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publication of Traditional Catholics of America t Editor: Fr. Francis E. Fenton, t Volume VI, No. 3 t April 15, 1985
dy dvance of
Fr. Francis E. Fenton
t is now nearly 70 years since Communism began But, again, if President Reagan is, in fact, a true-blue
its drive towards world domination. While it has anti-Communist, when, tell, are he and his admin-
met with an occasional setback here and there in the istration going to take conclusive action against the
course of that period, its overall worldwide progress Reds in Central America-and, specifically, in Nica-
has never decisively halted. Gradually the free ragua which is near to becoming another Cuba? The
world has become ever smaller and the Red slave em- Sandinista. government in Nicaragua is, of course, a
pire ever larger so that today at least a half of the popu- Communist government (with Conciliar Church
lation of earth is subjugated to Communist tyranny. "priests" in some of its top posts!). Or are Mr. Reagan
Untold millions, of course, have been murdered along and Company going to dillydally until, say, the Com-
the way. In Communist China alone ("so-called Com- munist thugs overthrow Mexico?-and that wouldn't
munist China" were the words used by Mr. Ronald take much doing! How long more is the Reagan admin-
Reagan some months ago) a minimum of 34 million istration going to carry on hopeless negotiations with
human beings has been put to death since the Reds the inveterate Soviet liars before the USA takes what-
took over that nation some 40 years ago. (As utterly re- ever action is necessary to destroy the Communist
volting as that figure surely is, the annual rate of murder government in Nicaragua-and the one in Cuba as
here in "Christian" America, be it noted, is well? While I make no pretense at having any expertise
proportionately far greater.) Under the Reagan admin- in either military or political it
the murderous regime of China require any superior intelligence to see tnat,
has increasingly become the "good guys" while the decisive action by this country in Central America !s
free Chinese, our allies on Taiwan, are being ever more postponed, the more securely will Soviet Russia and its
abandoned by the "anti-Communist" government of allies be established there-and, hence, the greater
the the task of eliminating them at some future date.
And so it .goes. The conservative rhetoric uttered by And so, as the Communist enemy steadily advances
Mr. Reagan on the subject of Communism is a master- around the world and moves closer to our nation's bar-
ful thing to behold-but the record belies the rhetoric. one wonders just at what point the USA is going to
Now in his fifth year in the White House, and apart from start fighting this satanic evil. If this country doesn't at
the isolated instance of the Grenada action, the long last take a firm stand against the atheistic Red
Reagan administration has failed to take decisive ac- menace and effectively oppose it, then, apart from an
tlor:1 to date against the steady advance of Communism act of God, it may soon too late. And the place to
around the world. On the one hand billions of dollars start is Nicaragua. Mr. Reagan cease his anti-Com-
are spent on defense programs while, on the other, munist rhetoric and prove that he is what he claims to
massive aid and trade with the Communist murderers be by taking decisive action against Communist Nica-
continues, the same enemy who is supposedly the ragua and Communist Cuba-and by calling a halt to
sole reason for the military buildup in the first place. the American government's financing of Communism
many honorable and knowledgeable Americans, all of around the world. Multitudes of the American people
this-and much, much more-is a very suspicious actually believe that the powers that be in Washington
state of affairs indeed. But is not Ronald Reagan a are anti-Communist. Nothing could be further from the
staunch conservative thoroughly dedicated to moral truth for the record shows quite the opposite. But,
principle and patriotic ideals? Is he, really? If so, how please God, that situation can reversed If Mr.
explaii1 his endorsement of the legislation making the Reagan is, contrary to the suspicions of many, an hon-
birthday of the pro-Communist Martin Luther King a orable man and has the courage to do what must
national holiday, his approval of the Genocide Conven- done in regard to Communism before time runs out. t
tion, his virtual abandonment of anti-Commumfst
Taiwan, his appointment of pro-abortionist Sandra Day
O'Connor to the Supreme Court, and so on? No,
Ronald Reagan is not what he appears to be but he is a
superb actor and a super politician.
America's Catholic Heritage (Part I)
Jill Wiesner
Lord! Eternal and Almighty God! who by Thy sacred word requested permisson to stay among the Indians of New
has created the heavens, the earth, and the seas, may Thy Mexico. One of them, Father Juan de Padilla, a Francis-
name blessed and glorified everywhere. May Thy Majesty can and former soldier, remained at the Indian town of
be exalted, who has deigned to permit that, by Thy humble ser- Quivira with his converts. After several months at Qui-
vant, Thy sacred name should be made known and preached vira, he set out for a nearby town. On the road, he was
in this other part of the world. suddenly surrounded by a party of hostile Indians.
knelt down in prayer, preparing for death. In a moment,
This prayer of Christopher Columbus is the first-known he was struck down, pierced by a shower of arrows.
