Freemasonry Legitimate Christian Objections Pease

Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter: The Catholic Church and Independent Poland, 1914–1939, by Neal Pease. 2009

Soft Catholic-Accusatory, But Still Catholic Accusatory. Some Candor on Freemasonry and Its Incompatibility With Christianity

The author is a little better than most others, on this subject, but not by much:

THE MODERNIST ASSAULT ON THE CATHOLIC FAITH

Contrary to those who are obsessed with Polish anti-Semitism, and accuse Pease of excusing it, he does no such thing. He merely tries to rationally understand it, realizing that it is fallacious to see Jews as scapegoats: “…the Church harbored not only bigots, but also advocates of toleration who urged protection of this vulnerable minority. In addition, Christian attitudes and rhetoric regarding Jewry should not be considered in isolation, as often happens, but rather in the context of the widespread belief that the Jews were just one part of a general modernist assault on Catholic morality and society; an enemy, to be sure, but by no means the only or even the worst enemy.” (p. 118).

ANTISEMITISM: A CONVENIENT ACCUSATION. THIS TIME THE TARGET IS FATHER (NOW SAINT) KOLBE

Kolbe scolded his journalists for their anti-Semitic zeal. (p. 123). In saying this, Pease does not go far enough. He should have noted that non-flattering portrayals of other religions were a common, if not universal, feature of pre-ecumenical times. In fact, the publication associated with Kolbe also wrote unfavorably of Protestants and other non-Catholics. See the Peczkis review of: Mary’s Knight: The Mission and Martyrdom of Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe. Finally, any objective discussion of anti-Semitism must recall the fact that prejudices went both ways: Traditional Jewish teachings against Christ and Christians were at least as hostile as Christian teachings against Jews. How many Jewish publications, at the time, contained articles unfavorable to Christianity?

THE OLD LEFT-WING SAW ABOUT CRITICIZING A GROUP AS THE SAME AS INCITING VIOLENCE AGAINST THEM

Pease accuses the Church of wanting it both ways: Speaking out against Jewish conduct and then condemning the animosities and outrages against Jews that this presumably incited. (p. 119). This is a non-sequitur, and an old left-wing trick. [Nowadays, it is used by some gays, who assure us that disagreement with same sex marriage is the same as inciting violence against homosexuals.] Let’s use some common sense. Speaking out against somebody is not synonymous with encouraging violence against them! Also, considering the fact that Jewish authors and journalists have been writing much ill against Poland since time immemorial, could it not equally be said that this materially contributed to an atmosphere of little regard for Poland, facilitating such outcomes as the Teheran-Yalta betrayal of Poland?

UNDERSTANDING FREEMASONRY AND WHY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH RIGHTFULLY OPPOSED IT

The author has a fine analysis of Freemasonry. (p. 115-on). He adds: “As a student in Rome in 1917, he [Kolbe] was shocked and galvanized by the antireligious brazenness of a massive Masonic demonstration outside the Vatican walls, and resolved to dedicate his life to converting the sworn enemies of Christ.” (p. 122). Not mentioned is the fact that not only Catholicism, but also some branches of Protestantism, had regarded Freemasonry as fundamentally incompatible with Christianity, if not actively anti-Christian.

Interestingly, Pease realizes that the frequently-combative attitudes of the Church had a rational foundation. He writes: “After all, on the whole, Masons and politically active Jews did support the laicization of Polish education and society, and the noticeable Jewish presence in the Polish Communist movement was axiomatic…The difference was that the threats in other lands were distant or theoretical were in Poland seen as immediate and tangible.” (p. 112; see also p. 124).

“THE PAPAL SILENCE”: COULD BE JUST AS EASILY BE SAID RELATIVE TO POLES AS TO JEWS

Pease includes a chapter on the beginnings of WWII. The conduct of Pius XII must be kept in perspective: “Often overlooked is the fact that the papal `silence’–if it can fairly be called–in response to the Shoah was preceded and foreshadowed by the analogous and painfully cautious reaction of the Holy See to the German assault on Catholic Poland that touched off the Second World War.” (p. 195).