Articles

Masons & Felons

Doug Oldmixon, State Advocate

A timely reminder on these two issues: A man cannot be a Mason and a Knight of Columbus simultaneously. The Church has held for several centuries that the tenets of Masonic ritual are incompatible with Catholic Church teachings. In 1983, the Vatican reiterated: “The Church’s negative judgment in regards to Masonic associations remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden.

The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.” Therefore, a Mason who has had a conversion to Catholicism and wishes to become a Knight must forever renounce his membership in the Masons in writing and send it to the last lodge he attended. The Council should keep a copy of the writing.

A man who is convicted of a felony while a Knight of Columbus automatically loses his membership. A Form 100 should be sent to Supreme along with a copy of the documents evidencing the felony conviction. In order to maintain some conformity across the laws of many states and jurisdictions, a felony is any criminal charge punishable by a year or more in prison, and a conviction includes a guilty verdict, a nolo contendere plea, probation and a deferred adjudication with a year or more sentence.

If a man who has a prior felony conviction wishes to become a Knight, the Admission Committee must investigate the record and make a recommendation to the Council for a vote on the man’s potential admission. Supreme offers these guidelines for consideration:

“...the council’s admissions committee should examine the facts and circumstances of each particular case before determining whether or not a particular applicant is fit for membership. While the conviction of a felony, in the distant past, would not ordinarily be a reason to refuse to accept a new member, there are certain circumstances such as the nature of a particular offense (i.e. crimes against children) or the proximity in time between the date the individual applies for membership and the date of the individual’s release from prison which the council’s admissions committee should seriously consider before making a recommendation to the council. We have, in the past, suggested that councils consider the following criteria during its evaluation of an applicant who had been convicted of a crime:

whether or not the individual has served his sentence;

the date the individual had been released from prison - in the event the individual had been sentenced;

whether or not the individual had satisfactorily completed or complied with all of the terms and conditions of his probation or parole;

whether or not the individual had completed any and all court mandated programs or has paid, in full, any court imposed costs/fees;

whether or not the individual has repaid his debt to society (i.e. whether or not the individual has lived an exemplary life for a reasonable period of time after his release from prison or after completing his probation or parole).

Please note that this list is by no means exclusive.” This matter should be given very strong scrutiny.


More Articles