Answer:
Freemasonry has a history of anti-Catholicism. Because of this, the 1917 Code of Canon Law provided for the automatic excommunication of members of masonic sects: “Those giving their name to masonic sects or other associations of this sort that machinate the Church or legitimate civil powers contract by that fact excommunication simply reserved to the Apostolic See†(1917 CIC 2335).
The current (1983) Code does not explicitly mention masonic sects, however, Church teaching concerning membership in such organizations has not changed: “A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; however, a person who promotes or directs an association of this kind is to be punished with an interdict†(CIC 1374).
Retrieved from:
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=13786&highlight=FreemasonsLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=58562.0
