The Irish standard., 1919-05-10
An American Mason
Attacks French Masonry

Attacks French Masonry
The subject, "Why American SOL
.diers who are Masons are not permit
ted to visit or join French lodges?" is
discussed in an address by Past Mas
ter Aldro jerks, in an address before
the Wisconsin Consistory. which is
published in full in The Masonic It'd
ings for April.
Mr.. jerks says: There are but
three sources to which all legitimate
Freemasons in the world trace their
origin, either mediately or Immediate
ly, namely: The Grand Lodge of Eng
land, the Grand Lodge of Scotland
and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, for
it was in the British Isles that Free
masonry as Grand Lodge institution
found its origin.
"The parentage of the Grand Lodge
of France is faulty in this particular.
Notwithstanding its title, the An.
cient and Accepted Scottish Rite is
neither ancient nor Scottish. The
nucleus from which it was developed
originated in the College of Jesuits at
Clermont, France, in 1854, and was
called the Rite of Perfection. It en-
braced twenty-five alleged Masonic de.
grees, icluding therein the degrees
of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft
and Master Mason. 1t would lead me
too far afield to recount the causes
which lead up to it's formation or why
they should have attributed many of
the degrees practiced by them to Scot.
land, but any of you who are fearful
about accepting a Catholic as a men,
ber of the Masonic Fraternity for fear
that through the confessional the se-
crets of Freemasonry may be dis.
closed to the priesthood should re-
member that the Scottish Rite in its
infancy was under the especial pa
tronage of the College of Jesuits at
Clermont."
1nasmuch as Freemasonry was con-
demned by Pope Clement XII in 1898,
we may at once dismiss the impress
sion that the Jesuits had anything to
do with the craft, especially after that
date. 1t Is not impossible that laymen
connected with a Catholic college may
have tri1ed with the matte (e. g.
Weishaupt, founder of "The 1llumi-
natiD. We find no Catholic authori-
ties which bear out the tenor Of Mr..
jerks statement herein.
Continuing, Mr.. jerks comes to con-
slider "the third Masonic power in
France which in point of age and in
numbers is by far the most important;
that is the Grand Orient of France.
That Grand Lodge consists of AL
subordinate lodges having member
ship of $4,000"
He recurs to previous judgments of
American Masonry on French Mason
ry and particularly the action of the
Wisconsin Masons in 1873, when q
committee, with Brother Henry l.. Pal
mer as chairman, recommended the
adoption Of the following resolution:
Resolved, that in view of the fact
that the Grand Orient of France has
eliminated from it's constitution as
Masonic principles, belief in God and
the immortality of the soul, and has
substituted therefor simply the loose,
vague and indefinite phrase, Freedom
of Conscience That all Masonic rec
ognition of said Grand Orient and Of
any lodge or person claiming to be a
Mason under it's jurisdiction or owing
fealty to said Grand Orient under it's
amended constitution be hereafter
withheld This resolution was unani.
mously adopted.
"The Grand Orient of France has
never receded from the position then
taken and the Grand Lodge of Wis
consin has never rescinded this resolu-
tion. That belief in God as the Gre.
ator and Ruler Of the Universe, and
the Book of the Law as the revealed
will of God are fundamental to Free
masonry, has been the accepted doc
trine of Grand Lodges throughout all
time. The other Grand Lodges of the
United States took action similar to
that adopted by the Grand Lodge Of
Wisconsin, and it was not until the
outbreak of the European War and
the advent Of our soldiers in France
that any serious attempt was made
looking to a resumption of relations
with the Grand Orient of France"