Christian prayer to be offered in our hemisphere. Father Padilla ls the Protomartyr of the United States,
Columbus, the 57-year-old Genoese mariner, com- the first priest to give his life for the Faith in our country.
missioned Admiral of the Ocean Sea by Queen Isabella The example of patience and courage set by Father
of Spain and known for his devotion to the Blessed Padilla was to be followed again and again in the
Virgin Mary and to Saint Francis of Assisi, opened the coming years by priests who would give their lives un-
door to the discovery of America. sparingly for the salvation of souls.
The first explorer to land on our shores was Juan The Indians of America were not like the gentle natives
Ponce de Leon, a cavalier who had accompanied who had welcomed Columbus to their island. They
Columbus on his second voyage. On March 1512, were fierce savages to whom cruelty was an art. They
Easter Sunday (called Pascua Florida by the Span- did not understand forgiveness and regarded it as a
iards), Ponce de Leon landed on the North American weakness. They believed in witchcraft, medicine men,
continent. In honor of the holy day, he called the new and jugglery. They worshiped manitous or spirits
land Florida. As Columbus had before him, Ponce de which they believed were in people, animals, and
Leon planted the standard of the Cross, this time on inanimate objects. Contrary to popular belief, they had
American soil. The first Mass within the territory of the no knowledge of a "Great Spirit" or one God. They first
United States was said on this Easter Sunday, 95 years learned of Him from the Catholic missionaries.
before the English landed at Jamestown.
The Florida Mission was founded to bring the Faith to
As the exploration of America began, its native popula- these Indians. Its supply center was St. Augustine, the
tion, the Indians, came under the protection of the oldest city in the United States, having been founded in
Church. In 1537, Pope Paul Ill declared in an apostolic 1565. From St. Augustine, the padres went to study the
brief that the native Indians of America were free men Indian customs, languages and religions in order to
and should not be reduced to slavery. The patent is- better understand and communicate with them. The
sued by Charles V of Spain in 1523 reflected the mis- words of Pope Saint Pius V (1566-1572) clearly mani-
sionary zeal of the Catholic world: fested his concern for the spiritual welfare and salva-
tion of the Indians: "Nothing is more important in the
Whereas our principal interest in the discovery of new lands is conversion of these Indians and idolaters than to en-
that the inhabitants and natives thereof, who are without the deavor by all means to prevent a scandal being given
light or knowledge offaith, may be brought to understand the by the vices and immoralities of such as go to those
truth of our holy Catholic faith, that they may come to a western parts. 3 The Mexican Father Pareja wrote a
knowledge thereof, and become Christians and be saved, and cate.chism in the language of the Yamassees-the first
this is the chief motive that you are to bear and hold in this work in any of our Indian languages to be printed. For
affair; and to this end it is proper that religious persons should severai years, the Fathers watched their villages of
accompany you. By these presents I empower you to carry to the Christian Indians grow, villages whose inhabitants no
said land the religious whom you should judge necessary, and longer worshiped the sun and fire, nor practiced polyg-
the vestments and other things needful for the observance of amy.
Divine worship . .. z
In September of 1597, however, Father Corpa of Tole-
With the explorers, eager for treasure, came the mis- mato (the area now occupied by a cemetery in St.
sionary priests. Several priests (called padres by the Augustine) was forced to publicly rebuke one of his
Spanish) accompanied Coronado on his march north- converts for unbridled immorality. The Indian, son of a
ward from Mexico in search of Cibola and its "seven chief, was furious and plotted revenge. Inciting braves
cities of gold." When Coronado returned to Mexico in from a neighboring village, he returned with them in the
1542, ragged and discouraged, several of the padres continued on page 3
THE ATHANASIAN 2 APRIL 15, 1985
''The Spanish In 1 the Jesuit Father Eusebius
night and murdered Father Corpa with a tomahawk as Kuhn (better known as Father Kino) founded missions
the missionary knelt before the altar in prayer. They among the Pimas in Arizona. Born in 1644 in Welsch-
then embarked .on a night of carnage, hurrying from tirol, Father Kino taught mathematics before coming to
village to village, murdering the priests. All of the America in 1 was an excellent mapmaker and,
padres, caught by surprise and unable to escape, met through his travels to the Indian camps, was able to
their deaths bravely. Father Aunon even consoled his prove the existence of an overland route to California.
grieving converts, assuring them of his joy at giving his After converting a chief named Coxi, Father Kino es-
life for the Faith. The band of murderers was finally ap- tablished Mission Nuestra Senora de los Dolores (Our
prehended by the Christian chieftain of St. Peter's Isle. Lady of Sorrows) in 1687 and, from there, mapped the
territory of modern Arizona. He rode daily to the Indian
It took nine years to rebuild the missions thus de- camps and became known as the Horseback Priest.
stroyed. But the Franciscans kept coming in their cus- Traveling among the tribes he had converted, he cov-
tomary groups 12, so many of them that Florida was ered more than 20,000 miles. He had a great affection
made a Franciscan province. Missions were estab- for the Indians and was successful in gaining many
lished among the Apalaches and Creeks in west Flori- conversions. He composed catechisms in their lan-
da and Georgia. In 1643, a chief of the Cherokees was guages and vocabularies and works of grammar for
baptized, increasing the Faith among that tribe. The his successors.
