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Laos - GB-L07-The de Profundis of Freemasonry
Laos - GB-L07-The de Profundis of Freemasonry
Giuliano Di Bernardo
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A FREEMASON’S LAMENT
by Giuliano Di Bernardo
What meaning has Freemasonry had for my life? If I could go back in time,
would I make the same choices again? These questions recur in my mind.
What caused them? The collapse of a myth: the United Grand Lodge of
England. My life in Freemasonry, at least since I began writing Philosophy of
Freemasonry, has been inspired by this Grand Lodge, the mother of all
regular Freemasonry in the world, the expression of true and pure
Freemasonry. Why am I singing its de profundis? To understand it, it is
necessary to take a bird’s-eye view of the milestones of my Masonic life
experiences, spanning from the end of World War II to the present day.
I took the first step when Nannetti told the Grand Secretary of the Grand
Orient of Italy about me and asked him to receive me. It was 1957. I went to
Rome and went to the headquarters in Via Giustiniani 5, at 10 a.m. on an
autumn day. I was aware that that meeting would be the first link in a chain
of events that would shape my life. So, it was.
For a long time, I had been trying to imagine my initiation. How would it
unfold? What emotions would it bring me? There is always a gap between
imagination and reality. What was the gap that I observed? Mainly, it was
about the ritual. The first impression I received from it was that I felt like
an affiliate of Giuseppe Mazzini’s “Carboneria.” I did not understand the
use of hoods and some of the phrases in the ritual that expressed the
conspiracy of the Risorgimento uprisings. I discussed this with Manelli. I
was surprised to learn his opinion in this regard. According to him, the
ritual had been counterfeited with the introduction of the Bible on which
the Mason must swear. In his time the oath was sealed by giving a hammer
blow on the anvil. He believed that Freemasonry not only had nothing to do
with religion but rather was its secular enemy.
Carlo Manelli, in citing this episode in his Masonic life, referred to the
Grand Orient of France, whose conception of Freemasonry both as a society
of men and as a philosophical anthropology was shared by the Grand
Orient of Italy. What are the characteristics of the Grand Orient of France
that were shared by the GOI? As I mentioned in the Lecture on
“Freemasonry and Science” [ed. note: forthcoming], the influence exerted
by positivism on the GOF’s decision to abolish the formula of the “Great
Architect of the Universe” in 1877, in fact a declaration in favor of atheism,
had the consequence of leading the United Grand Lodge of England to
withdraw its recognition. Since that time the paths of the two Masonic
Obediences have permanently parted. The Grand Orient of Italy sided with
the Grand Orient of France, although Constantine Nigra, in the short time
he was its Grand Master, applied for recognition to the United Grand Lodge
of England. At the time of my initiation 62 years ago, people in the GOI lived
according to the vision of French Freemasonry. If English Freemasonry had
been mentioned, it would have been hastily said that it was a religion.
Relations with the Grand Orient of France began to sour with the election as
Grand Master of Giordano Gamberini, who set as one of the ends to be
achieved the recognition of the United Grand Lodge of England. Dialogue
with the Catholic Church also distanced the GOI from the French
Obedience, until the final split in 1972, when, after one hundred and ten
years, English Freemasonry granted the GOI its coveted recognition.
Giordano Gamberini’s Grand Masterhood (1961-1970) brought about a
Copernican revolution within the Grand Orient of Italy, which would give it
a unique and irreversible direction. Regarding the recognition of the UGLE,
an important role is also played by Licio Gelli, who contributes in his own
way. In those years, in fact, he was Grand Secretary of the United Grand
Lodge of England H. Penberton, a man of great power and charisma. It is
said that when his daughter’s wedding, Gelli had given, as a wedding gift, a
Rolls Royce. This fact suggests that Gelli was already playing a privileged
role alongside Grand Master Gamberini, who would recommend him to his
successor Lino Salvini. Licio Gelli was not born with Salvini but with
Gamberini. It is with Salvini, however, that he obtains the greatest power.
The student uprisings of ’68 were now passing and a wind of novelty was
blowing through Italian universities. The exit from a period marked by
terrorism gave rise to a sense of euphoria and many cultural initiatives
were being undertaken. This was also happening in the “Zamboni-De
Rolandis” Lodge.
In 1985 two events occurred that concerned Fabio Roversi Monaco and me.
Fabio Ferrari, elected Rector of the University of Trento, asks me to serve as
Pro-Rector. I accept, and Ferrari sends his proposal for my appointment to
the Ministry of Education for the necessary authorization. While waiting,
Roversi requests an urgent convocation of our Lodge. When we meet, he
informs us that he has learned from reliable sources that his membership
in the “Zamboni-De Rolandis” will be used against him in the race for the
Rectorate of the University of Bologna. Roversi, in fact, was the candidate
most likely to succeed. In addition, the “cover” of the Lodge would also be
highlighted. We examine the problem and solve it with the decision to
release our list to the press, precisely to show that the Lodge is not covered.
The next day, all local and national newspapers report the list with our
names. With this expedient we had thwarted the attack by anticipating it.
