National Catholic Register, February 16, 2024
The Archbishop of Milan amazed many Catholics with the news that he planned to attend a Friday seminary in the north-Italian city with large champions of 3 Italian Masonic lodges, despite the long-standing condemnation of masonry by the Church.
Archbishop Mario Delpini, Cardinal Francesco Cocopalmerie, retired president of the Legislative Texts Division and Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Papal Theological Academy, will be among the representatives of the Church participating in the closed event to discuss relations between the Catholic Church and the Masonry.
The Masons will be represented by Stefano Bisi, the large master of the large East of Italy, the largest Masonic lodge in the country, and the leaders of 2 another national lodges: the large Lodge of Italy and the large Lodge of Regular Italy.
Bisi called the gathering “historic”.
The participation of Cardinal Cocopalmerie is interesting due to the fact that he was the auxiliary bishop of Milan erstwhile Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini was the archbishop of the diocese. The late Jesuit cardinal was known for his close contacts with the Masons who paid him a warm tribute as a “man of dialogue” erstwhile he died in 2012.
Writing in the Italian Catholic diary La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, editor-in-chief of Riccardo Cascioli noted that since Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi wrote a conciliation letter to the Masons in 2016, “the anticipation of meetings, promoted by masonry or any dioceses, has multiplied, as evidenced by the initiative from Milan”.
Since the Bulli of Pope Clement XII In Eminenti Apostolicus Specula of 1738, Catholics have been prohibited from joining free-muralism, and the Vatican has issued many negative statements on this issue - in full almost 600 documents...
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