1722 The London Journal, February issue, announced there was a rumor that a treatise was to appear soon showing that the gypsies were older than Freemasonry.

1723 Publication of A Mason’s Examination.

– The Evening Post of London announced the publication of a pocket booklet for the use of Masonic lodges entitled The Praise of Drunkenness. Advertisement appeared in the Daily Post of London announcing the issuance of the second edition of The Freemason, a poem supposedly being a history of the Craft and exposing its laws and secrets.

1724 The Gormogons came to public attention. Publication of “Letter from the Grand Mistress of the Female Freemasons to Mr. Harding the Printer.” This pretended expose of the ritual is sometimes attributed to Dean Swift. Publication of an expose under the title The Grand Mysteries of Freemasons Discovered.

1726 Debate for and against the Fraternity published.

1730 Publication of Masonry Dissected, by Samuel Prichard. Benjamin Franklin published an uncomplimentary item about the Craft in his paper; this was before he was a Mason. Publication of The Perjured Free Mason Detected, being an answer to Prichard’s book.

1732 The Chamber of Police of the Chalet, in Paris, on December 14, prohibited Masons from assembling and imposed other prohibitions.

1735 Incident in Holland causing investigation of lodge and claimed joining of town officials because of good report. Publication of Martin Clare, A Defence of Masonry, which was a reply to Prichard’s book.

1736 Frederick I, King of Sweden, forbade Freemasons from meeting under penalty of death.

1737 The Philadelphia incident of a mock initiation which resulted in the death of a young man.

– Masonic assemblies abolished in France.

– Inquisition closed English lodge meeting in Rome.

1738 Papal Bull against Freemasonry issued by Pope Clement XII. It was the first official denouncement of the Craft by this church.

– Hogarth’s picture “Night” published.

– Charles VI issued an edict prohibiting Masonry in the Nether-lands.

1739 King Frederick Augustus III, of Poland, prohibited the meeting of Masons.

– Money voted by the Grand Lodge of England for the relief of Thomas Crudeli, a prisoner of the Inquisition in Florence.

1740 The Papal Bull of Clement XII was ordered published in Malta.

– Decree against Freemasonry issued in Spain by King Philip. The Inquisition discovered a lodge and eight of its members were condemned to the galleys.

1741 Organization of the Scald Miserables.

1742 Lodge established in Vienna. Cardinal Migazzi attacked it. Papal Bull promulgated in Marseilles.

1743 Horace Walpole said in a letter: “The Freemasons are in low repute now in England, that one has scarce heard the proceedings at Vienna against them mentioned. I believe nothing but a persecution could bring them into vogue here again. You know, as great as our follies are, we even grow tired of them, and are always changing.”

– Lodge closed by military force in Austria. Eighteen men were imprisoned but were released a week later.

– Lodge Virtud raided in Portugal. Two men were executed; John Coustos was sentenced to the galleys.

1745 Council of Berne issued decree against Freemasonry.

– The Associate Synod of Stirling considered the propriety of the Masonic oath; it gave the kirk sessions power to act as they saw fit.

– The town council of Geneva renewed its edict against the Craft which it had issued the preceding year.

1746 John Coustos published his book reciting how he was tortured by the Inquisition.

1748 Masonic lodge demolished in Constantinople.

– Publication in Paris, by some theological professors of the Sorbonne, Letter and Consultation on the Society of Free-masons. It contended that Freemasonry was illegal and should be condemned.

1750 By order of the Sacred Congregation there was burned in Rome, by the public executioner, a book entitled An Apology for the Institution of Freemasonry, published originally in 1738, in Dublin, and reprinted in London in 1749.

1751 Papal Bull issued by Pope Benedict XIV.

– Legend that the Roman Catholic clergy were so active against Freemasonry at the Austrian court that the Empress and her ladies, disguised as men, visited a lodge to find out the facts. It is more likely that her husband, a Freemason, convinced her of the nature of the Fraternity.

– Jose Torrubia, a Franciscan monk, appointed as censor and revisor of the Inquisition in Spain.

– Ferdinand VI, of Spain, issued a severe edict against the Craft.

– The Mason Unmasked, an expose, published in France.

1752 Jose Torrubia wrote a poem against Freemasonry; it was published in Madrid.

1754 Publication of Alexander Slade’s, The Free Mason Examined.

1755 Kirk session, in Scotland, ordered inquiry.

1757 The Scotch Seceders adopted a resolution denouncing all persons who refused to reveal in the Kirk sessions the Ma-sonic oath and to resign from the Order.