Our decision got the desired result and Fabio Roversi Monaco was elected
Magnifico Rector of the University of Bologna.
1988 was the year of the Ninth Centenary of the University of Bologna
(1088-1988). Rector Roversi, who would be its protagonist, officially opened
the Celebrations in the ancient Aula Magna of Palazzo Poggi, headquarters
of the University of Bologna. It would be a year in the spotlight for Bologna
because of the presence of so many personalities from the fields of culture,
science, politics, and spirituality, who were honorary graduates of the Alma
Mater. Loggia professors were always present to support the Rector’s
initiatives. The Centennial year was, for the “Zamboni-De Rolandis,” a time
of shining brotherhood.
But 1988 was also the year when Prosecutor Libero Mancuso of the Bologna
Public Prosecutor’s Office put the “Zamboni-De Rolandis” under
investigation, accusing it of being a “covered” Lodge in violation of the
Spadolini-Anselmi Law on secret societies. The stir was enormous. All of us,
members of the Lodge, received the notice of guarantee with the search and
seizure warrant. We had to prepare our defense. The criminal trial followed
all the ritual stages punctually. A few years later, when I was Grand Master
of the Grand Orient of Italy, the investigation reached its conclusion: we
were all acquitted because “the fact does not exist.” An attempt had been
made, once again, to strike the most authoritative Lodge of the Grand
Orient of Italy, to which both the Grand Master and the Magnificent Rector
of the University of Bologna belonged.
Even today, many people wonder how this could have happened. The
reason is to be found in the ambiguity of the term “coverage.” To
understand it correctly, it is necessary to examine it in the diachronic
dimension. Today the meaning of “covered Lodge” is as inferred from the
1982 Spadolini-Anselmi Law. But in earlier decades its meaning was
different! “Covered” meant a privilege granted to certain Masonic bodies. It
was not intended to hide something but to privilege it. The “Zamboni-De
Rolandis” was a “covered” Lodge because it had received from the Grand
Master the privilege of meeting outside the Masonic House, with the
consequence that brothers from other Lodges would not be able to
participate in its work, as provided by the General Regulations. The reason
for this decision was practical: since the topics covered by the university
professors would be of a high level, it would not make sense to have other
brothers attend unless they explicitly asked. Having made this exception to
the other Lodges, everything was perfectly identical, from the publicity of
admission to initiation, to compliance with the General Regulations of the
Order. Prosecutor Libero Mancuso put the “Zamboni-De Rolandis” under
investigation to see if it was in violation of the Spadolini-Anselmi law. The
conclusion that “the fact does not exist” is the clearest evidence that the
Lodge was not “covered” according to the meaning given to it after 1982.
The Court of Bologna itself testifies to this. As far as I am concerned, when
Manelli made me apply for a transfer to the “Zamboni-De Rolandis” and
dictated the letter to me, the meaning he gave to the term “covered” was
precisely the one prior to the Spadolini-Anselmi Law.
My Masonic life, within the “Zamboni-De Rolandis,” since my transfer in
1974, had been conducted in the conviction that Freemasonry was the
center of union for the ethical perfecting of the Mason. In fifteen years, no
crack had formed in human relations and relations with other social
groups. There was no talk of corruption, infiltration of criminal
organizations or brothers involved in crimes. My degree of satisfaction was
through the roof. I kept thanking Arnaldo Nannetti who, when I was still a
teenager, introduced me to Freemasonry and gave me the opportunity to
join.
In 1979 I won the competition and was called to the chair of Philosophy of
Science and Logic in the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Trento. In
just twelve years I had reached the top of academia, in one of the most
complex philosophical disciplines. To reach that sphere I had faced all sorts
of difficulties and hardships.
I felt like one who has climbed a high mountain and finds himself on its
summit contemplating the surrounding landscape, exhausted but happy
with the feat he has accomplished.
I had activated the method of doubt, which I began to use with myself.
What is Freemasonry to me? If I had to explain it to my students, how
would I define it? So, I understood that I was ignorant of its meaning. This
discovery was surprising. After declaring my ignorance, I questioned those
whom I considered masters, but they too manifested the same ignorance.
Like Socrates, I continued to ask but the answer was always the same:
Freemasonry is …many different, sometimes conflicting things. I
understood then that my task would be to give an objective definition of
Freemasonry that would be valid for everyone.
The reflections so far on the United Grand Lodge of England have not
considered the Emulation ritual adopted by it. When I set out to analyze it, I
fervently hoped that, unlike that of the Grand Orient of Italy, it was an
expression of the Masonic anthropology that English Freemasonry itself
had made possible by the issuance of the documents already mentioned.
But I was deluding myself. At the end of my analysis of the ritual, I had to
admit that “from the frying pan, one had fallen into the fire.” If I had
previously found the ritual of the GOI antiquated, I now found the ritual of
the United Grand Lodge of England misleading in that its content expressed
the religiosity of the Bible. In other words, it was a religious ritual. In fact,
many times one invokes the Highest, kneels, addresses prayers to him and
asks for his blessing. But hadn’t the United Grand Lodge of England
declared that Freemasonry is not a religion? If it is not a religion, why is its
ritual religious? Is this not a contradiction? Yes, in fact it is indeed a
contradiction, casting ambiguity in its way of being. In any case, what I was
interested in was Masonic anthropology and not ritual.
