As I get older I am more and more amazed at the gaps in my formal education. Except for the exploits of Cortez and the history of Texas' fight for independence (and much of that came from my hero-worship of Davy Crockett) and finally the 1848 war with Mexico, we learned virtually nothing about our southern neighbor in school. Independent of formal schooling, I read a short biography of Blessed Miguel Pro [A Daughters of St. Paul (the nun with the headphone and camera at the website is my sister) "Encounter" book-I believe it and most of the series is out of print], and I read Warren Carroll's excellent Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness. Otherwise, while I was vaguely aware of the anti-Catholic government in the past century (and the controversy when soon-to-be president Vicente Fox appeared in a crowd with an Our Lady of Guadolupe banner), but I knew no details.Today Brother Charles Madden OFM Conv. of Marytown (and author of Requiem Press books Giving Up Stealing for Lent! and The Mini-Catechism-see sidebar) sent me this article article on the revival of freemasonry in Mexico:
Mexican masonry played a decisive role in the configuration of the Mexican state and in political measures such as the stripping of the Church’s right to own schools and communications media, the right to vote of priests and religious, and the rupture of diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
The previous Mexican Constitution, because of Masonic influence, stripped the Church of the right to own schools and communications media. Recently, the Mexican bishops announced they would begin a campaign to regain these rights.
The anti-clerical policies were kept in place throughout the entire period of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), dominated by the Masons, from 1929 to 2000.
I wasn't aware that Free Masons had such a hold in Mexico. Apparently the Catholic Bishops are trying now to regain control of their schools and have the right to control their own communications media.
Of course Brother Charles Madden OFM Conv. has a special interest in this-you might recognize him as the author of Freemasonry Mankind's Hidden Enemy (TAN books).
1 comment:
I believe what you will find is this: It may well have been the Freemasons of Mexico who placed restrictions on the Church in Mexico. But, none of that had anything to do with Freemasonry or its tenets and philosophy. Rather, it had everything to do with the inherent lack of tolerance in Mexico, which was apparent on both sides of the fence. This lack of tolerance for opposing views and opinions is in complete contrast to the mindset and culture of the British, the French, and eventually the Americans, all of which developed and adopted a more tolerant attitude toward opposing political and religious views.
Of course, it took a while for the British and French to learn tolerance. During the centuries before the 18th, you had the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation on both sides of the English channel. But, in the 18th century, when Freemasonry took the stage, it was born of the Age of Enlightenment. The first Grand Lodge of Freemasons, founded at London in 1717, made the bold statement that all good men of every religion were welcome. That was pretty progressive for 1717. But, that tolerance was part and parcel of who the Freemasons were. That was quickly translated to the French, who followed suit.
So, what happened when Freemasonry was introduced into Mexico? Why didn't Mexican Freemasons "get the memo" that they were to be tolerant of other religions and opinions? Well, the answer is, "Mexico is Mexico."
As I said, the problems between the Freemasons and the Church had more to do with the Mexican mindset than it did with Freemasonry.
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