– Law against Freemasonry enacted in Milan.

1757 The Associate Brethren (of Scotland) issued a declaration against Freemasonry.

1760 Publication of The Door of Freemasonry Opened to all Men.

1762 Publication of Jachin and Boaz, in London.

1764 The Archbishop of Manila ordered desecrated the local cathedral which had been used for a lodge meeting.

1766 Several Masons imprisoned by order of the governor of Madeira.

1768 Anti-Masonic sermon delivered in London.

The burgomaster of Danzig issued a decree against the Craft.

1769 Publication of The Free Mason Stripped Naked.

1775 Edict issued against Freemasonry in Italy.

1776 The Illuminati organized by Adam Weishaupt.

– The Inquisition arrested Masons in Portugal and imprisoned them for 14 months.

– Major Francois D’Alincourt, a Frenchman, and Don Oyres de Ornellas Pracao, a Portugese nobleman, were sent to prison by the governor of Maderia for being Masons.

1777 Weishaupt initiated in a Masonic lodge. This opened the door for blaming Freemasonry for his “Illuminati.”

1779 Masons persecuted at Aix-la-Chapelle.

1781 Ferdinand IV, of Naples, prohibited Freemasonry.

1782 Law passed in Russia forbidding secret societies. It did not apply to Freemasonry, but things happened later on to cause Russia to suppress the Craft.

1783 Publication of George Smith’s The Use and Abuse of Free-masonry.

– Report of a trial in The London Post resulting from an assault because the defendant had struck another for abusing the Masons.

1784 The Illuminati declared illegal in Bavaria.

– Publication of Les Societes Secret, by Deschamps, a Jesuit.

1789 Arrest in Rome of the charlatan, Cagliostro on the charge of being a Freemason.

– Lodge in Rome raided by the Inquisition.

1791 Freemasonry suppressed in Russia.

1792 Francis II, of Austria, at the Ratisbon Diet tried to have the German princes suppress Freemasonry but did not succeed. 1793 Cardinal Vicar, of Spain, issued a decree of death against all Freemasons.

1794 Catherine II, of Russia, changed her attitude towards Freemasonry.

1797 Publication of John Robison, Proof of a Conspiracy Against All Religions and Governments of Europe, Carried on in the Secret Meetings of the Freemasons, Illuminati and Reading Societies.

– Publication of Abbe A. Barruel, Memoires pour Servic a l’Histoire du Jacobinisme.

– Statute enacted in England condemning certain societies in general terms. Freemasonry was not mentioned by name but the language was broad enough to be so construed by some persons.

1798 Woman burned Tryon’s Palace in Virginia; Masons blamed. President Adams declared day of fasting. Jedidiah Morse de-livered a speech on the evils of The Illuminati; others later caused this to be printed in pamphlet form and it was construed by some to include the Masons.

1799 Unlawful Societies Act passed in England. Freemasonry was specifically exempted.

1802 A brother who had been disciplined by the Bolton Lodge wrote a letter to the lodge that he “was glad he was cleared of the Lodge, and should mend his old breeches with his apron.”

– Rule adopted in Austria that all public officers upon taking office had to take an oath that they were not Masons.

1803 Gustavus IV, King of Sweden, issued an edict requiring all secret societies to disclose their object. Freemasonry was excluded. He had been made a Mason in 1793.

1808 New York Baptist Association ruled that its members could not belong to lodges.

1809 The Society of Friends (Quakers) at the New England annual
meeting, warned its members not to join secret societies.

1810 Thirty Masons from Portugal exiled to the Azores.

– The Archbishop of Baltimore met with other church officials and issued some rules; rule 10 stated: “Freemasons cannot be admitted to the sacraments.”

1811 Member of Bethel Baptist Church in Missouri expelled because he joined a Masonic lodge. This is the first known instance of anti-Masonic sentiment west of the Mississippi.

– Joseph Hippolyte da Costa published Narrative of Persecution in Lisbon, by the Inquisition, for the Pretended Crime of Freemasonry.

1814 Cardinals Consalvi and Pacca, on August 15, issued an edict against Freemasonry and the Carbonari. The papal troops enforced the decree.

– Ferdinand VII, on May 4, abolished the constitution of Spain, re-established the Inquisition, and declared Freemasons guilty of treason.