In that framework, in which everything was right and perfect, there was
discordant note: the Emulation ritual. Since I had founded the GLRI on the
model of the UGLE, whose Constitutions and Regulations I had
incorporated, for consistency I had had to accept its ritual as well.
The elective affinities with Lord Northampton were perfect. It took only a
few words to agree on things to be done and how to do them. However, in
those years, a group of “reformers” began to form in the high ranks of the
United Grand Lodge of England, promoted by Lord Northampton himself.
The aim was to change the relationship between Grand Master and Grand
Secretary, in favor of the former. The model they were inspired by was that
of the European Grand Lodges, in which the Grand Master holds decision-
making power while the Grand Secretary is given responsibility for
administration.
From the very beginning, in English Freemasonry, the Grand Master has
had a representative role, especially when he was the King of England.
Consequently, it was always the Grand Secretary who governed
Freemasonry. It was he, and he alone, who decided on internal affairs and
awards. It is true that he was assisted by the “Board of General Purposes,”
but ultimately, he made the decisions.
The reformers wanted the Grand Master to have the same powers as the
Grand Masters of the European Grand Lodges. To do this, however, they
would have had to downsize and weaken the role of the Grand Secretary. At
the time was Grand Secretary Michael Higham, a man of great prestige and
charisma, a profound connoisseur of Masonic realities around the world. It
was he who had recognized the new Grand Lodges in Italy and Greece. A
man like him would never have agreed to downsize his role. It was
necessary, therefore, to put him in a position to leave. The path followed
was to challenge him for errors in some of his decisions. One of these
concerned precisely the recognition given to the Regular Grand Lodge of
Italy. What was merely an instrument of internal struggle, however,
produced consequences abroad as well. The Grand Orient of Italy began to
hope that it could regain British recognition.
The climate had changed, and I felt the signs of it in Lord Northampton’s
changed attitudes. That relationship of deep and sincere friendship, which
had united us in the Swiss “Dignity” Foundation and in the conception and
establishment of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, was beginning to have
cracks and dark areas. Thus, it came to the fall of 2001, when, at our last
meeting in Wynyates, he informed me that the United Grand Lodge of
England was considering the possibility of re-granting recognition to the
Grand Orient of Italy. I realized then that my mission in Freemasonry had
come to an end.
This model was flawless from its origins in the eighteenth century until
fifty years ago. Then began the most radical transformation of the world we
live in by science and its technological applications. In just a few decades
the secrets of the universe and of life were revealed. Theoretical physics
discovered the “primordial building block” of matter, while the theory of
evolution identified the mechanisms by which nature creates living species.
In this way nature was sent to the ceiling and man replaced it. Space flight
and the deciphering of the human genome are only a few aspects of the
scientific discoveries of our time. From them descend relevant
technological applications, which have profoundly changed our daily
existence.
At the origins of all this is “globalization.” Many see it as the cause of many
of the ills afflicting humanity today and wish for a return to the past. Not so.
The more science moves forward with its discoveries, the more
globalization becomes a reality. To eliminate globalization, one would have
to halt scientific research. Is this possible?
Does Freemasonry still have the esoteric foundation? With this question
we enter the heart of the problem. The lack of internationality and
universality concerns aspects of Freemasonry’s associational life that we
can call “profane.” Freemasonry, however, is not only a profane society. The
esoteric foundation is its specificity. “Profane” and “esoteric” must be
conjugated but giving priority to the latter. I ask: Is the esoteric foundation
still a priority in today’s Freemasonry?
After World War II, the rebirth of Freemasonry in Italy was facilitated by
Freemasons from the United States, who imported the “democratic”
conception of Freemasonry and imposed it. Worse than this, Freemasonry
in Italy could not have been reborn. Of the glorious Freemasonry that
existed before, from its origins to the advent of fascism, nothing now
remains (except sterile rhetoric). It is precisely here that the “counter-
initiation” of Freemasonry was born, which, in later years, would be
accentuated and make the P2 Lodge possible.
It should immediately be pointed out that there is no single ritual that is
valid for all Freemasonries in the world. It can be said that, among the few
important Rituals, the one that assumes the greatest importance is the
Emulation ritual, in use in the United Grand Lodge of England and the
Freemasonries recognized by it. That ritual, however, as I have already
explained, was taken from the Bible, of which it has the same religious
characteristics. Thus, it is a religious ritual, as the Fathers of the Catholic
Church rightly claim.
I began to review the different esoteric societies that had been realized in
the millennial journey of humanity, to find the historical “dress” to give to
my conception of life and man. My attention was drawn to the Order of the
Illuminati. The “Illuminati” expressed true universality, as they regarded
man for his innate qualities, regardless of gender, skin color, language,
religion, and culture. The decision was made I was going to “awaken” the
Illuminati, in Italy and around the world. I was legitimized to do so, since I
had been Grand Master of a regular Freemasonry that had given me
initiatory authority.
