JB write: “I want to contribute to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children, but am hesitating because I heard the Shriners are connected to Freemasons. Is this true?”Yes, this is true.
As this quote from the Shriner’s website explains: “While not all Masons are Shriners, all Shriners are Masons. Therefore, a man must become a Master Mason before he becomes a Shriner.”
They go on to explain the history of the Shriners which began in 1870 with a group of Masons who would meet regularly for lunch at the Knickerbocker Cottage in New York City. They came up with the idea of forming a new fraternity for Masons which would be based on the fundamentals of Masonry, but with some fun and fellowship added. From these discussions, a prominent physician named Dr. Walter Fleming, and a famous actor, Billy Florence, founded what they called the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine or A.A.O.N.M.S., which is now known as Shriners International. (A.A.O.N.M.S. is an anagram for “A Mason.”)
Just to lend some important perspective to this discussion, consider that a Master Mason has reached the highest level in a fraternal organization that has a formal religious system which purports that man can achieve salvation by their own good works and do not require members to believe in Jesus Christ. All religious writings are considered to be on par with the Bible (Book of Mormon, the Vedas, Zend Avesta, the Sohar, the Kabbalah, Bhagavad-Gita, the Upanishads, etc.) because Masons generally view all religions as plausible attempts to explain the truth about God. Advancing through the degrees involves secret rites about which members are sworn to secrecy and forbidden to reveal the religious and moral teachings of the Lodge.
This non-Christian belief system and the use of secret rituals are among the main reasons why the Church has so vehemently condemned any participation in the Masons. Although the Church has not issued any directive on donations to Shriners Hospitals, they have promulgated numerous documents condemning any association with Masonry.
These are the people who are running Shriner’s Hospitals!
As for giving to the hospitals, there is mixed opinion on this questions.
For example, this is what Father Kenneth Doyle wrote in the Catholic Standard in 2019. “Your monetary donation to the Shriners Hospitals . . .is given not to advance the spread of Masonic doctrine but simply to help offer compassionate care to children, and I would feel comfortable making such a donation.”
However, Catholic Answers advises that these donations should be made only under very narrow conditions, such as the donor’s intention to only support the medical good and not Masonry, and only if there is no other option for donating to seriously ill and disabled children in their geographic area (such as a local Catholic hospital, etc.).
“A Catholic might counter that he’d give financially to a Shriners hospital only to support the Masons’ care of disabled children, and that any support of the Shriners otherwise would be an unintended side-effect,” the site informs. “Here one should consider the Church’s teaching on the principle of double effect. We can never choose evil that good may come from it (CCC 1756).
“It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or emergency, etc.) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and of themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions are always gravely illicit by reason of their object, such as blasphemy, perjury, murder, and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.”
Catholic Answers goes on to advise: “In addition, as an application on the principle of double effect, one should consider whether such financial support is necessary to treat seriously disabled children in a given geographical area. If there are good Catholic hospitals that provide such care, then you should direct your funds there because, in doing so, you can expect that the care the children receive is sound medically and spiritually, and you’ll also be supporting the Church’s mission in general. However, if a Shriners hospital is the only means of serving seriously disabled children care in the area, then it can be a good thing for a Catholic to give money specifically to support the Shriners’ care of seriously disabled children.”
Many Catholic theologians believe that any contribution to a Masonic endeavor would be advancing the mission of the Masons, per se.
This is because even if one only intends to donate money to the care of children, money is too fungible for one to be assured it would go where directed and not to an organization that was owned and funded by an explicitly Masonic body. The success of the hospitals in turn strengthens the whole Masonic organization which is why many Catholics rightly see these donations to be at least indirect material cooperation with Masonry.
It is safe to conclude that while the Church has not spoken definitively on this subject, there is sound reason for Catholics to be wary of providing any material support to a Masonic institution, even indirectly, because this would be to advance an organization that has been judged to be incompatible with the Catholic faith. Declining such support and directing their charity elsewhere to explicitly Catholic or non-Masonic institutions may be the more prudent choice.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
Send your New Age questions to newage@womenofgrace.com