1815 When Metternich became the leading politician of Europe he made the elimination of Freemasonry one of his chief aims.

1817 Second Act passed in England known as the Unlawful Societies Act.

– The tribunal at Madrid sentenced Albert Leclerc to prison for being a Mason.

1818 The Papal government issued an opinion in the trial of the conspirators of Maceratta that all secret societies in Italy were derived from Freemasonry.

1819 John G. Stearns, a student, was told not to become a Mason. He later became a Baptist minister. He made this statement in a book he wrote in 1826.

1821 Pope Pius VII issued Papal Bull against Freemasonry.

– The Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh Synod, condemned Masonry as unfit for Christians.

1823 The General Methodist Conference prohibited its clergy in Pennsylvania from becoming Masons.

– Unlawful Oaths Act enacted in Ireland. Freemasonry was not exempted and the grand lodge directed all lodges to cease work. Ten months later it was officially announced that the law was not intended to include Masonic lodge and work was resumed.

– King John VI, of Portugal, issued a decree against Masonry.

1824 Dr. Nathaniel Ives, of Wellington, Vermont, was expelled from a Masonic lodge for seducing the wife of a neighbor. Later he became a leader in the anti-Masonic movement of the state.

– King Ferdinand, of Spain, on August 1, issued a new edict which required all Masons to renounce their membership within 30 days and to surrender the official papers.

1825 Pope Leo XII issued Bull against Freemasonry.

– Publication of Richard Carlisle’s The Manual of Freemasonry.

1826 William Morgan disappeared, on September 12, at Batavia, New York.

– Mason executed, on February 23, in Spain.

1827 Publication of Solomon Southwich, A Solemn Warning Against Freemasonry Addressed to the Young Men of the United States.

– Publication of Reuben Sandborn, Freemasonry, a Covenant With Death.

– Publication of Henry Dana Ward, Freemasonry: Its Pretensions Exposed in Faithful Extracts of Its Faithful Authors. Publication of David Barnard, Light on Masonry.

1830 Anti-Masonic Convention met in Philadelphia; it had had a specific Anti-Masonic statement in its platform.

– The New England Anti-Masonic Almanac was published.

– Publication of James G. Odiorne, Anti-Masonic Documents.

1831 Henry Gassett distributed books to libraries. In 1852 he published a catalog of these books and distributed it to various libraries.

– Thaddeus Stevens spoke at an anti-Masonic meeting in Hagerstown, Maryland.

– Two letters of Richard Rush published in Utica, New York.

– Publication of Echoes of the Past, extracts of an address given at Albany, New York.

– Second Anti-Masonic Convention held.

1832 Publication of William L. Stone, Letters on Masonry and Anti-Masonry, Addressed to the Hon. John Quincy Adams. At the election the Anti-Masonic Party carried only Vermont.

1834 The Pennsylvania legislature, through the instigation of Thaddeus Stevens, appointed a committee to investigate the Craft. The opposition appointed a committee to check anti-Masonry. Both reports made were pure propaganda.

1835 Joseph Ritner elected governor of Pennsylvania on the Anti-Masonic ticket. A committee was formed under act of the legislature to investigate Freemasonry. They were able to do this as they had a majority (which they did not have before). The – Masons called refused to answer questions.

1837 Freemasonry banned in Belgium by the Archbishop of Mecheln.

– Pamphlet issued by Governor Ritner of Pennsylvania against Freemasonry.

1838 Publication of The Downfall of Masonry.

1842 Masonic lodge constituted at Nauvoo, Illinois, the Mormon settlement.

1843 Dedication of Bunker Hill monument to honor General Warren.

– Francis Xavier Carnana, Archbishop of Rhodes and Bishop of Malta, issued a pastoral letter against Freemasonry.

1847 Publication of John Quincy Adams, Letters on the Masonic Institution.

– Publication of De Quincey’s Essay on Secret Societies.

1848 Persecution of Masons resumed in Spain.

– The National Assembly in France sought an interpretation that Freemasonry was a “secret society” and the conclusion was in the negative.

1850 Jonathan Blanchard delivered a talk on secret societies at Rockford, Illinois, on June 22, before the State Congregational Association. This was later published by Southwick Davis of Galesburg.

1852 Publication of Avery Allyn, A Ritual of Freemasonry.

– Publication of Damrell and Moore, Catalogue of Anti-Masonic Books, in Boston.