What name to give it? The term “Order” puzzled me because of its
inflation. After careful analysis, I chose the term “Academy” also to
highlight the elitist character of the Illuminati. At present, however, I favor
the term “Order,” which I think is more appropriate anyway.
With this vision I awakened the Illuminati, first in Italy and then in other
countries. The registration of the “Deed of Incorporation” bears the date of
July 11, 2002. The first headquarters was in Rome, at number 33 Piazza di
Spagna.
The Illuminati awakening has been widely echoed both in Italy and around
the world. Even the Vatican took an interest in it. In this regard, I can report
that it was proposed to me to welcome among its followers Monsignor
Giorgio Eldarov, born in Zorniza (Bulgaria) on February 27, 1926. Eldarov, a
man of keen intellect and a profound connoisseur of human nature, had
been commissioned by Pope John Paul II to follow the “Bulgarian trail” for
his assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square. Moreover, as a careful
scholar, he had uncovered unpublished news about Monsignor Roncalli’s
time spent in Bulgaria as Apostolic Nuncio before he became Pope John
XXIII. After meeting him personally, I welcomed him to the Illuminati.
When the “Accademia degli Illuminati” waslegally formed on July 11, 2002,
at the office of notary Giovanni Pocaterra in Rome, Monsignor Eladrov was
among the Founding Members.
An Order that sets out to defend human dignity must choose the areas that
are primary to it, considering the historical and contingent conditions in
which humanity finds itself. In the world in which we live, the defense of
human dignity means, primarily, the defense of ethnic minorities, women,
the weak, the persecuted and the marginalized.
With the Order of the Illuminati and Dignity I am moving into the future.
My Masonic experience now belongs to the past. If I look back, to take a last
look, I see the ruins of one of the noblest societies that, for some centuries,
guided the destiny of peoples. As for Italy, I see Grand Masters amending
the Constitutions to get themselves re-elected. Others trying, fortunately to
no avail, to get elected for life. As in the secular world, they do not want to
leave King Solomon’s Throne to keep the “metals,” that is, material
privileges. It is they, who are at the top of it, who are leading the counter-
initiation in Freemasonry! How sad!
I also see, in all Freemasonries, worthy men who have esoteric knowledge
but are bewildered. For them, and only for them, the door of my Orders is
always open.
Although I have left the world of Freemasonry, I have remained a keen
observer of it, at least of the Grand Orient of Italy and the Regular Grand
Lodge of Italy, of which I was Grand Master. One day I received the
“Speech” that Lord Northampton, who has since become Pro-Grand Master
of UGLE, had given at the Meeting of European Grand Masters held on
November 5 and 6, 2007. In it, he had declared his intention to revise the
“Principles for the Recognition of a Grand Lodge,” a document issued by the
Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland in 1929, by modifying the
principle of territorial exclusivity, according to which the UGLE could
recognize, in the same territory, two or more Masonic Obediences, if they
recognized each other. Applied to Italy, this meant that the UGLE could also
recognize the GOI, provided there was mutual recognition with the GLRI.
For what reason was UGLE willing to do anything to achieve this end? That
this was his intention I understood as early as 2001, when I had my last
meeting with Lord Northampton at his residence in Wynyates, but his
stubbornness in insisting on this path suggested to me reasons beyond GOI.
With the hindsight of twenty years later, I think one reason (perhaps the
most important) was the lack of numerical growth of the Regular Grand
Lodge of Italy and the lack of recognition by European and American Grand
Lodges.
In United States Freemasonry, nothing happens without the consent of the
Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It
was important, therefore, to know Fred Kleinknecht’s orientation as well. I
met him in Washington, D.C., in the majestic headquarters of the Scottish
Rite. He congratulated me for fighting corruption within Italian
Freemasonry and assured me that the awards would be taken away from
the Grand Orient of Italy and given to the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy. It
seemed done, but it was not.
But was I willing to welcome the Scottish Rite into my Grand Lodge? Once
again, I was facing the risk of pollution. Welcoming the Scottish Rite of Italy
would have meant opening the doors to thousands of Masons in the Grand
Orient of Italy who belonged to the Scottish Rite. Up to that point I had
chosen the candidates with the utmost care. The decision to accept the
Scottish Rite would have thwarted the work done so far. Moreover, Scottish
Masons did not like English Freemasonry and its Emulation ritual. So, my
answer was no, knowing-at that point-that the recognition would no longer
be given to me. A few hours before the meeting of the Recognitions
Committee began, the High Priest of the York Rite told me that they would
vote in favor of my recognition if I would commit to accept their Rite into
the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy. My answer was still negative. The
situation was now clear. The recognitions would remain with the Grand
Orient of Italy. So, it was. To remain faithful to the English model of
Freemasonry, I had lost both the recognitions of the European Grand
Lodges and those of the Grand Lodges of the United States.
