taken from “the jesuits” by malachi martin. something to remember: this is written from Fr Martin’s perspective, as he saw it in 1988. judging from his later books, it appears that he had a less-than-rosy appraisal of JPII’s effectiveness in geopolitical strategy.
” …. there were continual streams of complaints arriving at the papal office, all detailing the unorthodox opinions being taught by Jesuits in Europe and the United States. There were, in addition, revelations that certain circles of the international section of the Masonic Lodge in Europe and Latin America were actively organising opposition to the Pontiff in Poland, that Vatican prelates – some twenty in all – were formal members of the Italian lodge; and that once again Arrupe’s [Superior General of the Jesuits] Jesuits seemed involved with Lodge circles opposed to the Pontiff.
“Paul VI had already in 1965 warned Arrupe and the Delegates to the 31st Jesuit General Congregation of the dangers in belonging to the Compact; it began to appear to John Paul that the warning had not been too wide of the mark.” p 76
“And then, too, there was the strange case of Jesuit Father Caprile, who wrote in the official Jesuit magazine, Civilta Cattolica, published in Rome. At issue for Caprile was the Roman Catholic prohibition, under pain of excommunication, against Catholic membership in the lodge. Excommunication was a dead letter, Caprile wrote in his article, and lodge membership was open to any Catholic. That was a blatant undermining of the Pope’s own decisions about morality….The alliance between the Cardinal Secretary [Cardinal Agostino Casaroli] and Civilta Cattolica was a matter of record….”
In an old interview, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the SSPX, said he thought then-Archbishop (and later Cardinal), Achille Silvestrini was a Freemason. The 1986 article can be found in the archives of the Society’s United States website. The pertinent question and answer are given below – the entire interview is quite enlightening.
Q. I have read that many of the high-ranking members of the Roman hierarchy are secret Masons. Is that true? If so, how deeply have they penetrated the Church?
A. It’s very difficult to say, “This man is a Freemason,” “This man is a Freemason,” or “This man is a Freemason.” We don’t know. It’s very difficult. It is certain that there are some cardinals, some bishops, cardinals in the Curia, or monsignors or secretaries of congregations in Rome that are Freemasons. That is certain because the Freemasons themselves have said that. They have said that they have in their lodge some priests and bishops. It is certain that there are some cardinals and many monsignors in Rome who do the same work as the Freemasons; they have the same thinking, the same mind. Willebrandt is Prefect of the Secretariat for the Unity of Christians, and Archbishop Silvestrini is the first secretary of Cardinal Casaroli who is Secretary of State – and his right hand is Silvestrini. He is a great power in the Curia. He nominates all the nuncios in the world. He has a very great influence and he is probably a Freemason.
According to Malachi Martin in Windswept House, Silvestrini was present at the infamous “Enthronement of Satan” ceremony in the Vatican, which took place sometime during the 1950’s – ’60’s. In the book, Silvestrini was known by the pseudonym, Silvio Aureatini.
Silvestrini, who died in 2019, was also known to be a member of the St Gallen Mafia, the nefarious group which conspired to promote Jorge Bergoglio at both the 2005 and 2013 conclaves.
Bergoglio’s Vatican treated Sunday’s feast of Corpus Christi as if it were an ‘optional memorial’, by replacing that solemn occasion with the first “World Meeting on Human Fraternity”. Freemasonic “fraternity” was the order of the day – along with dreadfully tiresome entertainment including gay dance moves. The sodomite dancer pictured below apparently also performed for JPII back in the day. (You know, the day before we were all citizen journalists and trusted that everything our popes did was in the best interests of the Church. Image courtesy of Michael Haynes )
There was yet another official signing of yet another universalist document: this one promoted “environmental” and “spiritual fraternity” and as you may guess, omitted any reference to Catholicism. Bergoglio himself wasn’t able to make it due to his recent surgery, but good old Pietro Parolin (Secretary of State) and Mauro Gambetti (Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica) held the fort.
According to LifeSite News, this anti-Catholic event was planned months ago, pushing the feast of Corpus Christi out of mind and out of sight. By all accounts, it was not well-attended, by either regular punters or distinguished invitees. Even Andrea Boccelli on a sunny Roman afternoon wasn’t enough to draw people along.