– Publication of Henry Gassett, Catalogue of Books on the Masonic Institution.

1854 Publication of Creigh, Masonry and Anti-Masonry.

1856 Publication of Henry Brown, The Anti-Masonic Excitement, 1826.

1858 The Roman Catholic Bishop of Buenos Aires issued a proclamation against Freemasonry in his territory.

1860 Garcia Moreno, dictator of Ecuador was refused membership in the Craft. He then instigated the Inquisition to persecute the Masons.

1862 A mob in Port Washington, Wisconsin, on November 10, entered the lodge room of Osaukee Lodge No. 17, and caused much destruction. They blamed Masonry for the war. The draft was blamed on the Masons.

– General Congregational Association of Illinois issued a resolution against secret societies with special reference to Free-masonry.

1864 An attempt was made in Strickland v. Prichard (37 Vermont 324), to have the court declare Freemasonry against public policy but the court refused.

1865 Pope Pius IX issued Bull against the Craft.

1867 Aurora Convention held, which led to formation of the National Christian Association.

1868 The Christian Cynosure first published.

Three day convention held in Pittsburgh as a result of the Aurora convention.

– Jose Orbera y Carrion, provisional governor of the Arch-bishopric of Cuba, a Roman Catholic priest, issued a scurrilous circular against Freemasonry.

1869 Eighteen persons seized in Santiago, Cuba and were immediately shot on the charge of being Freemasons. Others were sent to jail.

– Debate held in Lisle, Illinois between Charles A. Blanchard and Maria Elizabeth DeGeer.

– Publication of The Character, Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry, by Charles G. Finney.

– American Missionary Society, meeting in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, issued a resolution advising its members not to join secret organizations.

1870 Publication of Rev. John Levington, Origin of Masonic Conspiracy. Uses Barruel as his “witness.”

– Publication of Samuel D. Greene, The Broken Seal, or Personal Reminiscences of the Morgan Abduction.

– L. N. Stratton, graduate of Wheaton College, arranged a convention in New York, opposed to secret societies. Charles A. Blanchard was the main speaker.

1873 Publication of John Wolcott Phelps, Secret Societies.

– The bishop of the diocese of Pernambuco, in Brazil sought to enforce the Papal Bull against the Craft. The people were not sympathetic.

1874 Publication of Rev. A. F. A. Woodford, A Defence of Masonry which answered the arguments of the anti-Masons.

– Charter issued to form the National Christian Association. Violent campaign waged to stop Masonic services at laying of cornerstone for custom house in Chicago, Illinois.

– Lodge in Puerto Rico, on April 6, was raided, the members arrested, and later found guilty of being members of a “secret society.^”

– Secret societies condemned by the New York Times, the Philadelphia Press, and Harper’s Weekly.

1875 Philo Carpenter signed contract agreeing to finance the head-quarters for the National Christian Association.

1876 The Cook Publishing Company maintained a booth at the Centennial Exposition, in Philadelphia. It passed out 392,000 pages of anti-secret society material free. The exposition was open for six months.

1877 Movement to lay cornerstone of the county building in Chicago was defeated before county commissioners, eight to six.

1878 Philo Carpenter conveyed property to National Christian Association.

1879 Publication of Jonathan Blanchard, Freemasonry Illustrated.

1881 The Chicago Tribune published an article by Thurlow Weed about the Morgan Incident. This was answered later by James Aigin.

1882 The Chicago Tribune article by Thurlow Weed was published in pamphlet form by the National Christian Association.

1884 Pope Leo XIII issued Bull Humanum Genus against Freemasonry.

– Jonathan Blanchard became the candidate for president of the United States for the American Party, but withdrew at the last minute and nominated Samuel C. Pomeroy.

– Cardinal Guibert, Archbishop of Paris, warned Catholics not to become Masons.

1885 Publication of The War of Antichrist With the Church and Christian Civilization, a series of lectures given by Monsignor George Dillon, in Edinburgh.

1886 Masons in Puerto Rica persecuted and jailed.

– Publication of P. C. Huntington^’s, Masonic Light on the Abduction of William Morgan.

1888 Jonathan Blanchard delivered a talk at Hardwicke, Vermont, entitled “Freemasonry and Civil Government,” on September 10.