After the founding of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, Bruno Castellani,
President of the Board of General Purposes, solicited a meeting of mine
with Fausto Bruni, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, who
had succeeded Vittorio Colao. This Rite, while counting several adherents,
was going through a period of crisis. After the split of the Supreme Council,
Cecovini’s Rite had been recognized by the Southern Jurisdiction of the
United States and the Grand Orient of Italy. This had allowed its hinging on
the Grand Orient of Italy.
Fausto Bruni’s Scottish Rite had not had this possibility. When there is no
Order on which to hinge the Rite, it is customary to create an Order within
the Rite itself. In that case, the Sovereign is also Grand Master. This was an
expedient that, on balance, worked. However, it posed severe limitations
especially in international relations. Bruni was looking for a way out of the
cramped and difficult situation he was in. The Regular Grand Lodge of Italy
also had a problem to solve, which concerned its quantitative growth. The
rigid selection criteria for candidates was slowing down its development.
The United Grand Lodge of England, on the contrary, was urging it on. I
accepted, thus, the proposal to meet Fausto Bruni. The first impression was
positive. Bruni and his most trusted associates were sincerely convinced of
joining the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, and they wanted to examine with
me the conditions for doing so. There were, however, difficulties that
seemed insuperable to me.
The Scottish Rite of Italy had remained united under the rule of Giovanni
Pica (1967-1976), but after Vittorio Colao (1976-1978) was elected as his
successor there was a two-factional clash within the Supreme Council. The
reason concerned the decision to accept Lino Salvini, Grand Master of the
Grand Orient of Italy, into the Supreme Council. On one side was Colao who
was against it, and on the other were Manlio Cecovini and Giordano
Gamberini who were, on the other hand, in favor. Between May and June
1977, a mutual cross-expulsion, and the formation of two rival Supreme
Councils took place: one of Colao and the other of Cecovini (which included
Salvini and Gamberini). The Grand Orient of Italy recognized Cecovini’s
legitimacy. So did the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the
United States in Washington, D.C., which was deemed the “mother of the
world” Supreme Council.
After the book was published in 1987, Manlio proposed that I should carry
out the same philosophical investigation of the Scottish Rite as well. I
accepted his proposal and procured for myself the volume Morals and
Dogma by Albert Pike, considered the “Bible” of the Scottish Rite. I devoted
the summer of 1988 to reading this work. Pike had given meaning to the
Degrees of the Rite (4th to 33rd) by also drawing on the history of
philosophy. However, his quotes were unfounded or meaningless. He talked
about philosophy but did not actually know it. Most of the time he was
inventing. On the other hand, the official document on which the Scottish
Rite was based was his own book. Any philosophical investigation could not
have prescinded from it. I concluded that, for lack of well-founded
documents, there would be no point in carrying out a philosophical
investigation of Scottish Rite thought. I discussed this with Cecovini and he
agreed.
After a few meetings, Manlio decided that I should join the Supreme
Council, not only to debilitate it, but also to bring it to a higher level of
culture. In perspective, I was to be its Sovereign. The General Regulations of
the Rite state that the Supreme Council should consist of no more than 33
members with the 33rd Degree. At that time there were seven vacancies.
Cecovini proposed my candidacy to the 26 members and asked for their
support. Sometime later he informed me that I had been elected a Full
Member of the Supreme Council. To celebrate, he invited me to Trieste.
During the traditional lunch in a trattoria, he confided to me how events
had unfolded. The proposal concerning me had had strong opposition at
first because of my young age. In a sense they were right. The age
difference between me and the youngest member of the Supreme Council
was at least twenty years! Cecovini, however, understood that the real
reason for the opposition was another: they would be willing to support me
if Manlio accepted their candidates. I remember his comment, “to have you
I had to allow the admission of modest people, who will give nothing to the
Rite. Paris is worth a Mass.” In this way, at only 49 years old, I entered the
Supreme Council of Italy.
Manlio Cecovini, who was a mentor and Master for me, called my attention
to two fundamental principles of the Scottish Rite: 1) the Scottish Rite is the
university of Freemasonry and 2) the Scottish Rite is the guardian of the
Order. The first Principle states that a Mason’s further education does not
end with the degree of Master but continues according to ascendancy to the
High Degrees. From the perspective of the Scottish Rite, the polishing of the
“rough stone” is complete when the Mason reaches the 33rd degree. In this
sense, the Scottish Rite is the university of Freemasonry. The second
Principle is meant to signify that the Scottish Rite is not indifferent to the
Order but is its guardian. This role is carried out by verifying not only the
conformity of the resolutions adopted by the Grand Master and the Council
with the Constitutions and General Regulations, but also and above all the
conditions of harmony and brotherhood that must always exist within the
Communion. Relations between the Order and the Scottish Rite are
regulated by a Concordat by which the Order recognizes the Rite, allowing
the co-option of its Masters into the same. After being recognized by the
Order, the Scottish Rite becomes a sovereign and independent body. If it
also obtains the recognition of the Supreme Council of the Southern
Jurisdiction of the United States in Washington, D.C., then it will become a
member of the Federation of Supreme Councils and can enjoy the privilege
of being protected and defended from all attacks that might come from
both the Masonic and profane worlds.
