Vatican Affirms Prohibition on Catholics Becoming Freemason Members, Here's the Reason

Basilica St. Peter, Vatican. (Wikimedia Commons/John Salatas)

JAKARTA - Vatican authorities confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secret society long seen as hostile to the Catholic Church, estimated to have a global membership of up to six million people.

"Active membership in Freemasonry by the faithful is prohibited, due to the irreconcilability of Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," said the Vatican doctrine office in a letter published by Vatican media Wednesday, reported by Reuters 16 November.

The department, known as the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued its opinion, dated November 13 and signed by Pope Francis, in response to a bishop from the Philippines who was concerned about the growing number of Freemasons in the country.

The letter on Freemasons cites a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict

It is known that the same office said last week that transgender people can be baptized, become godparents and be witnesses at Catholic weddings.

Masonic lodges are usually men-only societies, associated with mysterious symbols and rituals.

They are also sometimes associated with conspiracy theories that suggest undue influence over world affairs.

Meanwhile, according to the United Grand Lodge of England, modern Freemasonry "is one of the oldest social and charitable organizations in the world", with its roots in medieval stonemason traditions.

The group says it has 180,000 male members, and two women's groups in Britain have a further 5,000 members, with an estimated global Freemasonry membership of around six million.

The list lists Queen Elizabeth's late husband Prince Philip, former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, late actor Peter Sellers, former England football manager Alf Ramsey and writers Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle as famous Freemasons from the past.