The Vatican has officially decreed that Catholics are not allowed to become Freemasons or members of the secret society that the Catholic Church has long regarded with skepticism, and which boasts up to six million members worldwide.
“Active membership of believers in Freemasonry is forbidden due to the irreconcilability of Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry,” announced Vatican authorities in a letter signed by Pope Francis himself. This response came in reply to a concerned Filipino bishop who was troubled by the increasing number of Freemasons in his country.
The letter also references a declaration from 1983, stating that Catholics “in associations of Freemasons are in grave sin and cannot receive the Holy Communion.”
This decision further underscores the Vatican’s stance on the incompatibility between Catholicism and Freemasonry.