Once again, the paradox of English Freemasonry appears, but this time it
concerns my choices. The decision to introduce in Italy the complete model
(even the Emulation ritual) of the United Grand of England meant for me to
maintain its purity. I always wanted to be able to tell the English leadership
that GLRI had no degenerations of any kind within it. I thought that my
choices to keep it pure would be shared and praised. I was deluding myself.
Instead of receiving praise, I was being accused of not being able to gain
more international recognition and increase the number of affiliates. I
understood then that, to continue to have the confidence of British
Freemasonry, I would do well to take Yves Trestournel’s advice and obtain
the recognitions of European Freemasonry. I would also have done well to
admit into the GLRI the Scottish Rite of the GOI and that of Fausto Bruni. I
should have done the opposite of what I had done. What would have been
the point? Once again, I found myself between a rock and a hard place. I
was beginning to realize that I had embarked on a path that would bring
me disappointment and defeat. I found myself in the middle of a
paradoxical situation: what the philosopher Leibniz would have called a
“perplexing case.” The only way out would have been my final and
irrevocable withdrawal from Freemasonry. So, it was.
In the “Letter” that the Sardinian brothers recently sent to him, they
demanded to know the reasons for such abandonments. This question and
many others went unanswered, in return resulting in their expulsion for
the crime of “lese majesty.”
This is an internal matter for GLRI, which is of little interest to UGLE, which
can only see that, between expulsions and resignations, the number of
affiliates continues to decline dramatically.
To justify this statement of mine, let us consider the Italian case, which can
be both paradigmatic and generalized. When the UGLE took away the
recognition from the GOI and gave it to the GLRI it was done in a way that
did not give rise to conflict of any kind. The recognition given back to the
GOI on March 8 this year, conversely, has triggered a series of negative
events that could jeopardize the survival of these two Obediences. Let us try
to understand the main reasons for this.
This is the “Table of Law,” which sets inescapable conditions for the
recognition of the Grand Orient of Italy. The GOI and GLRI are obliged to
adhere to it scrupulously, under penalty of sanctions by the UGLE. But since
the respective Grand Masters make, on these points, propagandistic
statements, I will explain their meaning.
The second statement, then, suggests that the GOI requested the restoration
of recognition. Here, too, Stephen Bisi is not telling the truth when he
claims that the UGLE, on its own initiative, restored recognition.
The third statement, again, shows that the GOI has agreed with the UGLE on
the continued recognition of the GLRI. Bisi, therefore, cannot claim that he
will not recognize the GLRI, nor can he expect to recognize it and then take
away its recognition. Its recognition must be final and continuous. Bisi
cannot recognize the GLRI and then ban some of its members (those from
’93) from attending its Lodges. It is as if the UGLE, after recognizing the GOI,
banned some of its Masons from attending its Lodges. The recognition of
the GLRI is a general measure that applies to all Masons in its obedience. If
Bisi did so, he would be chargeable with abuse of his authority, an abuse
that would certainly be sanctioned by the UGLE.
Bisi still has not understood, yet it has been nine years since his election,
that the Grand Master has a duty to act within the Regulations and
agreements made. Especially if those agreements concern the UGLE, and
even if they do not provide for the exclusion from Lodge work of the
“brothers of ’93.” On this occasion, too, he decides and acts according to his
personal view, which, however, is not the one reflected in the Agenda of the
UGLE.
Finally, it appears from the fourth statement that UGLE now believes that
the GOI is back to meeting the requirements to get its recognition back. A
world opens to be explored on this point….
At the beginning of this year there were rumors and rumors that the new
recognition would take place at the March Quarterly Communication. On
the part of the GOI and GLRI there was a deafening silence, as if the matter
did not concern them. Suddenly the news of the arrest of Mafia chief
Matteo Messina Denaro, a fugitive from justice for more than 30 years,
explodes with the roar of a cannon. The event itself is a simple police
operation that is applauded by all. However, news begins to circulate that
the mafia chief’s fugitive status was also aided by a doctor, Dr. Alfonso
Tumbarello, a member of the “Valle di Cusa-Giovanni Di Gangi” Lodge No.
1035 in Campobello di Mazara of the Grand Orient of Italy. All hell breaks
loose. The mass media rushes to the small town in the Trapani area where
the GOI Lodge is located. Tumbarello is soon arrested on charges of
“external complicity in mafia association and forgery,” the Re-examination
Court validates, and the rest is daily history.
What does this story reveal? First, the infiltration of the Mafia into some
Lodges of the Grand Orient of Italy. These infiltrations in the Trapani area
have been talked about for about half a century. So, really, nothing new.
When I was elected Grand Master of the GOI in 1990, during one of my
visits to the Circumscription of Sicily in Palermo, the most influential
Mason on the island, the lawyer Massimo Maggiore, whom I had appointed
President of the Central Court, begged me not to accept the invitation to
visit the Lodges of Campobello di Mazara, because they were infiltrated by
the Mafia. The message had been clear, and I treasured it. Tumbarello’s
arrest was for me the confirmation of what I had been told at the time by
the Sicilian leadership.