Spanish colony was surrounded by growing numbers
of Christian Indians whose love for and loyalty to the In Texas, Franciscan Father Antonio Margi! de
Catholic Faith were becoming stronger with each pass- Jesus founded a number of missions. A tall and slen-
ing day. der man, he walked barefoot, ate no meat or fish,
fasted every day, practiced severe penances, and
However, Governor Moore, the English governor of spent most the night in prayer. Among the missions
Carolina, began to order assaults on the Spanish mis- he founded in the town of San Antonio are the Mission
sions. Using English troops and Alabama Indians, he del la Purisma Concepcion (1731 ), the oldest church in
systematically destroyed the mission stations. The the United States dedicated to the Immaculate Con-
Catholic Indians were sold as slaves in Charleston and ception, and that of San Antonio de Valero (founded in
other ports. Eventually, war broke out between the 1703 and moved to its present site in 17 44}. This little
English forces and the Christian Indians. After the war, mission is best known to most Americans as "the
Chief John Mark of the Apalachicola tribe, freed from Alamo."
harassment by the English, worked to restore the mis-
sions. Receiving no help from the Spanish govern- The Franciscans and the Jesuits began building mis-
ment, he and one hundred other Indians founded the sions in California before 1600. In 1 however, the
missions of Our Lady of Loneliness and Saint Louis in Spanish government suppressed the Jesuit order and
i718. all the Jesuits were taken prisoner and removed from
California. The Franciscans, headed by Father Juniper
The deathblow to the Florida Mission was dealt when Serra, continued the Jesuit plan for the missions.
Spain ceded Florida to England by the Treaty of Paris in Father Serra's first misson was San Diego (Saint
1763. The surviving Franciscans were ordered to James), founded on July i 6, 1769. In November of
leave with the Spanish settlers. The Indians were 1775, this mission was attacked by a band of apostate
evicted from their towns and barred from the church Indians who looted the. church, burned the mission
they themselves had built. All of their property was house, and murdered Father Luis Jayme as he came
given by the governor to the English church. These In- from the house with his customary greeting, "Love
dians took the name_ Seminoles, meaning "wander- God, my children." 4 Though advised to abandon the
ers," and vanished into the Everglades. Deprived of mission, Father Serra, on hearing the news, replied:
their priests and robbed of their lands, the Seminoles "Thank God, that is watered!" 5 Father Serra then
reverted to savagery. They were implacable foes of the began to rebuild the ruined mission. Though often in
English, and later took American lives. They were not poor health, he personally made the rounds of his mis-
subdued until 1 sions on foot, traveling through hostile territory, from
San Diego to his headquarters at Monterey.
Drawing from the experience gained in Florida, the
Spanish Fathers expanded their missionary efforts to Father Serra's California missions differed from the
New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and California. In New others in our country. Instead of the missionary going
Mexico, the padres organized the Indians into self-gov- alone into the wilderness, the padre went to his station
erning pueblos. They appointed the first slate of offi- accompanied by a small guard, a colony of Indian con-
cers, but from then on the Indians elected their own verts, herds of cattle, and a supply of tools and farm
representatives. The Indians in these missions gov- implements. The Indians learned a variety of trades
erned themselves, and were industrious, literate, and and the missions prospered. This prosperity constantly
prosperous. attracted newcomers. continued on next page
ATHANASIAN 3 APRIL 15, 1985
John Kenneth Weiskittel
I n the August/September 1984 issue of the British
semi-traditional magazine, Christian Order, there
appeared an article, "Time for Moderation," by the edi-
since the establishment in 1717 of the first Grand
Lodge in London, the voice of the Catholic Church has
spoken repeatedly in the strongest possible terms of
tor, Father Paul Crane, S.J., in which he implores Cath- Masonry's diabolical war against all that is holy and of
olics to exercise restraint during the Church's current the obligation of all Catholics to fight this menace with
dark days. Certainly, we can agree with many of his prayer and every lawful means at their disposal. The
warnings. same warnings and condemnations hold true today for
the Masonic conspiracy has not changed. It is our hope
For one, we note his caution against falling into a "quiet that the present study will provide ammunition in the
passivity" or apathy. Also, he rightly says we should battle against Freemasonry and will provide as well
shun the messages of "visionaries" and the lures of evidence to discredit those who think that talk of a
Eastern religions. And he admonishes readers of the Masonic conspiracy is but sheer fantasy.
