Enc: Custodi De Quella Fede

Guardians of that Faith. Addressed to the Italian people warning against the allurements and false promises of the Freemasons.

Pope Leo XIII wrote his encyclical Humanum Genus: On Freemasonry, on April 20, 1884, and another, Dall'Alto Dell'Apostolico Seggio: To the bishops, clergy and people of Italy on Freemasonry in Italy, on October 15, 1890, where he discusses at length the Masonic program and warned faithful Catholics about its incompatibility and opposition to the Church's program of eternal salvation. But seeing that the impious war continued to rage against the Church and particularly in Italy, he wrote this present encyclical, addressed to the Italian people, where again he raised a cry of alarm and protest over the machinations of this secret sect.

Since he had already talked about the principles of Masonry in the previous encyclicals, he limited himself this time to list its deplorable effects and accomplishments in Italy. The good pope then exhorts the Italian people to shake themselves loose from the allurements, false promises, and threats of this sect; to avoid being drawn into it; and to fight this battle offensively, opposing press to press, school to school, organization to organization, congress to congress, action to action.

“They closed monasteries and convents, but they let multiply at will masonic lodges and sectarian dens. They proclaimed the right of association, while the legal rights which all kinds of organizations use and abuse are denied to religious societies. They proclaim freedom of religion…”