Was Pope John XXIII a Freemason?
Was Vatican II a Masonic Plot Against the Church?

In some traditional circles, there is an assertion that Angelos Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) was a Freemason. It is usually akin to accusations that Bugnini, the archetect of the Novus Ordo Mass was a Freemason.

Any accusation that a prelate might be a Freemason rightly sends chills up the spines of faithful Catholics. Freemasonry is the archenemy of the Church. Simply placing the idea of Freemasonry in the minds of people taints their experience of the Post Concilliar Church. It's like a foreign car manufacturer saying:

"The Ford Escort has faulty brakes, but there has been no recall because of the implications on the American auto industry."

Every time children get in the car, the parent thinks "I wonder if that is true?" It spoils the ride ... even if it isn't true.

Canon Law and excommunication

Catholics who become Freemasons "are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion." Under Canon law of 1917, which was in effect at the time, they were automatically excommunicated. Canon Law of 1983 extends it to other secret societies. The Vatican has clarified on several occasions that Church teaching has not changed on Freemasonry.

Implications on infallible canonizations

This accusation also refutes post Vatican II Council canonizations. It seems extremely cynical to hold a position that the Vatican, even a compromised Vatican, would canonize a freemason after an in depth investigation as part of the canonization process. This throws infallibility out the window. An accusation that a pope was a Freemason is not far from Sedevacantism.

Not even "Infiltration" author Taylor Marshall holds this view

Taylor Marshall fosters many unsustainable positions in his book "Infiltration", including that Bugnini, the architect of the Novus Ordo, was a freemason. He criticizes Pope John XXIII but ...

Even traditionalist Taylor Marshal hasn't adopted this theory about Freemasonry and Pope John XXIII.

Fortunately, there is no substantive evidence

https://www.calefactory.org/misc-v2-j23freemasons.htm

This is a reproduction of "The Broken Cross, the Hidden Hand in the Vatican", by Piers Compton 1984. It is a demonstrable work of idealogical fiction. Here's a paragraph with a footnote:

What followed may have been a dream, or so it appeared to have been, when daylight came. But in the quiet room Roncalli distinctly heard the old man ask: “Do you recognize me?” And without knowing what prompted him Roncalli answered: “I do, Always.” His visitor went on: “I came because you called me. You are on the way, though you still have much to learn. But are you ready ?”[3]

[3] It should be recalled here that by this time Roncalli had dabbled in liberalism, was suspect, and was moved out of the Lateran teaching post. It was therefore natural that as a liberal he was attracted to the ideology of man worship of the masons, which is what the Vatican II teaches today. Paul VI clearly spelt this out in his closing speech of the Illicit Vatican II on Dec. 8th 1965.It was therefore natural that as a liberal he was attracted to the ideology of man worship of the masons, which is what the Vatican II teaches today. Paul VI clearly spelt this out in his closing speech of the Illicit Vatican II on Dec. 8th 1965.

How would the author know about an interior experience Roncalli had in a dream? If Roncalli published that somewhere then where is the reference? If there was one, then one of these writers would have shown it, because it would be a "smoking gun".

https://www.scribd.com/doc/182046845/JohnXXIII-pdf

There are cyclical references with all paths leading back to a few key writers who don't provide any proof. Meanwhile, the shrill rhetoric demonstrates a lack of objectivity and a questionable motive. Its one thing to disagree with the direction of Vatican II.

https://romancatholicfaith.weebly.com/blog/-mexican-freemasons-mourned-for-john-xxiiis-death

This has a false claim that Pope Francis visited a Freemason hall in the Phillipines. His agenda was well known and documented and covered in detail by dozens of cameras. We at Catholic Bridge have plenty of criticisms of the pontificate of Pope Francis, but this is an unsustainable accusation and wreaks the credibility of any other claims in the document. about Pope John XXIII

https://www.traditioninaction.org/ProgressivistDoc/A_195_J23.html

This site references an Italian Freemason site which says Saint John XXIII is a "brother Freemason". This article must have been produced after his canonization in 2014. Its is a mom and pop shop website. It appears Prof. Horvat is assuming that a local council wouldn't lie about having a pope as a member. It's not substantive evidence.

If a pope was a freemason, the press would be all over it

The secular media hates the Catholic Church and the New York Times would love to have had a 2014 headline,

"Catholic Church Canonizes a Freemason Pope"

If he was a Freemason, it would be everywhere, and not just in a small traditional corner of the Catholic Church. They couldn't even keep watergate a secret.

The source of the controversy

There were several Catholic influencers who were really angry after Vatican II (Michael Davies, Piers Compton, etc...) who wrote books and pamphlets. We cover Michael Davies accusations against Bugnini in depth, and it is the same strategy here.

They might have read an accusation and felt justified to amplify it and embellish it because "after all its obvious the devil was at work in the council" and we need to convince people to reject it.

They wrote books with tons of footnotes and stories and these stories got picked up by other influencers who wrote more books, and since so much of the Church went off the rails after the council, traditionally minded Catholics who were looking for answers latched onto it.

We've seen the strategy with anti-catholic protestants

We've seen this exact scenario play out among Evangelicals who think the Catholic Church is the "Whore of Babylon" (Rev. 17) and that Catholic Christians should "come out of her [the Catholic Church]" (Rev 18:4). This view was first advanced by Alexander Hislop in "The Two Babylons" (1856) which was a heavily footnoted "reference" work.

An Evangelical theologian Ralph Woodrow wrote a popular book based on Hislop's book, "Babylon Mystery Religion", that put Hislop's ideas into modern English and in a modern context. The book was a smashing success in Evangelical circles, and anti-Catholicism skyrocketed.

A history teacher challenged Woodrow and called the integrity of Hislop's research into question. Woodrow, being an academic and a man of integrity, decided to research the subject himself. He was shocked. He wrote a book of his findings and removed his previous book from print at considerable cost to himself. He is still an Evangelical. His new book "The Babylon Connection" is available from Amazon.com. Here are Woodrow's words:

As I did this [research], it became clear-Hislop's "history" was often only mythology... an arbitrary piecing together of ancient myths can not provide a sound basis for history. Take enough tribes, enough tales, enough time, jump from one time to another, from one country to another, pick and choose similarities - why anything could be "proved"!

Conclusion

Of course the communists and freemasons hate the Church and would compromise it if they could... but our assertion is that God provides protection to the keys of Peter and the magisterial documents that flow from these imperfect individuals.

There is no Catholic social teaching (traditional or otherwise) that says that a person should be considered guilty until proven innocent based on an accusation from a very motivated person or group of persons? This is an unsustainable position to hold for any serious Christian or Catholic. The Church teaching on calumny, detraction and slander should be taken seriously by traditionally minded Catholics who criticize Vatican II and are looking for a nefarious character or cause.

Was Pope John XXIII a Freemason? Was Vatican II a Masonic Plot Against the Church?