dead end encountered by following would-be
"popes." (Regrettably, he exhibits a blind spot on this Two Years of Papal Condemnations
by his support of the best known of the false "pontiffs," Beginning with Clement Xll's In Eminent/, written in
John Paul II.) 1738, numerous popes have used bulls, encyclicals,
allocutions, constitutions and other official documents,
Where we must part company with Father Crane, how- amounting to literally tens of thousands of words, to ex-
ever, is when he asserts that one is an extremist who pose and anathematize Masonry. Is it conceivable that
believes that "the Church's present trouble (is) the out- so many pious and learned servants of Christ could be
come of a cleverly engineered and diabolical conspir- so mistaken or misinformed about the nature of the
acy at the heart of which lies a brilliantly conceived and Lodges? Could they all have been induced to believe in
. cunningly controlled Masonic and/or K.G. plot, such a monstrous plot if it were not so? Would they
working relentlessly and with satanic intent for the de- content themselves to heap error upon error and, in so
struction of the Church." While generously conceding doing, libel innocent people? Common sense and a
that the Communists are pleased with the Church's reverence for Christ's vicars compel us to answer
crisis and that some Masons "hate the Church," Father "no." When so many popes see the same phenome-
Crane trots out a catalog of cliches about how this no- non in exactly the same way, there must be something
tion of a plot is "far-fetched nonsense" invented by to it.
paranoid types who see enemies "lurking behind
every bush." Such people, he contends, "spend their What follows are excerpts from several papal pro-
time constructing men of straw" in order to bolster their nouncements that will prove beyond the slightest
belief in "the supposed devilries of a largely hypotheti- doubt the unlty of Catholic teaching on Masonry:
cal conspiracy" rather than admit that some of the
blame must be placed on Catholics themselves for the CLEMENT XII. Warned by civil and ecclesiastical
sorry state of affairs. authorities of the newly-formed Lodges, Clement is-
sued the above-mentioned constitution 21 years after
Though it scarcely can be denied that Catholics are in the formal establishment of Freemasonry in England
part responsible for allowing what Father Crane calls and 17 years after its introduction in Continental
the "nee-modernist attack" to prevail, neither can it be Europe. His Holiness questions the group's secrecy,
reasonably maintained that the myriad moral and dog- asking: "if those men did no wrong, would they fear
matic plagues which abound are products of spontane- light so much?" He accuses them of "plundering the
ous generation. In short, they are there because they House like thieves, laying waste to the Vineyards like
have been foisted upon the Church under the guise of wolves, perverting the minds of the incautious and
"progress" and "reform" by a relatively small group of shooting down innocent people from their hiding
men who have nothing but contempt for Catholic places." Therefore he concludes that any Cathollic
teaching. Some of these men are Masons, some are who would dare to "enter, propagate or support" these
not-but all are working for principles that in the final "enemies of the commonweal" in any way is excom-
analysis are Masonic. municated "by the very act," and may receive absolu-
tion only from Rome. (It is worth noting here that Pope
Yet, Father Crane is only faithfully conforming to what Clement wrote this more than a century before the sup-
is implicit in the attitude of his superiors in the Conciliar posed rift between "Christian" Anglo-Masonry and its
"Catholic" Church, the attitude that Freemasonry is not openly atheistic continental cousin; the condemna-
a threat to church and state. This ignores the obvious tion-as do all these papal condemnations-thus ap-
fact that, for the more than two-and-a-half centuries plies to all lodges without distinction.)
BENEDICT XIV. The previous censure is renewed and refers to it as a "perverse sect" that, "hidden at first in
strengthened in Providus (1751). Again, there is the dark alleys, has finally come to light, to ruin religious
charge that "what takes place at those masonic meet- and civil society." In Singulari Quadam (1854) he
ings is against the established order, be it religious or attacks their "dreadful doctrines allowing indifferentism
political." Addeq to this is the caution that the Lodges in matters of religion," and applies to them Christ's
are breeding ground of the twin errors of religious lib- words to the Pharisees: "You are from your father the
erty and religious indifferentism: "in this type of soci- devil, and it is the works of your father that you wish to
ety, men of all religions and sects are gathered, which do." Masonry is characterized as forming "the Syna-
clearly can cause the gravest damage to the purity of gogue of Satan" in Epistola (1865) " … whose object
the Catholic faith." Catholic rulers are called upon to it is to blot out the Church of Christ, were it possible,
take effective measures against Freemasonry. from the face of the Universe." Finally, Pope Pius IX
again calls it the Synagogue of Satan in Etsi Multa
PIUS VII. Blame for the revolutionary upheavals in (1873), while reminding the Church's bishops that all of
Europe is placed squarely on the doorstep of the the pontifical decrees on Masonry apply to every coun-
Lodges and related secret societies in Ecclesiam try on earth (he refers to America by name).
