Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian
From: conan@wish-bone.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Christianity and Freemasonry
Message-ID: <Dec.7.02.32.51.1989.189@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 7 Dec 89 07:32:53 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: Math Dept., UC Berkeley
Lines: 19
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

For what it is worth on the subject of Masons:

All Catholics are forbidden to belong to the Masons or any allied
organization.  The reasons for this ban have to do with the history of
European Freemasonry.  Masonic lodges in Europe had a sinister edge
which often combined with anti-clerical politics.  Numerous conspiracy
theories have been woven around the Masons because of this--I don't
buy any of them.

This doesn't say much about Masons in America though.  Perhaps more
germane is that the Anglican church in England recently issued a 
statement (do they call them encyclicals?) questioning on theological
grounds the propriety of Christians being Masons.  This caused quite
a stir as a member of the royal family is a leading Mason.  Does any-
one out there know exactly what the statement said?

Yours in Christ,

David Cruz-Uribe, SFO