Cautions in ecumenism

Title

Creator

Smith, Dwight L.

Language

English

Source

The Cabletow XLIV (9) September 1968

Year

1968

Subject

Ecumenical movement

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

A time to think . . . MW Dwight L. Smith. PGM Grand Lodge of Indiana It is too early to evaluate the Va tican announcements of March 11 and March 17, 1968—the first sta ting that members of the Roman Catholic Church are now free to pe tition lodges of Freemasons and re ceive the degrees without threat of excommunication, the second deny ing the first. The easy course for a Masonic edi tor to pursue at this time would be to say nothing at all, or to repeat sugar-coated platitudes which would be the equivalent of nothing. But the turn of events in ecumenical re lationships will pose some problems for Freemasons and Catholics alike. Those problems will not go away. A .Masonic editor is not worth his salt unless he faces those problems—not with idealism alone, but with ideal ism tempered with realism. While all Masons of goodwill are gratified at the new spirit of tolera tion, understanding and friendship, many have looked upon the rapproachement with misgivings. Here and there thoughtful Masonic leaders have issued words of caution. That is as it should be. For anyone fa miliar with history is aware of the dangers inherent in the American tendency to move from one extreme to another. Tt is equally important that both Masons and Catholics know — and renumber—that members of the Cath olic faith never have been debarred from petitioning for the degrees of Freemasonry. The ban has come from without, and not from within the Masonic Fraternity. Eventually, Roman Catholics will he petitioning lodges for the degrees. There will be misunderstanding and SEPTEMBER, 1968 CAUTIONS IN ECUMENISM • heartaches, perhaps divisions within lodges and controversies between members of the Craft. We may find that no old problems have been solved, but that many new ones have been created. It is a time to stand steady—a time for calmness and mature think ing. To make haste slowly, in this instance, is the part of wisdom. It also behooves every Mason to practice the virtues of silence and circumspection. Sacraments made by some of our Brethren without thinking, and quoted in the public press, have been shocking in their inaccuracy and irresponsibility. For the present, it would seem to me that our Masonic leadership on lodge level and Grand Lodge level alike, and every individual Free mason. should keep in mind cer tain fundamentals: *F.very petition for the degrees of Freemasonry must stand on its own merits. Every Master Mason has I he undisputed right to cast a vote for election or rejection as he, in his consc’ence. deems for the best inte rests of the Craft. Whether unwar ranted discrimination is reflected in the vote of a Master Mason is not for the rest of us to say. We have no right to sit in judgment on the decision of any Mason at the ballot box. I would hope that every peti tion from a Roman Catholic might he treated as all other petitions, with neither discrimination nor undue preference bv reason of religious be lief alone. That is the wav it should be, but many years may pass before the denunciations of more than two centuries are forgotten. Our Cath olic friends must keep these facts in mind. Tuiji to pkgo 16 CAUTIONS . . From page 5 * Harmony is the strength and sup port of all societies, more especially of ours. For this reason, and for other reasons equally sound, we must ever guard against the danger of driving the wedge of dissension into Freemasonry. Our Catholic friends must understand that also. * We must remember always—and our Catholic friends should be so ad vised—that Freemasonry does not become involved in politics, does not exert pressure on legislative bodies, public officials or the courts, docs not make official pronouncements on matters of public drives or campaigns. Policies unite men; programs divide them. * We must remember always—and our Catholic friends should be so ad vised—that there never has been any question as to the position of Amer ican Freemasonry on complete sep aration of church and state. From the day the Constitution of - 'the United States was ratified, the Fra ternity has been firm and unwaver ing on that point. American Masons must not be expected to abandon their position or do anything to weaken that basic constitutional guarantee. We must remember always—and our Catholic friends should be so advised—that American Freemason ry has a long and distinguished re cord of loyalty to the American pub lic school system. Support of the public school is entirely consistent with the basic purposes of Freema sonry, and the Craft must not be ex pected to abandon that position. * We must remember always— and our Catholic friends should be so advised—that there is one body and only one that can speak for Free masonry. That is the Grand Lodge of Masons in a given Jurisdiction. Any move to by-pass the sovereign Masonic authority, directly or indi rectly, does a disservice to all Free masonry. Our Catholic friends can not be blamed for their unfamiliarity with our official structure, but they should endeavor to become familiar with certain fundamentals as soon as possible. Our own obligation is to endeavor to make Masons familiar with the same fundamentals. In the meantime, as one who lias participated unofficially in many pleas ant and heart-warming conversations with our Catholic friends over the last two years, I express the sincere hope that an atmosphere of increas ing trust, respect and good will may be firmly established. Let us be forth right at the outset, and strive for a spirit of mutual understanding. Above all, let us do nothing in haste that could set back the gains of re cent years or shattet the dreams of such great souls as Pope John XXIII and our own Ambassador of Good Will. 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