(1821 ). One group singled out by the pope ls the Italian
Carbonari which, he says, is either a Masonic offshoot XIII. The need to combat the spirit and teachings
or copy and is a school of lies, Immorality, assassina- of Freemasonry-"the deadly poison circulating today
tion and indifferentism. The description by Pius of Car- in the veins of human society" as he puts it in Quod
bonari rites is identical to what is found in Masonry's Apostolici (1878)-is stressed by this illustrious pastor
highest degrees: "They blasphemously profane and of souls in almost all of his 50 encyclicals. Of these let-
defile the Passion of Jesus Christ by their sacrilegious ters, Humanum Genus (1884) is the most complete
ceremonies. They dishonor the Sacraments of the analysis on the subject by any pope. In the war against
Church (for which they sacrilegiously substitute others God and His Church, Leo writes, the Lodges form "a
invented by themselves) and even turn into ridicule the powerful auxiliary of Satan." Specifically, regarding
very mysteries of the Catholic religion. They cherish a Socialists and Communists, he notes that "the sect of
very special hatred against the Apostolic See, which Freemasons greatly favors their designs and holds in
they are striving to overthrow … " common with them their chief opinions." (These opin-
ions include approval of lawlessness and immorality,
LEO XII. In Quo Graviora (1825), Christian govern- attacks on the authority of rulers and a call for equality
ments are rebuked for not obeying the wishes of the and the absolute sovereignty of "the people," and
Vatican by allowing the growth and influence of the fighting to remove Church influence from govern-
Lodges to reek havoc, and are implored to actively ment.)* On the silver jubilee of his ascendance to the
suppress them. The Masons and allied secret societies throne of Saint Peter, Leo issued an apostolic letter in
are called the perpetrators not only of irreligious propa- 1902 reminding the Catholic hierarchy of the deceitful
ganda but also of systematic assassination. Leo affirms nature of the enemy: "Filled with the spirit of Satan,
that these sects, "although differing in name, are who knows how to transform himself as an angel of
closely united with each other by the unholy bond of light, Freemasonry puts forward as its pretended aim
the same wicked and impious designs," and warns the good of humanity … "
that a Catholic giving aid to one of them is "guilty of a
most grievious crime." BENEDICT XV. Finally, in our survey of excerpts, we
come to the pope who in 1917 issued the Code of
PIUS VIII. The Catholic hierarchy around the world is Canon Law, Canon 2335 of which bans Catholic mem-
admonished to keep watch over Freemasonry-the bership "in the sect of Freemasons or similar associa-
"declared enemies of God" -by Traditae Humilitati tions plotting against the Church," saying that all who
Nostrae (1829). The dangers of Masonic doctrines en- become Masons incur ipso facto excommunication.
tering into schools and colleges are noted and, in the And Canon 2336 specifies that, should clerics or reli-
most forceful language yet used in a papal communi- gious be known to join such a sect, "every Catholic is
cation, the pope repeats the words of Pope Saint Leo under the obligation of denouncing them to the Con-
the Great, applied to fifth-century heretics: "lying is gregation of the Holy Office." (Again note, a// Lodges
their rule, Satan is their God and shameful deeds their fall under the ban, not simply the European.)
sacrifice."
The foregoing selections represent only a fraction of
GREGORY XVI. Masonry is cited as "the principal papal comments on the subject, of course, but still
cause of all the calamaties on earth and in the king- enough to make it abundantly clear that they are of one
doms" by Gregory in Mirari Vos (1832), and as "the mind: Masonry is a satanic conspiracy waging cease-
in
cesspool of all preceding sects" which "are congre- less war against God and His Church. Furthermore,
gated all the sacrileges, infamy and blasphemy which because there is such a unanimity, taken as a whole
are contained in the most abominable heresies." the pronouncements represent the ordinary magiste-
PIUS IX. This great pontiff was on many occasions criti- *Marx, Engels and Lenin were all Masons, as were
cal of the Masonic "brotherhood." Qui Pluribus (1846) many other revolutionaries.
