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“Grave Sin”: Catholics in Ghana Banned from Joining Freemasonry

Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra in Ghana. Credit: Catholic Archdiocese of Accra in Ghana

The Catholic Archdiocese of Accra in Ghana has prohibited its members from joining Freemasonry, noting that the association contradicts the doctrines of the Catholic Church.

In a statement that was circulated on Sunday, January 26, Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie clarifies that Freemasonry “remains forbidden” and that the Church’s stance on the associations remains unchanged. 

He explains that Freemasons are irreconcilable with the doctrines of the Catholic Church, adding that Catholics are in “grave sin” when they choose to subscribe to the association.

 “My dearly beloved, in recent times, there has been a surge on whether the Catholic Church has changed her position regarding her teaching concerning Freemasons. The answer is simply "No",” Archbishop Kwofie said.

He added, “The Church has not changed her position on Freemasons. You can't be a true Catholic and a Freemason at the same time.”

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“Catholics are banned from all forms of freemasonry,” the Archbishop of Accra said in his message on the Sunday of the word of God, adding, “The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”

The Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in September 2014 as Bishop of Ghana’s Catholic Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi underlined the need for young Catholic adults in Ghana to know the church’s stance on Freemasonry, “especially at a time when some people are presenting Freemasonry as an association worth being affiliated to.”

Archbishop Kwofie explained that on 26 November 1983, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the document called ‘Declaration on Masonic Associations’ declared that “Masonic principles are irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church, and that Catholic membership in Freemasonry remained forbidden.

He underlined a specific quote from the declaration that reads, “Therefore the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden.”

According to the Ghanaian Church leader, some tenets of Freemasonry contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church. 

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“The Masons have denigrated Jesus Christ, our Lord, and God, and have put him at the same level as Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, etc,” he said, adding that in Freemasonry, prayers through Jesus Christ are omitted and addressed to “the Great Architect of the Universe” instead.

Archbishop Kwofie asserted that no one can claim to be a proud Catholic and a Freemason, maintaining that what Freemasons want is to destroy Christianity.

The Archbishop said that the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God should be a reminder that Freemasons put the Bible and other religious writings at the same level, an act he describes as “absolutely preposterous.”

“In Matthew 6:24, the Lord mentions emphatically, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other"…Let us kindly take note of this, and may the Holy Spirit continue to enlighten us to follow His path,” he said.