , and did not fail to exhort the Catholic Sovereign Princes to devote all their efforts and all their solicitude to

repress this most immoral sect , and defend society against a common danger . Would to God these monarchs had listened to the words of our predecessor J Would to God that in so serious a matter they had acted less feebl y !

In truth , neither we nor onr fathers would then have had to deplore the many seditious movements , the many incendiary wars which have set the whole of Europe in flames , nor the many bitter misfortunes which have afflicted and still afflict the Church . But tho rage of the wicked being far from appeased , Pius VII ., our predecessor , struck with anathema a sect of recent origin ,

Carbonarism , which had propagated itself particularly in Italy , and , inflamed by the same zeal for souls , Leo XII . condemned , by his Apostolic letters , not only the secret societies we have just mentioned , but all others of whatever appellation , conspiring against tbe Church and the civil power , and warned all the faithful to avoid them under penalty of excommunication . Nevertheless these

efforts of the Apostolic See have not had tho success expected . The Masonic sect of which we speak has not been vanquished nor overthrown ; on the contrary , it has so developed itself that in these troublous days it exists everywhere with impunity , and carries an audacious front . Wo have , therefore , thought it our duty to return to this matter , since , perhaps from ignorance of the

guilty intrigues clandestinely carried en , an erroneous opinion may arise that the character of this society is inoffensive , that this institution has no other object than that of succouring men , and assisting them in adversity , and that in this society there is nothing to fear for the Church of God . But who does not comprehend how this sect departs from the truth ? What is the object of this

association of mon belonging to all religions and every belief ? To what end those clandestine meetings , and the rigorous oath exacted from the initiated , binding them never to reveal anything of what may be discussed ? Wherefore that unheard of atrocity of penalties and

chastisements which the initiated bind themselves to accept should they fail to keep their oath ? A society which thus avoids the light of day must surely be impious and criminal . 'He who does ill , ' says the Apostle , 'hates the light . ' How different from such an association arc the pious societies of the faithful which flourish in the Catholic Church ! With them there is no reticence , no

obscurity . The law which governs them is clear to all ; clear also are the works of charity practised according to the Gospel doctrine . (?) Thus it is not without grief that we have seen catholic societies of this nature , so salutary and so well calculated to excite piety and succour the poor , attacked , and even destroyed in some places , whileon the contraryencouragement is afforded to

, , secret Masonic societies , so inimical to the Church and to God , so dangerous even for the security of kingdoms . Venerable brethren , we feel pain and bitterness to seo that when it is requisite to rebuke this sect according to the constitutions of our predecessors , some persons show themselves indulgent , almost supine ; whereas , in so grave a matter , the exigences of their functions and their

charges demand that they should display the greatest activity . If these persons think that the Apostolic constitutions , fulminated under penalty of anathema against occult sects and their adepts and abettors , have no force in tho countries where the said sects are tolerated by the civil power , they are assuredly very greatly in error . As you arc aware , venerable brethren , wc have already

rebuked , and now anew rebuke and condemn , the falsity of this evil doctrine . In effect , can ib be that the supremo power of pasturing and guiding the universal dock which the Roman Pontiff ' s received from Christ in the person of tho blessed Peter , and the supreme power they must exorcise in the Church , should depend upon the civil power , or could thoy for any reason be

constrained and done violence to thereby ? Under tlieso circumstances , for fear lest j-outh and unthinking men should allow themselves to be led astray in principle , and for fear our silence should offer any opportunity of protecting error , we havo resolved , venerable brethren , to raise our Apostolic voice , and confirming here in your presence tho constitutions of our predecessors , on the part of our Apostolic authority we rebuke and condemn