rium (or teaching authority of the Church) which all neglected or oppressed masses. Actually, the king
Catholics must accept. was a devout Catholic with a devotion to the
Sacred Heart, emblems of which were worn by all in
the …_,1;;;u.:,,.a..11. the royal family. Indeed, Louis may well have been
Having established the mind of the Church regarding a martyr in the true sense of the word, for Pius VI de-
the Freemasons, let us now turn to the stimuli that fended his memory with these words: "who could ever
formed that position. It goes without saying that the doubt that this monarch was sacrificed principally in
popes, ever mindful of Christ's commission to spread hatred for the Faith, and through a spirit of fury against
His gospel throughout the world, do not seek to alien- Catholic dogma?" That fury was a plot against altar and
ate, nor do they make rash accusations that would con- throne in which the Lodges played a central role, and
stitute unjust defamation of character. All of these pro- most emphatically was not a spontaneous popular
nouncements were made only after careful consulta- uprising. (Incidentally, it is known that Anglo-Masonry
tion with secular and spiritual leaders, lengthy study of -the supposedly tolerant branch of the sect-gave
relevant documents and much heartfelt prayer and financial and moral support to the French Revolution.)
reflection. So what would cause them to call the
Lodges not merely bad or dangerous but manifestly in The horrors of that war with its of Terror, unsur-
league with the devil? The answer is found in the passed by any other persecution in Church history,
words and deeds of Freemasonry. were followed in France more of the same in 1830,
1848 and 1 . In every Catholic nation, the Masons
The first conquest made by Masons was in the world of had shock troops to carry out the bloodier part of the
ideas, with their championing of a group of false intel- agenda: in France, the Jacobins; in south Germany
lectuals self-dubbed as "the philosophers," for they and Austria, the Illuminati; in Ireland, the Orange So-
knew that. if they were to influence and control the arts, ciety; in Italy, the Carbonari, to name a few. Not one
science, journalism and education, they could soon in- Catholic country in the world has been spared from the
fect society from top to bottom with their teachings. rage of this infernal cabal. King Umberto ll of Italy was
The principal error they propounded is known as ra- murdered by them, as was Pope Pius IX's prime minis-
tionalism, a system that rejects revelation and accepts ter, Count Rossi. (The secret societi~s, unable to mur-
only that knowledge attained by reason. der the pontiff himself, later disrupted his funeral pro-
cession and made an unsuccessful attempt to seize his
In Paris, these "philosophers" edited the Encyclopedie coffin and throw it into the Tiber.) World War I began
between 1752-65, a book that would mold minds to re- when the Masons, unable to carry out the assassina-
volt in but a few short years. We read, under the head- tion of Franz Joseph, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian
ing "The Encyclopedists" in Attwater's Catholic Dic- Empire, killed another member of the Catholic royal
tionary: "The name is particularly given to the group family, Archduke Ferdinand-and that war ended with
called 'the philosophers' who gave the Encyclopedie a the formation of the Masonic league of Nations.
twist towards infidelity, free-thinking and rationalism
and whose general writing and teaching prepared the in
mind of France for the irreligion of the Revolution." It Often we are lulled into the belief that the Lodges in the
was edited by two foul anti-Christians, the Mason United States are somehow different than those else-
d' Alembert and his friend Diderot, and not surprisingly, where. This difference is largely cosmetic. America
it was banned more than once. Its contributors in- has never been a Catholic nation; in fact, many of its
cluded the atheistic Baron d'Holbach, known by his basic concepts are Masonic as, for example, separa-
contemporaries as "the personal enemy of the Al- tion of church and state, government schools, religious
mighty," and Voltaire, whose motto for many years liberty, etc. The godless compulsory public education
was Ecrasez l'infame! (Crush the infamy!-meaning program seeks to destroy Catholic education by
crush Catholicism). "I hated priests, I hate them, I shall forcing Catholic parents to pay for the former even if
hate them till doomsday," was also said by Voltaire, they send their children to parochial schools (though
who entered the under the sponsorship of the Conciliar schools have more in common with their pub-
American Mason, Benjamin Franklin. No wonder Pope lic counterparts than they do with those which are truly
Pius VI referred to them as "these accursed philoso- Catholic).
phers!"