Silere Non Possum gives us a few more details. His translated headlines reads “THE POPE IS HOSPITALIZED AND GAMBETTI TRANSFORMS THE BASILICA INTO A PUB”! From the article:
“If Bergoglio feeds on a liquid diet, Mauro Gambetti does not. Today in via della Conciliazione the main guest is Parmigiano Reggiano. For the Franciscan friar , who loves dining with the powerful and certainly not with the poor, this event of Human Fraternity is an opportunity to send clear messages to HE Mons. Salvatore Fisichella. Gambetti, in fact, is strongly opposed to the fact that the Pope has entrusted the archbishop with the management of the Jubilee 2025. After all, it could not have been otherwise, given the disastrous results of the management of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“While the Pope, also to the bishops of the CEI, has once again addressed the invitation to poverty, Mauro Gambetti does not abandon the path traced since his arrival in the Vatican. Nobel prizes, celebrities and thousands of money spent on advertising and organization of an event that has no reason to exist. The Vatican Basilica has become a content to be filled as it has been emptied of its essence: prayer. The falling plaster, the dust, the naked men on the altar weren’t enough. Today, a real banquet has been set up in the atrium of the Basilica which probably reminds Gambetti of the fields of Romagna where you can have an aperitif with hay and crates.
“From the Vatican to Camporella is a moment”, reports a cardinal . No Masses, no prayer. In the first vespers of the solemnity of Corpus Domini, the square of Christianity is transformed into a real circus.…..In the meantime, however, numerous law enforcement officers have been employed, the basilica is not accessible and the amount of money lost is staggering.“
Evil. That is the only way to describe it. The folks at Vatican News apparently think it appropriate to continue using the art of disgraced sex-abuser-priest, Marko Rupnik, to promote some of the liturgical year’s most sacred days. Is this a not-so-subtle message of business as usual at the Vatican?
That the Age of Aquarius is steaming ahead in Francis’ Rome? How dare they? How DARE THEY?
This artwork is so disorienting, some would say, demonic.
And if you have the stomach for something even more bizarre – here is Rupnik explaining his mosaic about St Pio – only he spends the bulk of the time spouting nonsense about Pope Francis and his similarities with our dear Padre.
Perhaps that is the best that can be said about a priest who partakes in Bollywood routines as his hobby. No doubt dancing is good for the cardio-vascular system.
Link for those who can’t access the video directly HERE:
Freemasonry has been denounced by numerous popes, beginning with Pope Clement XII in 1738, on the grounds that it promotes religious indifferentism.
But after the Second Vatican Council, many Catholics around the world suddenly became confused about whether it was permissible for Catholics to become Masons.
From the Catholic Transcript (newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford), September 27, 1974, page 3. Scan via Catholic News Archive, public domain.
In fact, there was a seven-year stretch in the 1970s when the English-speaking Catholic world was taught by its bishops that, although it was not encouraged, it was in fact permitted to become a Mason, as long as certain conditions were met.
Then, at the end of those seven years, these Catholics were suddenly informed that joining the Masons was actually still forbidden under pain of excommunication – and always had been.
That period in history is all but forgotten today. But a survey of Catholic newspapers from the time period offers a glimpse into the confusion that surrounded the subject of Masonry in the American Catholic world 50 years ago.
Changes anticipated: 1971-1974
While work was underway on the revised Code of Canon Law in Rome in the early 1970s, it became clear that there was widespread anticipation that the Church would soon change her teaching on Catholic participation in Freemasonry.
In August 1971, National Catholic News Service – the news service of the U.S. bishops – issued a lengthy report which predicted that the Church would soon modify her teaching on the matter.
Headlined, “Catholic-Masonic Relations Enter Friendly New Era,” the report included commentary from leading experts in Rome, including Fr. Jean Beyer, SJ – Dean of Faculty of Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome and a consultor to the Vatican Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law. The syndicated story ran in official diocesan newspapers throughout the nation.
The Catholic Transcript (newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford), August 20, 1971, page 9. Scan via Catholic News Archive, public domain.
Two years later, in June 1973, National Catholic News Service again reported that Church officials were expecting and planning for a change in Church teaching.
The article, headlined “Church ban on Freemasonry expected to be relaxed,” revealed that the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales had sent letters to all priests in their country, informing them that some “relaxation” in the ban on Freemasonry was expected soon.
According to the letter from the English hierarchy, “it seems probable that each national bishops’ conference will be left to decide whether Masons will have to resign membership in being received into the Church, and also whether requests from laymen [to] join the Masons may be granted.”
The National Catholic News Service (by the US Bishops Conference), June 27, 1973, wire copy page 1. Scan via Catholic News Archive, public domain.
This news was widely printed in official diocesan newspapers throughout the country and continued to be discussed in newspapers and clerical journals between the summer of 1973 and spring 1974.
The growing consensus — as promoted by the U.S. bishops’ news service — was that the old prohibition would soon be changed.
The St. Louis Review (newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Louis), December 7, 1973, page 9. Scan via Catholic News Archive, public domain.
Ecclesiastical Freemasonry 