In the time when I was Grand Master of the GOI it was not even conceivable
that the Grand Master could become an honorary member of a Lodge to his
obedience, moreover during his Grand Masterhood, at least for a reason of
fairness in relations with other Lodges. Why would the Grand Master favor
some Lodges at the expense of others? Thirty years have passed, and it is
possible that things have changed. However, when asked about this issue
by journalist Pipitone of the Fatto Quotidiano, Stefano Bisi, however,
bickered, saying that it is normal for the Grand Master to be an honorary
member of Lodges. The answer given to the journalist to me does not add
up and is not enough. To me Bisi must tell how many and which Lodges
have welcomed him as an honorary member in the last nine years, that is,
since he has been Grand Master of the GOI. Otherwise, I would be led to
think that he had a very special reason for … being a member of Alfonso
Tumbarello’s Lodge.
When the Tumbarello case broke out, the mass media interviewed me for
my opinion on the matter. The refrain I repeated was, “Thirty years ago I
was advised by the Sicilian leadership not to attend the Lodges of
Campobello di Mazara because they were infiltrated by the Mafia; today I
learn that one of those Lodges is infiltrated; I conclude by saying that those
who came after me in the GOI government did not clean them up.” My
statement is composed of a historical fact and a current observation.
What was the reaction of dr. Stefano Bisi? He reported me to the Court of
Rome and demanded compensation for material and moral damages. He
could not resist the temptation to sue me, and he started a lawsuit that will
backfire on him. He did not have the wisdom to follow the adage, “let
sleeping dogs lie.” He wanted to wake me up, and he will suffer the
consequences.
To defend myself, I will have to attack him. I’ll give him a heads up: the
“Arnaldo da Brescia” Lodge No. 959 in Licata. Its Worshipful Master, Vito
Lauria, was sentenced last July by the Third Section of the Court of Appeals
of Palermo to eight years’ imprisonment for relations with the Mafia
(together with Lucio Lutri, former Worshipful Master of “Pensiero e
Azione” No. 1498 in Palermo). Even then I could have resumed the 2017
speech and accused the GOI of mafia infiltration, but I preferred silence out
of respect for the many honest Sicilian brothers.
Everything suggests that Alfonso Tumbarello will also enjoy the same
privileges granted to Vito Lauria. Is it possible that the Grand Master and
the Council do not realize that, by doing so, they are fueling doubts about
the reasons for their behavior? And what do the brothers of the GOI do?
Nothing, as if the matter did not concern them. Their silence and omertà
will help to crumble the foundations of their Obedience.
Bisi wanted war and war he will have. He does not even imagine how many
authoritative brothers of the GOI support me with words and documents,
asking me in these dramatic times to resume the government of the GOI. He
does not imagine that the denunciation he has sent me will be the stage on
which I will play the leading actor.
The Tumbarello case drew attention to the Grand Orient of Italy, which was
put in the spotlight by the media, anti-mafia magistrates, politicians, and
intellectuals. Everything that, until then, had been swept under the carpet
suddenly became manifest. Thus, it turns out that the government of Bisi
and his Council is also under attack for its personal use of Masonic justice.
The case of Professor Claudio Bonvecchio, Deputy Grand Master, who was
expelled for an infinitely irrelevant reason when compared to that of
Tumbarello, who was only suspended, is exemplary of the current
situation, which opens to a scenario in which despotic and personal
management of power, in violation of the GOI Constitutions, has become
the norm.
The entire GOI, from North to South, from East to West, is battered by acts
of iniquity. Never has the most powerful Obedience in our country been in
such a situation of conflict and anarchy as the one that preceded the
recognition of UGLE.
Yet in a situation like this, which would have suggested the utmost caution,
the UGLE announces that it will recognize the GOI. Strangely, the GOI and
GLRI leadership are silent, a sign that something is disturbing their sleep.
While many wonder what reasons could have prompted the UGLE to
recognize the GOI, the UGLE goes ahead unperturbed: it announces that
recognition will be given back-as it has been in the Quarterly
Communication of March 8, 2023, and circulates its Agenda ofwork. The fact
is accomplished. The GOI has its recognition back with all the conditions
stated in the Agenda.
Returning to the exercise of authority, it would appear, however, that the
Grand Master and the GOI Council have violated the Constitutions
regarding the recognition of the UGLE. In fact, the current GOI Constitution
provides and requires that recognitions be supported by the mutual
principle of sovereignty and exclusivity in their respective national
territories. This principle cannot be waived by anyone or even by the Grand
Master and the Council. Only the Grand Lodge has the authority to decide
whether to amend Article 2 of the Order’s Constitution to waive the
fundamental and peremptory Principles of sovereignty and territorial
exclusivity. If this does not happen, the Grand Master and the Council are in
the position of violating the Constitution. In conclusion, it is the Grand
Lodge and not the Grand Master and Council that must decide whether to
accept English recognition and, consequently, amend the Constitutions.
