‘Tradition in Action’ uses Masonic Source to implicate Pope Pius IX in Freemasonry

Semi-Trads hit new low…

Outrageous! Tradition in Action uses Masonic Source to implicate Pope Pius IX in Freemasonry

The web site Tradition in Action (TIA) is, for the most part, a pretty good resource exposing and refuting the errors of the Vatican II Sect. However, the editors of TIA are dyed-in-the-wool semi-traditionalists, that is, they oppose Sedevacantism and stubbornly adhere to the recognize-and-resist position instead, meaning they recognize Francis as Pope but also resist him because they realize he is an apostate who is trying to destroy Catholicism.

Thus, whenever TIA’s editors tackle anything related to the issue of Sedevacantism, all Catholicism goes out the window — and they end up spouting grave errors and scandalize their readers. For example, in the past they have outrageously attempted to draw parallels between Pope Benedict XV and the Novus Ordo Antipope Benedict XVI, and they have spread error on public heresy and Church membership (which at least they had the decency later to retract).

But now, it seems they have descended to a new low: In what must be considered a desperate attempt to keep up the legitimacy of the Argentinian apostate “Pope Francis”, Tradition in Action has now repeated an old calumny against Pope Pius IX which alleges that the great nineteenth-century Supreme Pontiff was a member of the Freemasons before his election to the Papacy in 1846. What evidence do they provide for this incredibly serious charge against the Vicar of Christ? Nothing but the say-so of the Freemasons themselves!

Have a look at their post of Oct. 29, 2016:

• Masons Consider Pius IX Had Been One of Them (Tradition in Action)

It seems too outrageous to believe, but it is true: TIA quotes the sworn enemies of Christ and His Church against the very Vicar of Christ to cast doubt on his moral and doctrinal integrity! Whose side are you on, editors of TIA?

The accusation against Pope Pius IX is not new, and it has never been proved and instead ably refuted. This makes it all the more puzzling to see TIA bring it up again. We have dealt with this calumny before and also with the charge that “Pius IX was a liberal” when he was elected, which is a half-truth needing important qualification. Find the necessary information here:

• The Calumny against Pope Pius IX

More specifically, the charge that Pius IX had been a Freemason was examined in detail and refuted by Fr. Herbert Thurston, S.J., in his book No Popery! Chapters on Anti-Papal Prejudice (1930). We have scanned the relevant chapter and make it available here:

• “The Pope who was a Freemason” by Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J. (PDF, 2 MB)

As the author shows, the various Masonic accusers cannot even get their story straight, differing on just when and where the young Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti (the future Pius IX) supposedly entered the Lodge! Note that the title of Fr. Thurston’s article, “The Pope who was a Freemason”, is to be understood tongue-in-cheek. Pius IX, of course, was not a Freemason.

Why, then, has Pius IX been accused of it? Why are there rumors about it?

A little bit of research goes a long way. It seems that at the origin of this calumny are the Freemasons themselves (shocker!). They appear to have made up this accusation against the Holy Father precisely in revenge for his severe condemnation of Freemasonry in 1865. According to one biography of the good Pope:

In the months that followed this public condemnation of Freemasonry, several Masonic publications in France and Italy, intent on revenge, propagated the story that Pius IX himself, in his youth, had been a Freemason.

Apparently it was the Lodge of Palermo that first put out the accusation… In France, the journal Le Monde Maçonnique immediately went into print with this information [in December 1865].

(Yves Chiron, Pope Pius IX: The Man and the Myth [Kansas City, MO: Angelus Press, 2005], pp. 217-218)

Pius IX had given an allocution on September 25, 1865, entitled Multiplices Inter Machinationes, in which he severely condemned Masonry and the Masons’ wicked secret scheming. We have obtained the full text of this allocution, translated it into English, and are now making it available — as an internet exclusive — here:

• Pope Pius IX, Allocution Multiplices Inter against Freemasonry (Sep. 25, 1865)

In short, the accusations against Pius IX are baseless and have in fact been demonstrated to be so.