A reading of American Masonic literature reveals the
The culmination of Masonic efforts was the infamous essential unity of U.S. Lodges with those around the
French Revolution of 1789. Catholic monarch Louis world. Albert Pike, who died in "1891, was the Supreme
XVI and his family were murdered (his Masonic cousin Grand Commander of Scottish Rite Masons in the USA
was among his betrayers), every. class of the faithful and an accepted authority on all matters Masonic. Of
was persecuted or slaughtered and churches, semi- the Church/Lodge situation, he wrote {in Readings
naries, cathedrals and religious communities were XXX/1 for 32nd degree Masons): "It ls a war a outrance
sacked and converted into "Temples of Reason." (i.e., to the death) between Light and Darkness." In a
Louis was a dedicated, conscientious ruler whose companion work, Legenda XXX/1, he gloated at the
name has been besmirched by non-Catholic history worsening situation across the Atlantic: "Daily the
books as either a fool or a despot overthrown by the Pope must submit to see his influence and preroga-
tives narrowed and circumscribed, his temporal power lie morals and of the through corrupt priests.
r,or,ro,::,c, annulled, and his spiritual supremacy ac- Thus it instructs: "Let the clergy march under your
knowledged only by those countries in Europe whose banner in the belief always that they are marching un-
people are sunken in ignorance and superstition. Daily der the banner of the Apostolic Keys. '.. Lay your nets
the Kings must yield to the just demands of their sub- in the depths of sacristies, seminaries, and
jects, recognize the people as the only true source of convents … " and "Draw away priests from the altars
their power, and submit to see their prerogatives les- and from the practice of virtue." Instead of attacking
sened and their powers restrained by constitutional the Church from without, it proposed an inner attack
guarantees of individual freedoms." Pike said: "the through infiltration by those allegedly professing the
antipapal spirit (grows) out of the natural repugnance of Faith. Ultimately, Masonic corruption would find its
men of intellect to the yoke of a spiritual despotism that way to Rome itself and Masonry would have "a Pope
makes Reason and Free Thought Crimes … ," and he according to our wants." The rest would easy.
(Pike) equated the pope to an atheist by asserting:
"The man who denies God, and the man who defines Can we deny that a large part of this plan has suc-
him, with a pretended infallibility, are equally fanatical." ceeded? Does not corruption flourish at all levels of the
works Albert Mackey, a U.S. Scottish Rite Sec- Conciliar "Catholic" Church? Are not Conciliar semi-
retary-General, who died in 1881 and who is revered naries places where one can hear each and every
by Masons almost as much as Pike, are the basis of Church doctrine held up to ridicule? And does not that
Masonry Defined. ln that work, a standard reference of great promoter of equality, socialistic economics and
the Lodges, an article on the Jesuits reveals how the religious liberty, John Paul II, suit the wants of the
enemies of the Church attack it with accusations more Lodges?
befitting the accusers: "But wherever they (the Jesuits}
touched the Institution (Freemasonry) they left the trail A few years ago the names of prominent members of
of the serpent." And the 19i0 edition of the Catholic the Conciliar hierarchy were revealed to be members
Encyclopedia quotes the Chicago Masonic Lodge pub- of Italian Masonry. Among them were: Cardinal Leo
lication, The as calling "bigotry and zeal … the Suenens, apostle of the Protestant-style "Charismatic"
assumptions of priestcraft" and as contending that movement; Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, author of
and priestcraft are so allied, that they may be the travesty called the New "Mass"; and Secretary of
called the same … (both being based upon) the conceit State Agostino Casaroli, who recently signed a docu-
of self-sufficiency and the lust of dominion." ment with Italy's socialist leader ending Catholicism's
standing as the state religion there (long an aim of Ma-
and Council sonry). Was anything ever done by the Vatican on this
smoke of Satan has entered the sanctuary" is the matter? And, despite token warnings by papal authori-
reported reply Paul VI made to questions on the sorry ties that Masonic membership is "a grave sin," we look
state of the Catholic world in the aftermath of the Sec- for the day when Masonic "Worshipful Masters" will be
ond Vatican Council. Yes, but how did it enter? It was invited to speak at Conciliar churches-if they're not
given access when Pope John XXIII, in his own words, already.
proceeded to "open the windows of the Church" to the
age. Not only were Masonic concepts like The final goal of Masonry is the same as it ever was:
equality and religious liberty promoted at the Council, destroy the Catholic Church and replace it with a coun-
but not once were secret societies even mentioned in terfeit religion. Freemasonry despises the Roman
any of its documents. If the Council was really con- Catholic Church primarily because that Church was
vened to address problems in the Church and founded on earth by Masonry's real enemy … God Al-
the world, how could it possibly ignore the relentless mighty. As stated by a delegate to the 1886 Interna-
advance of these dark forces? As both sides agree, tional Masonic Congress in Brussels, the battle cry is:
this is a war to the death between two irreconcilable "War on God! Hatred to God! In this is progress! It is
views of God and man. No truces have been called; necessary to crush Heaven as if it were a piece of pa-
neither have peace treaties been signed. Nor can per!" How imperative it Is, then, for us traditional Ro-
be. end of Vatican !l's sessions, such natural man Catholics to heed and to follow Pope Leo Xlll's in-
foes of Catholicism as the atheistic Grand Orient Lodge struction: "Tear away the mask of Freemasonry, and
in France immediately hailed the proceedings as "a let it seen as it really is." t
French Revolution within the Church."