1890 Father McGlynn, in New York, had trouble being a good Roman Catholic and a faithful American.

1892 Publication of Franklin Paine’s, A View of the Oaths and Penalties of Freemasonry.

1893 The Philadelphia yearly meeting of the Society of Friends contained a lengthy statement in opposition to secret societies.

– Anti-Masonic campaign started in the Philippines.

– Tract published by Ellen G. White, prophetess of the Seventh Day Adventists, entitled Should Christians Be Members of a Secret Society?

1894 Anti-Masonic Bureau formed by Pope Leo XIII.

– The American bishops condemned a number of fraternal orders.

1895 Archbishop Katzer, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin issued a pastoral letter advising against lodge membership.

1896 Council of Trent met.

– Tract Association of Friends, of Philadelphia issued a pamphlet against secret societies.

1897 On Easter Sunday Leo Taxil admitted Diana Vaughn was a fraud.

1900 Publication of Zion’s Holy War Against the Hosts of Hell in Chicago, a series of addresses delivered by the Reverend John Alexander Dowie, in Chicago, Illinois. A portion of the talks attacked fraternal bodies.

1901 Publication in London of X-Rays on Freemasonry, by a Cowan.

1903 Publication of Charles A. Blanchard’s, Modern Secret Societies, by 1915 was in its seventh edition.

– News item in the Trenton (Mo.) Republican Tribune of December 17, stating that certain persons were objecting to the Masonic emblem on the cornerstone of the Grundy County court house. The objection was later withdrawn.

1907 The apostolic delegate, a guest from Europe, while visiting the United States, condemned “secret societies.”

1908 Publication of Arthur Preuss, A Study of American Freemamasonry. He stated the Roman Catholic point of view.

1910 Monsignor Archambault, Bishop of Joliette, Quebec, announced a strong condemnation of the Craft.

1911 Woodrow Wilson, then governor of New Jersey, attended the 150th Anniversary of St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Newark, New Jersey. He was not a Mason; his presence dispels the rumor that he was antagonistic to the Craft.

1913 Publication of the Catholic Encyclopedia. It had an article on Masonry by the Abbe Gruber.

– Pope Pius X, in October, recommended to the League of the Sacred Heart, that it battle the Craft.

– The German Catholic Congress, in Berlin, stated that Freemamasonry was a deceit and its god the devil.

1914 F. X. Weinschenk conducted an International Information Bureau (so-called by him), in which he issued bulletins charging an international conspiracy in favor of England using Masonry as its vehicle in the United States.

1915 Publication of W. Wonnacot, Martin Clare and the Defense of Masonry, a 34 page booklet.

1916 Cardinal Mannix in addressing the fourth annual meeting of the Australian Federation, at Melbourne, condemned Free-masonry.

1919 Masons refused opportunity to help rehabilitation work in Europe after World War One.

– Ludendorff stated work against Craft.

– Horthy regime in Hungary seized Masonic property and put it on display; members were persecuted.

1920 Anti-Masonic decree issued in Hungary. Masons persecuted.

– The Holy Office of the Roman Catholic Church issued a proclamation against the YMCA.

1921 Father J. Bridges, lecturing to the Catholic Society, of Liver-pool University, in November, spoke against Freemasonry.

1922 Russia outlawed Freemasonry.

1923 Mussolini started his persecution of Masons, after coming to power in 1922.

1924 Publication of Sam H. Goodwin’s, Mormonism and Masonry.

– Publication of Nesta H. Webster’s, Secret Societies.

– Publication by A. Preuss, A Dictionary of Secret and Other Societies.

– Physical assault on Masonic building in Rome by Fascists.

1925 Fascists pass anti-Masonic laws.

– Publication of Theodore Graebner’s, Winning the Lodge Man.

1926 Salvation Army issued “confidential” document against “secret societies.”

1927 Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland issued a rule that its members could not belong to lodges.

– The English Methodists at the Bedford conference issued a resolution that Freemasonry is incompatible with Christianity, on the ground that it is atheistic in nature, Christianity can find no expression in the Craft, and there is salvation only through Christ.

– Publication of Dr. Theodore Graebner’s, The Secret Empire.

1929 Publication in Dublin of Freemasonry and the Anti-Christian Movement, by E. Cahill, S.J.

– Pope Pius XI, in a speech delivered on February 13, declared that Mussolini was sent by Providence.