Similar accusations against the Novus Ordo “popes”, on the other hand, are not at all baseless, for they (1) act like Masons; (2) speak like Masons; (3) embrace Masonic doctrine, something that cannot at all be said of Pius IX. In addition to that, the false popes of the Vatican II Sect sometimes even shake hands like Freemasons. See for yourself:

• The curious Handshakes of “Pope” Francis
• The curious Handshakes of “Pope” Benedict XVI

To be clear, however: It ultimately doesn’t matter whether any of the Vatican II “popes” were Masons or not. What matters is that they publicly behaved like Masons and not like Catholics — openly professing the doctrines of Freemasonry about human dignity, freedom, equality, indifferentism, etc. — for it is that which essentially makes one unable to be a legitimate Pope or even a member of the Catholic Church.

It is truly a tragedy to see Tradition in Action stoop so low as to recklessly throw Pope Pius IX under the bus in order to recoup some semblance of legitimacy for their apostate “Pope” Francis, scoring some cheap points against Sedevacantism. It is irresponsible to do something like that. How many souls will be confused and bewildered now! And for what? For Bergoglio!

On their web site TIA claims that we sedevacantists are “blind-devotees of the Papacy” for refusing to believe Pius IX was a Mason before becoming Pope! Actually, the TIA editors are the ones who are blind in this, because their entire “case” against Pius IX consists of the testimony of Freemasons, whereas we have actually consulted historical sources dealing with the issue, as explained in this post. It is history that disproves the charges against Pius IX, not some “blind devotion”, and it is Catholic dogma that prevents us from accepting a public non-Catholic as Pope.

As far as “blind devotion” goes, by the way, we hark back to the following words of St. Pius X, which presumably we will never see on the TIA web site:

When one loves the pope one does not stop to debate about what he advises or demands, to ask how far the rigorous duty of obedience extends and to mark the limit of this obligation. When one loves the pope, one does not object that he has not spoken clearly enough, as if he were obliged to repeat into the ear of each individual his will, so often clearly expressed, not only viva voce, but also by letters and other public documents; one does not call his orders into doubt on the pretext – easily advanced by whoever does not wish to obey – that they emanate not directly from him, but from his entourage; one does not limit the field in which he can and should exercise his will; one does not oppose to the authority of the pope that of other persons, however learned, who differ in opinion from the pope. Besides, however great their knowledge, their holiness is wanting, for there can be no holiness where there is disagreement with the pope.

(Pope St. Pius X, Address to the Priests of the Apostolic Union, Nov. 18, 1912; in Acta Apostolicae Sedis 4 [1912], p. 695)

In addition, here are two excellent audios — both available free — explaining the importance of Catholic devotion to the Pope:

• The Ordinary Magisterium and Devotion to the Pope by Fr. Gabriel Lavery, CMRI
• Devotion to the Pope by Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI

Under the cover of providing “a contribution to the historical-theological-canonical debate”, TIA is spreading the calumnies of the Freemasons against one of the most glorious Popes the Catholic Church has ever had, apparently to put a dent into the credibility of Sedevacantism and to help keep Bergoglio illegitimately seated on the Throne of St. Peter. That’s what this is all about, and it shows a colossal lack of Catholic sense and judgment, to put it mildly. What TIA has done here is beyond outrageous and utterly reprehensible. They have betrayed the Vicar of Christ, the Papacy, and Holy Mother Church!

No, editors of TIA, there is no “deep malaise among sede-vacantists” about this, at least not among those who are informed enough to know that the whole story about the “Masonic” Pius IX is bogus.

Yes, it is true that we “do not admit that a Freemason can be elected a Pope” — at least not a public one, because the religion of Freemasonry is obviously heretical and not compatible with Catholicism. Public heretics, we recall, are not members of the Church and thus cannot be elected Pope:

• Public Heretics and Loss of Office
• TIA gets it wrong again on Public Heretics

Ah, there we go again — we’ve come full circle with Tradition in Action. Their fundamental error is that they do not understand or believe in the nature of the Papacy or the Catholic Church. That is the reason why they can defend the absurd idea that Jorge Bergoglio is the Pope of the Catholic Church — and why they think nothing of accusing Pope Pius IX of having been a Freemason.

See Also:

• Freemasons and the Conciliar Church by John K. Weiskittel [PDF download]
• Nikita Roncalli: Counterlife of a Pope by Franco Bellegrandi [PDF download]
• Grand Orient Freemasonry Unmasked by Mgr. George E. Dillon

Image source: Wikimedia Commons
License: public domain