Dear Brother Masons
[Full article here]
[Full article here]
Over and above our different identities, there is no lack of common values: a sense of community, charitable work and the fight against materialism.
Gianfranco Ravasi [Cardinal President of the Pontifical Council for Culture]
IL SOLE 24ORE
Sunday, February 14, 2016
[Excerpts]
“…These various declarations on the incompatibility of the two memberships in the Church or in Freemasonry, do not impede, however, dialogue, as is explicitly stated in the German Bishops’ document that had already listed the specific areas of discussion, such as the communitarian dimension, works of charity, the fight against materialism, human dignity and knowledge of each other.
“Further, we need to rise above that stance from certain Catholic integralist spheres, which – in order to hit out at some exponents even in the Church’s hierarchy who displease them – have recourse to accusing them apodictically of being members of Freemasonry. In conclusion, as the German Bishops wrote, we need to go beyond reciprocal “hostility, insults and prejudices” since “in comparison to past centuries the tone and way of manifesting [our]differences has improved and changed” even if they [the differences] still remain in a clearly defined way.”
[Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana | Source: Il Timone]
