Vatican Reiterates Ban on Catholics Joining Freemasonry
The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has called for a coordinated strategy among bishops in the Philippines to combat the growing membership and sympathy towards Freemasonry in the country. The note emphasized that Freemasonry is fundamentally irreconcilable with the Catholic faith and proposed a two-pronged approach: reiterating the Church's teaching against Freemasonry and implementing a nationwide program of catechesis to educate the people. The Vatican response offered no accommodation to Catholics who have joined Masonic lodges, reminding them that such membership is prohibited under canon law. Freemasonry has been continuously condemned by the Church for promoting religious indifferentism and secularism.