THE ' OTAGO GUARDIAN,' THE POPE, AND THE FREEMASONS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 73, 19 September 1874, Page 5

THE ' OTAGO GUARDIAN,' THE POPE, AND THE FREEMASONS.

Tub ' Otago Guardian' is logically stolid. All our efforts to improve our contemporary m Dialectics have been in vain. On previous occasions — re Ilifaluting I — we endeavored, for the honor of our common profession, and as other means had failed, to shame our esteemed contemporary into something like logical writing. But to no purpose, we fear. The following paragraph from the ' Guardian' of Thursday last will prove how fruitless has been our zeal for the * Otago Guardian's' improvement : — "The last mail brought intelligence of the action taken by the Italian Freemasons in reference to the expulsion of the Pope from the Order. Our contemporary, the Tablet, very angrily denied the accuracy of the statement, and asserted that His Holiness had never belonged to " the

accursed Order." But our contemporary is not infallible. We ha-ve obtained further particulars from which we learn that Paolo Mastai FerbHtti— now Pio Nono— was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry a* Palermo in 1814, and was for some years a very active and enthusiastic Brother of the Order. The decree of expulsion, which has teen duly issued from the Grand Lodge of Italy, sets forth these and other particulars, and is signed by no less a personage than his Majesty Victor Emmanuel, the enlighened and patriotic Grand -Master." Unfortunately for our contemporary the Pope's name is not Paoxo Mastai Ferret-it, but John- Maria Mastai .FEKRErrr. This fact disposes of the calumny as regards His Holiness. But for the benefit of the ' Guardian/ we wish to point out its erroneous mode of argumentation. It does not follow that because a man is born in a stable that he is a horse. Neither does it follow, even were it true, that a man bearing the Pope's name was initiated into the accursed order of Freemason's at Palermo, that the Pope is the man. Surely it is not impossible that there may be in. Italy, with its 25,000,000 of Italians, more than one hearing the Pope's name. In this case, however, the name is not the same. On former occasions we gave some specimens of sylogisrns from the ' Otago Guardian.' To-day we give another and a crowning one. Here it is : — aud ye gods ! A man called Paolo Mastai Ferretti was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry at Palermo in ISJA But Pio Wono's name is John Maria Mastai jTerbetti. Therefore John Maria Mastai Ferrreti, the present Pope, is Paul Mastai Ferretti, and was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry at Palermo in 1814 ! ! ! "Well done ' Otago Guardian !' shade of Aristotle !it would not surprise us if you arose from your long restingplace to call the Editor of the ' Guardian ' to an account for his crimes against reason, facts, and common sense.