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Pope Gregory XVI was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon entering the religious order of the Camaldolese.
Pope Pius VIII, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830.
Humanum genus is a papal encyclical promulgated on 20 April 1884 by Pope Leo XIII.
The Catholic Church first prohibited Catholics from membership in Masonic organizations and other secret societies in 1738. Since then, at least eleven popes have made pronouncements about the incompatibility of Catholic doctrines and Freemasonry. From 1738 until 1983, Catholics who publicly associated with, or publicly supported, Masonic organizations were censured with automatic excommunication. Since 1983, the prohibition on membership exists in a different form. Although there was some confusion about membership following the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, the Church continues to prohibit membership in Freemasonry because it believes that Masonic principles and rituals are irreconcilable with Catholic doctrines. The current norm, the 1983 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's (CDF) Declaration on Masonic associations, states that "faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion" and membership in Masonic associations is prohibited. The most recent CDF document about the "incompatibility of Freemasonry with the Catholic faith" was issued in 1985.
Quo graviora was an apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope Leo XII on March 13, 1825, in which he decreed the prohibition of membership in Masonic lodges in perpetuity.
Qui pluribus is an encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius IX on November 9, 1846. It was the first encyclical of his reign, and written to urge the prelates to be on guard against the dangers posed by rationalism, pantheism, socialism, communism and other popular philosophies. It was a commentary on the widespread civil unrest spreading across Italy, as nationalists with a variety of beliefs and methods sought the unification of Italy.
While many Christian denominations either allow or take no stance on their members joining Freemasonry, others discourage or prohibit their members from joining the fraternity.
Providas Romanorum was an Apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on March 18, 1751. The constitution condemned Freemasonry on the grounds of its alleged naturalism, demand for oaths, secrecy, religious indifferentism, and possible threat to the church and state. It confirmed the previous constitution In eminenti apostolatus. It specifically forbids Roman Catholics from seeking membership in any Masonic group.
Quibus quantisque malis was a Papal Allocution of Pius IX addressed to the Consistory of Cardinals on April 20, 1849, discussing the recent political atmosphere.
Pope Leo XIII's papal encyclical on the subject of Freemasonry in Italy, known both by its Italian incipit Dall'alto dell'Apostolico Seggio and its Latin incipit Ab apostolici Solii celsitudine, was a promulgated on 15 October 1890.
Annum Ingressi was an apostolic epistle written by Leo XIII in 1902. It was addressed to the bishops of the world reviewing the twenty five years of his pontificate. It also urged resistance to Freemasonry.
Custodi di quella fede was a papal encyclical promulgated by Leo XIII in 1892 addressed to the Italian people.
Inimica vis is a papal encyclical addressed to the Catholic bishops of Italy. It remarked on the multiple condemnations of Freemasonry over the preceding century and a half and concentrated on the local difficulties of the Italian church. It was promulgated by Leo XIII in 1892.
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Continental Freemasonry, otherwise known as Liberal Freemasonry, Latin Freemasonry, and Adogmatic Freemasonry, includes the Masonic lodges, primarily on the European continent, that recognize the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) or belong to CLIPSAS, SIMPA, TRACIA, CIMAS, COMAM, CATENA, GLUA, or any of various other international organizations of Liberal, i.e., Continental Freemasonry. The larger number of Freemasons, most of whom live in the United States–where Regular Freemasonry holds a virtual monopoly–belong to Masonic lodges that recognize the United Grand Lodge of England and do not recognize Continental Freemasons, regarding them as "irregular".
Gabriele della Genga Sermattei was a Catholic Cardinal and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Benedetto Barberini was a Catholic Cardinal and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
The question of whether Freemasonry is anticlerical is the subject of debate. The Catholic Church has long been an outspoken critic of Freemasonry, and some scholars have often accused the fraternity of anticlericalism. The Catholic Church forbids its members to join any Masonic society under pain of interdiction. Freemasons usually take a diametrically opposite view, stating that there is nothing in Freemasonry that is in any way contrary to Catholicism or any other religious faith.
Pope Leo XIII created 147 cardinals in 27 consistories held at roughly annual intervals. With his appointments he approached but did not exceed the limit on the size of the College of Cardinals set at 70 in 1586. The size of the college was 64 at the beginning and end of Leo XIII's 25-year papacy. With 147 additions to a body of fewer than 70, Leo had, as one observer phrased it, "renewed the Sacred College more than twice".
Carlo Oppizzoni, spelled also Opizzoni or Oppizoni, was a Roman Catholic cardinal and archbishop.
References
Gruber, Hermann (1910). "Masonry (Freemasonry)". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company. pp. 771–788.- McInvale, Reid (c. 1992) [presented 1992-06-13]. "Roman Catholic Church law regarding Freemasonry". Transactions. Waco, TX: Texas Lodge of Research A.F. & A.M. 27. OCLC 10269407 – via a personal website.
