Freemasonry and famous freemasons, the letter from the Grand Master Stefano Bisi to the archbishop of Palermo
We publish the letter from the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy Stefano Bisi to Corrado Lorefice, metropolitan archbishop of Palermo.
To His Excellency Corrado Lorefice Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo
Dear Eminence,
We regret having to once again note that a bishop of Holy Roman Church unite by himself Freemasonry in the same way as mafia associations or convicted persons and that, with a specific decree, you deny honest people of good morals of being part of brotherhoods for the sole and exclusive reason of being free masons.
This his episcopal act, however legitimate it may appear in his eyes in legal form and substance, it embitters us and is very questionable from a moral point of view for the blatant discrimination that undeniably affects and strikes at the heart of many citizens and mirrored people who have also chosen to undertake a religious journey within the Brotherhoods.
Anyone who is a Freemason can therefore no longer be part of these associations and will have to self-report and give up being a good brother as he has always done., while those who are not yet registered will never be able to submit an entry application.
Does it not seem to you that such a measure is excessive as well as discriminatory and raises hateful walls rather than building fruitful bridges of dialogue as you have often declared Pope Bergoglio in numerous public circumstances? It doesn't seem like that to you Freemasons also have the sacrosanct right to profess their faith and their Christian values as they see fit?
In the 2016 also the cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in one of his writings published on Il Sole24 Ore he mentioned the document of the German bishops of 1983, arguing that the points of contact between Freemasonry and the Church which find common values in the community dimension cannot be ignored, in human dignity, in the fight against materialism, in charity. In this sense you can have a free discussion by reducing distances.
We are and will always be for the reconcilability of dialogue and Human Reason. I remind you that today, rather than restrictive measures, we need a profound and broad pastoral action aimed at uniting and not dividing personal religious sensitivities. I would then like to point out that Freemasonry is not a secret or occult organization and that its enlightening action is fully among those protected by the Constitution of the Italian Republic.
I would also like to point out that the Grand Orient of Italy has been subjecting those who request entry to very rigorous checks and has been requesting criminal certificates since time immemorial., something that the church of Palermo has just implemented through its bishop's decree.
Of course it stays at the question of excommunication is still pending That – although attenuated by the modification of the article 1374 of the Canon Code with the disappearance of the precise reference to Freemasonry and the transformation of "excommunication" into "just punishment" – still hangs over millions of free bricklayers. A His decision to exclude Freemasons from the Brotherhoods certainly appears to us as an “unjust punishment”..
Kind regards Stefano Bisi Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy
Dear Eminence,
We regret having to once again note that a bishop of Holy Roman Church unite by himself Freemasonry in the same way as mafia associations or convicted persons and that, with a specific decree, you deny honest people of good morals of being part of brotherhoods for the sole and exclusive reason of being free masons.
This his episcopal act, however legitimate it may appear in his eyes in legal form and substance, it embitters us and is very questionable from a moral point of view for the blatant discrimination that undeniably affects and strikes at the heart of many citizens and mirrored people who have also chosen to undertake a religious journey within the Brotherhoods.
Anyone who is a Freemason can therefore no longer be part of these associations and will have to self-report and give up being a good brother as he has always done., while those who are not yet registered will never be able to submit an entry application.
Does it not seem to you that such a measure is excessive as well as discriminatory and raises hateful walls rather than building fruitful bridges of dialogue as you have often declared Pope Bergoglio in numerous public circumstances? It doesn't seem like that to you Freemasons also have the sacrosanct right to profess their faith and their Christian values as they see fit?
In the 2016 also the cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in one of his writings published on Il Sole24 Ore he mentioned the document of the German bishops of 1983, arguing that the points of contact between Freemasonry and the Church which find common values in the community dimension cannot be ignored, in human dignity, in the fight against materialism, in charity. In this sense you can have a free discussion by reducing distances.
We are and will always be for the reconcilability of dialogue and Human Reason. I remind you that today, rather than restrictive measures, we need a profound and broad pastoral action aimed at uniting and not dividing personal religious sensitivities. I would then like to point out that Freemasonry is not a secret or occult organization and that its enlightening action is fully among those protected by the Constitution of the Italian Republic.
I would also like to point out that the Grand Orient of Italy has been subjecting those who request entry to very rigorous checks and has been requesting criminal certificates since time immemorial., something that the church of Palermo has just implemented through its bishop's decree.
Of course it stays at the question of excommunication is still pending That – although attenuated by the modification of the article 1374 of the Canon Code with the disappearance of the precise reference to Freemasonry and the transformation of "excommunication" into "just punishment" – still hangs over millions of free bricklayers. A His decision to exclude Freemasons from the Brotherhoods certainly appears to us as an “unjust punishment”..
Kind regards Stefano Bisi Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy
source – http://www.affaritaliani.it/cronache/massoni-ingiusto-escluderci-dalla-chiesa-il-gran-maestro-attacca-il-vescovo-589516.html
