The Declaration Concerning Status of Catholics Becoming Freemasons is a February 1981 declaration by the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...

under Cardinal

Franjo Šeper Franjo Šeper (2 October 1905 – 30 December 1981) was a Croatian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1968 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. B ...

which restated the Catholic Church's prohibition against

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

becoming

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. It contains three points of "confirmation and clarification" about "erroneous and tendentious interpretations" of a leaked 1974 private clarification, on interpretation of

1917 Code of Canon Law The 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1917 CIC, from its Latin title ), also referred to as the Pio-Benedictine Code,Dr. Edward Peters accessed June-9-2013 was the first official comprehensive codification of Latin canon law. Ordered ...

canon 2335, from the to

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

s: #"canonical discipline remains in full force and has not been modified in any way" #"neither the excommunication nor the other penalties envisaged have been abrogated" #the intention of the 1974 letter was to remind about "the general principles of interpretation of penal laws for the solution of the cases of individual persons which may be submitted to the judgment of ordinaries" and not "to permit Episcopal Conferences to issue public pronouncements by way of a judgment of a general character on the nature of Masonic associations, which would imply a derogation from the aforesaid norms" The confusion arose from a leaked 1974 private clarification written to some episcopal conferences, which was interpreted by some within the Church and within Freemasonry as permitting Catholics to join Masonic lodges so long as the lodge did not directly plot against the church. The letter had become public and had "given rise to erroneous and tendentious interpretations." The 1974 private clarification stated that: #"the Holy See has repeatedly sought information from the bishops about contemporary Masonic activities directed against the Church" #"there will be no new law on this matter," in the period before the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...

is promulgated #"all penal canons must be interpreted strictly" #to reiterate,

Catholic clergy The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sa ...

, and members of

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

s or

secular institute In the Catholic Church, a secular institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in which consecrated persons profess the Evangelical counsels of celibate-chastity, poverty and obedience while living in the world, unlike members of a relig ...

s are expressly prohibited from Masonic membership The 1981 declaration preceded the 1983 '' Declaration on Masonic Associations'' issued by the under

Joseph Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Joseph Ratzinger (1927–2022) was named by Pope John Paul II on 25 November 1981 as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office and, especially around the 16th century, as the Roman Inquisition. ...

Notes

References

* * * ** * Note that this English translation does not include which is included in the Latin typical edition: . * * * Anti-Masonry Catholicism and Freemasonry Documents of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Pope Benedict XVI 1981 documents 1981 in Christianity {{freemasonry-stub