Humanum Genus
Encyclopedia
Humanum Genus was a papal encyclical promulgated on April 20, 1884, by Pope Leo XIII
. Coming in the ascent of the industrial age
and Marxism
, it posited that the late 19th Century was a dangerous era for Christians, and condemned Freemasonry
as well as a number of beliefs and practices allegedly associated with Freemasonry
, including naturalism
, popular sovereignty
which does not recognize God, and the idea that the state should be "without God". Some of the encyclical's strictures remain in force today.
concept of the two cities, the City of Man and the City of God. So the human race was "separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ
... The other is the kingdom of Satan
," which were "led on or assisted" by Freemasonry
.
The fundamental doctrine of Masonry was portrayed as naturalism, which leads to Deism
and gnosticism
. This was seen to lead them to a fundamental clash with (Roman Catholic) Christianity
as, due to their supposed beliefs, Freemasons were accused of support of a radical separation of church and state
, with an attempt to impose legal obstacles to the church.
. Freemasonry had been condemned by previous Popes as contrary to Christian doctrine, but the nature (if not beliefs) of Freemasonry was changing as Freemasons were now far more open in their practices and affiliations.
The encyclical specifically condemned certain practices of the Freemasons, such as: religious indifference; the promotion of public education
which denied the Church's role and where "the education of youth shall be exclusively in the hands of laymen"; the approval of the notion that the people are the only source of sovereignty, and that "those who rule have no authority but by the commission and concession of the people."
The Church had forbidden Catholics
from becoming Freemasons since 1738 with the issuing of the papal bull In eminenti. This prohibition remains in effect today.
is the source of all rights and that man should bend to no authority other than himself:
Finally it condemns what it sees as the Masonic idea of the total separation of religion and state:
Leo XIII's denunciation of Freemasonry should be seen in context of his examination of socialism
(Quod Apostolici Muneris
), his defence of Christian marriage
(Arcanum
) and on the role of government (Diuturnum). Because of the secrecy in Freemasonry, it was believed by the Church to have an enormous amount of secret discipline of its members – which was seen by the Pope as enslavement. So by this definition, although individual Masons may be decent people, they were being led to do evil things.
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
. Coming in the ascent of the industrial age
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
and Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, it posited that the late 19th Century was a dangerous era for Christians, and condemned Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
as well as a number of beliefs and practices allegedly associated with Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, including naturalism
Naturalism (philosophy)
Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical viewpoint that the natural universe and its natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and that nothing exists beyond the natural universe or, if it does, it does not affect the natural universe that we know...
, popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the political principle that the legitimacy of the state is created and sustained by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated with Republicanism and the social contract...
which does not recognize God, and the idea that the state should be "without God". Some of the encyclical's strictures remain in force today.
Two Cities
It starts by using the AugustinianAugustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
concept of the two cities, the City of Man and the City of God. So the human race was "separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
... The other is the kingdom of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
," which were "led on or assisted" by Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
.
The fundamental doctrine of Masonry was portrayed as naturalism, which leads to Deism
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
and gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
. This was seen to lead them to a fundamental clash with (Roman Catholic) Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
as, due to their supposed beliefs, Freemasons were accused of support of a radical separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, with an attempt to impose legal obstacles to the church.
Historical circumstances
The encyclical argued that the late 19th century was a time of particular danger for Christians as the "partisans of evil" were now far more open, as evidenced by the new openness of FreemasonryFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. Freemasonry had been condemned by previous Popes as contrary to Christian doctrine, but the nature (if not beliefs) of Freemasonry was changing as Freemasons were now far more open in their practices and affiliations.
The encyclical specifically condemned certain practices of the Freemasons, such as: religious indifference; the promotion of public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
which denied the Church's role and where "the education of youth shall be exclusively in the hands of laymen"; the approval of the notion that the people are the only source of sovereignty, and that "those who rule have no authority but by the commission and concession of the people."
The Church had forbidden Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
from becoming Freemasons since 1738 with the issuing of the papal bull In eminenti. This prohibition remains in effect today.
Principles Condemned
Humanum Genus criticises a number of principles, for example the idea that popular sovereigntyPopular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the political principle that the legitimacy of the state is created and sustained by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated with Republicanism and the social contract...
is the source of all rights and that man should bend to no authority other than himself:
Then come their doctrines of politics, in which the naturalists lay down that all men have the same right, and are in every respect of equal and like condition; that each one is naturally free; that no one has the right to command another; that it is an act of violence to require men to obey any authority other than that which is obtained from themselves.[emphasis added]
Finally it condemns what it sees as the Masonic idea of the total separation of religion and state:
It is held also that the State should be without God; that in the various forms of religion there is no reason why one should have precedence of another; and that they are all to occupy the same place.[emphasis added]
Background
Several popes before Leo XIII had addressed the problems presented by speculative Freemasonry and how the principles of that society were incompatible with the teaching of the Church. Previous Papal pronouncements on Freemasonry were:- Pope Clement XIIPope Clement XIIPope Clement XII , born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding...