1930 Masonic Chronicler, of March 14, reported that International Congress of Anti-Masons was held in Vienna.

– Two anti-Masonic books published in Ireland: Freemasonry in Ireland and Freemasonry and the Anti-Christian Movement. Both were written by Roman Catholic priests and were very abusive in their language.

– Paper-back booklet entitled Reflections on Freemasonry by “An Anglo-Catholic” was published. It was distributed in England by the Freedom Press and in the United States by the National Christian Association.

1931 Freemasonry suppressed in Portugal by Salazar. The grand master was imprisoned.

1932 Publication of Theodore Dierks’ Christianity and Freemasonry, by Concordia Publishing Co., St. Louis, Missouri.

1933 The Greek Orthodox Church listened to a report of four bishops appointed a year before. The Craft was condemned, on October 12.

1934 English edition of Eugen Lennhoff^’s, The Freemasons published.

– Fritz Von Papen, co-signer of Hitler’s Reich, announced that the movement put in practice the high principles of the Papacy.

– The American Lutheran Church declared itself against lodge membership for its members.

1935 There was established in Paris the Interparliamentary Group of Defense Against Masonic Activity.

– Publication of Men of Good Will, by Jules Romains. This is a novel; Chapter 27 is entitled “The Mysteries of Freemasonry” and the discussion of the subject by the characters indicates that the Mason had joined because he was lonely and because of curiosity.

1936 Referendum in Switzerland to ban Freemasonry was defeated. Six Masons hung in Spain during civil war.

1937 Officials of an anti-Masonic organization in Switzerland were fined for making defamatory statements against the Craft.

1938 Lodges in Austria were pillaged. The grand master, Dr. Richard Schlesinger, was imprisoned and died soon after his release.

1939 A Swedish newspaper inspired by Nazi sympathizers attacked the Craft.

1940 Publication of Noel Pitts Gist’s, Secret Societies, by the University of Missouri, under the title of Studies, Volume 15, No. 4.

1941 The February 2 issue of The Sunday Visitor, of Huntington, Indiana, a Roman Catholic paper, had a front page article attacking Freemasonry.

– The June issue of Scibner’s Commentator had an article stating that Freemasonry is anti-clerical, political, and is opposed to established government.

– Publication of Dictators vs. Masons, in Colliers, on September 27.

– Publication of Annihilation of Freemasonry, by S. G. Lunden, in American Mercury, February issue.

1942 Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa (Cape Synod), appointed a committee to investigate the Craft. It issued an unfavorable report in November.

– The Orthodox Presbyterian Church of America received a report from a committee at the general assembly, at Rochester, New York condemning Freemasonry.

1943 Publication of John R. Rice’s, Lodges Examined by the Bible. Publication of Gustavus Meyers’, History of Bigotry in the United States. Chapter 12 is devoted to the anti-Masonic political party.

1944 Legal steps taken to have the Italian government return the Giustinian Palace to the Craft.

The Paulist Press issued a booklet containing Humanum Genus, with a “discussion club outline.”

1945 A number of Masons imprisoned in Spain.

– Franco makes speech against the Craft.

1946 Publication of Theodore Graebner’s, Is Masonry a Religion?

– The anti-Masonic decree issued in Hungary in 1920 was abolished. But re-instated in 1950.

– The Church of the Nazarene, which stemmed from Method-ism, in its manual, outlawed “oath-bound” societies by its members.

– Serbian anti-Masonic stamps issued. Museum established.

1947 Father Berthelot, a French Jesuit, published a book proposing a truce between the Roman Catholic Church and Freemasonry.

– Life magazine, September 5 issue, published an article “The Age of Enlightenment” making subtle derogatory statements against Freemasonry.

– The August issue of the Pentecostal Evangel, published at Springfield, Missouri, had three articles against the Craft.

1948 Publication of Dr. Theodore Graebner’s, A Handbook of Organizations.

– Publication issued by the Benedictine Fathers, of Benet Lake, Wisconsin against Freemasonry.

– Publication of Selected Messages by Ellen G. White, containing a reproduction of her 1893 pamphlet Should Christians Be Members of Secret Societies? She expressed the view of the Seventh Day Adventists.

– The National Catholic Almanac discussed the subject of Freemasonry, contending that the Craft is hostile to the Roman Catholic Church.

– Revival meeting held at Prosperity Baptist Church, Rocky Comfort, Missouri in which the Craft was berated and anti-Masonic literature was distributed.