ttttttt
Today, as we inspect the devastation of our beloved The above article appeared in the April 15, 1985 issue of The Atha,-iasian, a pub-
Church, we may wonder how this could have occurred. lication of Traditional Catholics of America. Additional copies are available at
the following prices:
A large part of the answer may be found in documents 3 copies for $ 1.00 (minimum order)
of the Alta Vendita, a powerful Masonic body in Italy a 30 copies for $ 9.00
century ago. Pope Gregory XVI read these, which had 75 copies for $20.00
(Payment must accompany order)
been seized in 1846, and had them published. "Our ul- Please order from:
timate end," begins one of them, "is that of Voltaire and Traditional Catholics of America
the French Revolution-the final destruction of Catholi- P.O. Box 38335, Colorado Springs, CO 80937
cism .. " To do this it would seek the corruption of pub-
"The Spanish Fathers" continued from page 3
Two friars directed each mission. One supervised the Freemasonry and
mission buildings and religious instruction: The other
was in charge of field labor, in which he took part, ·~~–· – of this issue of Athanasian is the
teaching "consilio manuque" (by advice and exam- article, "Masonry's War Against Roman Cath-
ple). s The Indians became skilled carpenters, masons, olic Church." While Mr. Weiskittel could well write
coopers, saddlers, shoemakers, weavers, stonecut- at a mini-book on the we have pur-
ters, and brick-makers. posely limited the article to four newsletter pages for
two reasons primarily: (1) so that it would be, in
Though they came from different tribes, the Indians of an insert in this current newsletter issue and
the mission lived happily together. Many of the Catho- (2) in order to avoid a lengthy, in-depth treatment
lic Indians visited their own tribes once a year, and few of the subject which might discourage some from
returned alone. In this way the missions grew until reading it. The article is a clear, forthright
1824 when the rapacious Echandia, sent the Mexi- presentation of one of the most important topics of
can government as governor of California, and our day. Hopefully, it will be attentively read and its
plundered the missions. At this time, the missions con- message taken to heart. If so, perhaps we are not
sisted of over 30,000 Indians and owned 424,000 being unrealistic to expect that many of those who
cattle, 62,500 horses, 320,000 sheep and raised do so will want to do their part to the article a
122,500 bushels of wheat and corn per year. All of this wide circulation. To help in accomplishing that
was taken from them, the Indians thrown off their lands objective we have set a very moderate price scale for
and scattered, and the missions closed. A few the bulk orders (appears at the end o( the article). Ap-
padres were allowed to remain in their ravaged mis- palling indeed has been the monumental cover-up
sions. Though reduced to near starvation, they shared of the true nature of the conspiracy of Freemasonry
what little they had with the Indians. The Church in and the danger it poses both to church and state.
California remained in this condition until 1848 when Isn't it high time, then, that we Roman Catholics
the United States won the territory from Mexico. began to expose this evil and, in the words of Pope
Leo exhortation of over 100 years ago, "let it
America's Catholic heritage dates from the moment of be seen as it really is"?
America's discovery. The Spanish Fathers brought the
light of Faith to our shores and, unlike the explorers We have not dropped The Question Box from the
who sought worldly treasures, they never became dis- newsletter. In fact, it was to be in this issue but there
couraged. They never turned back. In spite of persecu- was no room for it. So, The Question Box will ap-
tions from every source, these heroic men persevered. pear in each issue of The Athanasian, space per-
Many gave their lives, suffering unspeakable cruelties. mitting.
But more always came to take their places. These
were men of exceptional abilities, all of which they SUBSCRIPTION
dedicated to the greater glory of God. They gave all date on the envelope address label indicates
that they had for the conversion of America. How can the month and year in which the recipient's sub-
we, the beneficiaries of their labors, offer less?t scription is due for renewal. proper time, a
subscription envelope will be enclosed with the
1. P.J. Mahon and Rev. J.M. Hayes, S.J., Trials and Tri- newsletter. One may enter a new subscription at
umphs of the Catholic Church in America (Chicago, J. S. any time, of course, and will then receive the eight
Hyland & Company, 1913), p. 34.
following newsletter issues. t
2. Maggie Bunson, Founding of Faith (Boston, Daughters
of St. Paul, 1977), p. 18.
3. P.J. Mahon and Rev. J.M. Hayes, S.J., Trials and Tri-
umphs of the Catholic Church in America, p. 144.
4. Ibid., p. 168.
5. Ibid., p. 168.
6. Ibid., p. 172.
Published by Traditional Catholics of America
Eight issues a year: ,(Jan. 15, Mar. 1, 15, June 1, July 15, l, Oct. 15, Dec. 1)
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