– In Eminenti, a papal bull in 1738 - Pope Benedict XIVPope Benedict XIVPope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...
– Providas RomanorumProvidas RomanorumProvidas Romanorum was a Apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on May 18, 1751. The constitution condemned Freemasonry on the grounds of its naturalism, demand for oaths, secrecy, religious indifferentism, and possible threat to the church and state. It confirmed the previous...
, an Apostolic constitution in 1751 - Pope Pius VIIPope Pius VIIPope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
– Ecclesiam a Jesu ChristoEcclesiam a Jesu ChristoEcclesiam a Jesu Christo was a Papal constitution promulgated by Pius VII in 1821.It stated that Freemasons must be excommunicated for their oath bound secrecy of the society and conspiracies against church and state....
, an Apostolic constitution in 1821 - Pope Leo XIIPope Leo XIIPope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...
– Quo Graviora (1826), an Apostolic constitution - Pope Pius VIIIPope Pius VIIIPope Pius VIII , born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni was Pope in 1829 and 1830.-Biography:He was born in Cingoli, Marche, the son of Count Ottavio Castiglioni and his wife Sanzia Ghislieri. He studied Canon law and, in 1800 became bishop of Montalto...
– Traditi HumilitatiTraditi HumilitatiTraditi Humilitati is a Papal Encyclical issued by Pope Pius VIII in 1829. It laid out the program for his pontificate. Although not mentioning freemasonry, it has been cited by later anti-Masonic publications of the Catholic Church because it condemned those "who think that the portal of eternal...
, an encyclical in 1829 - Pope Gregory XVIPope Gregory XVIPope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
– Mirari VosMirari VosMirari Vos - On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism is the first encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI and was issued in 1832. Addressed "To All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World", it is general in scope....
, an encyclical in 1832 - Pope Pius IXPope Pius IXBlessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
– Qui PluribusQui PluribusQui Pluribus - was an encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius IX in 1846. It disputed the belief that reason should be put above faith.It singled out the free gift of anti-Catholic Bibles...
, an encyclical in 1846
Leo XIII's denunciation of Freemasonry should be seen in context of his examination of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
(Quod Apostolici Muneris
Quod Apostolici Muneris
The encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris is the second encyclical of Pope Leo XIII. It was published on 28 December 1878.The encyclical is an attack on "socialism, communism and nihilism"; it is therefore usually regarded as an attack against Christian socialism...
), his defence of Christian marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
(Arcanum
Arcanum (Catholic encyclical)
Arcanum is a Catholic encyclical written in 1880 by Pope Leo XIII on the topic of Christian marriage. It was considered the forerunner to Pope Pius XI's 1930 Casti Connubii and Pope Paul VI's 1968 Humanae Vitae.-Summary:...
) and on the role of government (Diuturnum). Because of the secrecy in Freemasonry, it was believed by the Church to have an enormous amount of secret discipline of its members – which was seen by the Pope as enslavement. So by this definition, although individual Masons may be decent people, they were being led to do evil things.
See also
- Anti-MasonryAnti-MasonryAnti-Masonry is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry". However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement...
- Catholicism and Freemasonry
- Christianity and FreemasonryChristianity and FreemasonryChristianity and Freemasonry have had a mixed relationship, with various Christian denominations strongly discouraging or even prohibiting members from becoming Freemasons while others are supportive of Freemasonry and have friendly relations with local Masonic lodges.-Ties to Christianity:While...
- Clarification concerning status of Catholics becoming FreemasonsClarification concerning status of Catholics becoming FreemasonsThe Clarification concerning status of Catholics becoming Freemasons was a February 1981 letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Cardinal Seper reiterating the Church's prohibition on Catholics becoming Freemasons....
- Papal Documents relating to FreemasonryPapal Documents relating to Freemasonry-Before Pius IX:*Clement XII - In Eminenti Apostolatus - 1738*Benedict XIV - Providas Romanorum - 1751*Pius VII - Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo - 1821*Leo XII - Quo Graviora - 1826*Pius VIII - Traditi Humilitati - 1829...
- Rerum NovarumRerum NovarumRerum Novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”...
- State atheismState atheismState atheism is the official "promotion of atheism" by a government, sometimes combined with active suppression of religious freedom and practice...
External links
- Humanum Genus, from the Vatican
- Humanum Genus, from EWTN
- http://books.google.com/books?id=NYTOAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcoverHumanum Genus, with a reply by General Albert PikeAlbert PikeAlbert Pike was an attorney, Confederate officer, writer, and Freemason. Pike is the only Confederate military officer or figure to be honored with an outdoor statue in Washington, D.C...
, Supreme Commander of the Scottish RiteScottish RiteThe Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry...
, Southern Jurisdiction, USA]