– The Catholic Information Center, of New Orleans, in February, issued a pamphlet against Freemasonry.

1949 The Lutheran Witness, May 3 issue, warned youth against Job’s Daughters and the Order of DeMolay. This is a Missouri Synod publication.

– The budget of Spain contained an item appropriating $100,000 to suppress Freemasonry.

– Knights of Columbus issued booklet Investigate which had a chapter on Freemasonry.

– Haldeman-Julius, of Girard, Kansas, in April, issued Critic and Guide which purported to give the history of the Craft in its relationship “with Satan and the Popes.”

– Masonic Light, of Canada, reported a French film issued by the Petain regime justifying the persecution of the Masons. 1950 Masonry declared illegal in Hungary.

– Convention of Missouri Synod, of Lutheran Church met in Milwaukee. Members were warned against lodge membership. Publication of Grand Orient Unmasked being a re-issuance of Monsignor’s Lectures published in 1885; Father Fahey wrote a preface.

– Franco, in Spain, renewed his efforts against the Masons. The Pope issued a declaration against Rotary and similar organizations.

– In March the Observatore Romano, official Vatican newspaper, announced that the Papal Bulls against Freemasonry were still in force.

1951 The Lutheran Witness (magazine of Missouri Synod), issues of July 10 and 24, had two articles by Dr. Paul M. Bretcher, en-titled “To Join or Not to Join.”

– The Walton Hannah incident started in England.

– Publication of Thomas Sugrue’s, A Catholic Speaks His Mind.

1952 The Bishops of the Church of Greece adopted a resolution against Freemasonry.

– The Disciplines of the Philadelphia Yearly meeting, Society of Friends, declared itself against secret societies.

– Masons of Colombia who sought passports to attend a Conference in Mexico had difficulty securing them.

– Publication in Paris of Joseph Bertelot’s, Jesuite et Franc-Macon; souvenirs d’un amitie.

– The chaplain at St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel, at Veteran’s Administration Center, Kecoughtan, Virginia issued a leaflet attacking Freemasonry.

– Publication by J. Boor, Massoneria (Madrid).

– A series of trials were held in Czechoslovakia accusing the defendants of conspiring against the state. The men were Masons.

1953 The New England yearly meeting, Society of Friends, declared it was opposed to secret societies.

– The Milwaukee Journal reported that a Lutheran minister had made sensational charges against Freemasonry.

1954 A committee of the Church of the Brethren recommended that its members not join lodges.

– Masonry in the Light of the Bible by John C. Palmer, published by Missouri Synod.

1955 Publication of Our Glorious Popes, by the Slaves of the Immaculate Conception, Cambridge, Mass. The index has 11 references to Freemasonry.

– Dr. Mauro Baradi, of the Philippines, was opposed by the Roman Catholic Church as an appointee to a public post because he was a Mason though admitting he was a “sincere man, well intentioned and well educated.”

– Publication of Ralph Korngold’s Thaddeus Stevens; one chapter is entitled “Anti-Mason.”

1956 The High Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church petitioned the Minister of the Interior, of Greece, to withdraw the government recognition of Freemasonry, when a royal decree authorized the creation of a Freemasonic Institute of Greece.

– The Christian Science Monitor, on February 23, published a full page article on Masonry and discussed the unwarranted abuse of the Craft by its opponents.

– The Church of the Nazarene stated its opposition to the Craft. Publication of English edition of Teodoro M. Kalaw’s, Philip-pine Masonry, translated into English by H. Stevens and Antonio Maechazurra. It shows throughout the book the mighty struggle of the Masons against the anti-Masonic attitude of the Roman Catholic Church.

1957 Various Lutheran churches met, on September 27, and it appeared that the question of lodge membership was the main stumbling block to unity.

1958 Further meetings of Lutheran churches on matter of unity disclosed that lodge membership was main obstacle.

The March 22 issue of Awake, official magazine of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had an article against Freemasonry.

– Pamphlet containing 284 pages issued by “The Cardinal of Chile” and bearing the imprimatur of Jose Matia Cardinal Caro y Rodriquez, Archbishop of Chile. It contained some of the most extravagant accusations against the Craft such as plotting murders, war, and revolution.

– Representative of four Lutheran groups meeting in Chicago, in March, to determine union, recommended that new pastors be barred from lodge membership.

– Medinah Temple, Chicago Shrine, donated $5,000 to help victims of Roman Catholic School fire.