DR MORAN AND FREEMASONS.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 172, 25 February 1873, Page 6

DR MORAN AND FREEMASONS.

By 0. P. Q. There can be no doubt that, an energetic nature in a man who" has public, duties. to, perforin is valuable, and shoiild be.looked upon by those who come under his care or oversight with satisfaction ; yet there is just the possibility of it proving rather a dangerous gift, and a curse instead of a blessing to its possessor, when it is perverted to the furtherance of bad ends. No one possessed of the smallest conunbn sense, be he Roman Roman Catholic or be he Protestant, but will admit that the energy given to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin by his Creator is being so perverted, and that his late onslaught at Hokitika on a Society which has for its guiding principles the purest teachings of Christianity, is most unwarranted and uncalled for. That Roman Catholics who are Freemasons will brook the impertinent interference and listen to the base falsehoods of Dr Moran in this matter seems almost incredible. Professing to know the secrets of the Masonic body, Dr Moi'an, as reported in the West Coast Times of a late date, sums them up in the following words:—"These were the destruction of the Christian name, the destruction of Christian society—to destroy the church of God from men's hearts, and to allow of no authority except their own. They (Freemasons) blaspheme the name of Christ, and even go so far as to trample on the Cross, concealing their diabolical designs bv oaths of secresy." Is it possible that Dr Moran really believes what he is reported as having said ? It is almost incredible. A more diabolical tissue of falsehoods never came out of man's mouth. Such glaring, wicked lies—reflecting on the character of all classes of society, who by their lives have proved that the principles of Freemasonry are not only compatible, but are inseparably associated, with the true principles of Christianity-—deserve the reprobation, the scorn, of all true men. It is no doubt galling to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church that they are unable at confessional to worm out of penitent sinners the Masonic secrets which they have bound themselves by a solemn oath not to reveal ; but that this should be considered by them a sufficient reason for inventing and propagating such monstrous calumnies as Bishop Moran has given utterance to at Hokitika is not to be tolerated. There is only- one satisfaction to be derived from the promulgation of these lies—they are .quite sufficient to bring into disrepute all future oracular effusions coming from a similar quarter, and to lessen the influence over his flock which a man in B'shop Moran's exalted position has under ordinary circumstances a right to expect, and which under such circumstances is freely and; respectfully acknowledged. It is a matter for supreme regret that such bigotry and miserable jealousy should exist in our community. It is a matter of every-day talk, and has lowered Dr Moran in the eyes of all classes—so much so, that his name has positively become a bye-word and a reproach—a firebrand is the common appellation now used | when speaking of a man who ought to have j made himself respected and beloved, but who I has proved himself as being lamentably, | pitifully destitute of that Christian charity, and of those noble traits of character whose absence he deplores in the Freemasons he has so falsely described, but who, if they only follow out the high precepts and principles of the society of which they are members, are in comparison with Dr Moran as the ■ lamb to the wolf, as the gem of the purest | water to the false stone which deceives the [ eye. It is really pitiable that men gifted with superior mental powers should allow I themselves to be so far led astray by jealousy, [ as to descend to misrepresentation and vilification in the endeavour to gain their ends. S For it is clearly a feeling of jealous regard for the power of the Church that induces the Roman Catholic priesthood to condemn Freej masonry. Anything interfering with the absolution of the Church is condemned as all that is vile and ungodly. The very fact of ! any of their flock daring to keep secrets from the Church owing to their connection with the Masonic body, is therefore sullicient to stamp the society as iniquitous and vile. And the most slender and unreliable of evidence is seized upon in proof of tiie unholy doctrine taught in the lodge-room of Freemasons. On the evidence of a man who pretended to reveal the secrets of the fraternity in the reign of Pope Leo XII., Dr Moran leads us to imagine that he considers he is justified in giving utterance to the sweeping condemnation of his fellow-men as quoted above. This on the statements of a man who stands self-convicted as a liar—-who is, taking his statements to be true, utterly lost to the nature of a most solemn and binding oath. Is it not quite as likely that his "revelations" are false, as that he would break the solemn oath by which he bound himself to strictly and faithfully keep the secrets of the Society into which he was admitted as a member I It is well known that highly intelligent and reputable ministers of the Christian Churches in the home country are Freemasons, and that many of them have taken active parts in the furtherance of the objects of the brotherhood, and in the spread of its beneficent and ennobling principles and precepts. Does Dr Moran put himself above all these Christian gentlemen, in his pitiable bigotry and presuming absolut)sm l Are their opinions to be set aside as worthless, and their lives to be stigmatised as hypocritical and base, as they unquestionably would 'be were Freemasonry the diabolical agency of the devil which Dr Moran asserts it is I The questions do not need answering. They are in themselves a sufficient refutation of the accusa-

tions of Dr Moran and of the " revelations" of the " man who lived in the reign of Pope Leo XII." It is really not worth while devoting more space to the subject, as the common sense of most people will enable them to judge for themselves in the matter. Dr Moran will certainly do more harm than good to the cause which we presume he has at heart by continuing these fiery outbursts. They are utterly unworthy of any man calling himself a Christian; they are calculated to do very great harm both to himself and his Church ; and the truth of this opinion, if we are not greatly mistaken, Dr Moran will doubtless have reason to acknowledge.