Until then, recognition remains a possibility. The same applies to the
Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, which will have to amend the Constitutions to
recognize the Grand Orient of Italy.
These considerations arise on the plane of law and concern the conditions
for the fulfillment of the Constitutions. The same problems, however, can
also be solved on the plane of reality. Let us see how this could be done.
Sharing the same territory creates difficulties for both Obediences involved.
Stefano Bisi, regardless of his propagandistic statements, knows that his
commitments to London must be kept. He will have to recognize the GLRI
and amend the Constitutions, unless the GLRI ceases to exist. In that case,
all his problems would be solved. It is to achieve this end that he has
instructed his affiliates to do everything possible to facilitate the
transmigration of the GLRI brethren into the GOI. This is an excellent
strategy, but it clashes with the ban on admitting the “conspirators” of ’93.
In any case, the operation is under way and is yielding flattering successes!
In this he is helped by the fury of Venzi, who continues to expel all
opponents. How long will this “buyout” operation take? What would
happen, however, if Venzi is forced to retire? It may be that his successor
would restore life and vigor to the GLRI, drawing back the thousands of
brothers expelled by Venzi and attracting the GOI brothers who can no
longer live with Bisi. This hypothesis of revival of the GLRI should be
understood by its members and acted upon to bring it about. They should
join the Sardinians and force Venzi to retire. Don’t they know that by
standing on the riverbank waiting for Venzi’s corpse (in a metaphorical
sense) to pass by, they risk GLRI going out like a candle? A regurgitation of
pride on their part could save their Grand Lodge.
UGLE’s recognition of the GOI has triggered a Masonic war that will
produce nefarious consequences in Italian Freemasonry. This was the first
time that the coveted English recognition was not accompanied by
jubilation and pride. All the brethren of the newly formed GLRI, when they
learned the news of the recognition, burst into songs and hymns, aware of
the privilege they had received. This time is different. Not only did the
leadership of the GOI and GLRI remain silent, but within the two
Obediences ill-feeling and attacks on the leadership began to stir. When
there was the announcement of March 8 as the date of recognition, it was
spoken of as the occurrence of a fateful event, desired but feared because of
the possible grave consequences. Since it occurred, Stefano Bisi has done
nothing but justify himself, announcing sanctioning measures against GLRI,
which he will never be able to implement, on pain of withdrawing the
recognition he just received. Mutual recognitions between the two
Obediences have yet to occur, but the controversy is not about to die down.
The only result that would be achieved would be the building in Italy of a
Tower of Babel of Freemasonry, where everyone talks, and no one
understands. Consider, as an example, the Ceremonies in the Temple with
the use of different and conflicting rituals. Already between the GOI ritual
and the GLRI’s Emulation ritual there is an abysmal difference. If more are
added, the state of chaos will become universal.
On this point, too, UGLE surprises and disappoints me. Is it ever possible for
it to close its eyes to the history of Italian Obediences, which, from the
postwar period to the present day, have been characterized alternately by
schisms and unions? How can it simply think that it succeeds where
Freemasonry in the United States has systematically failed? I think it knows
but pretends not to know. So, I wonder what the reason is. Why is UGLE,
after three hundred years, showing a new face that is not only different
from the past but also self-destructive? What is the woodworm that is
devouring it?
Several hypotheses have been formulated in this regard. The most likely
may be that of “survival.” All the Freemasonries of the world, beginning
with that of the United States, have gone into crisis because of their
inability to understand the sudden and radical changes taking place in
world society. Freemasonry today no longer represents the prestige and
way of life that have been one of its highest aspirations for centuries. The
“closed” society has become increasingly open. Traditional trades and
professions have been replaced by artificial intelligence, which finds
application in many human activities, from computers to medicine. The
virtual world it creates increases individualism, while making social
relations less and less relevant. For new generations, Freemasonry is no
longer a center of attraction because their interests are directed elsewhere.
The United Grand Lodge of England, like all other Freemasonries in the
world, is plagued by this social and generational crisis. In its Quarterly
Communication Agenda ofMarch 8, it included a table showing the
quantitative decrease of Lodges, in England and in the world, over the past
ten years in which it has been, roughly, 30 percent. Clearly this figure is an
expression of a creeping crisis, tending toward the extinction of the Mother
Grand Lodge of the world. Added to these difficulties are the economic ones
of keeping the huge and powerful international organization alive:
expenses are fixed while income is decreasing. How to stop this
degenerative process? By widening the meshes of secular austerity. The
UGLE has always been proverbial when it comes to recognition of other
Grand Lodges. As I mentioned, the GOI had to wait 110 years to get its
recognition, after it was requested by Grand Master Constantine Nigra, one
of the most influential diplomats of that time. The Grand Lodge (or Grand
Orient) to be recognized was placed under a spotlight that highlighted
every aspect of it to see if it met the requirements. If it succeeded in passing
through the thick mesh, it received a patent of regularity.
Let us ask whether the Regularity License is the only valid means of
recognizing a Grand Lodge. Could one speak of “regularity” independently
of the “license” and of a Grand Lodge granting it? It is argued in this regard
that if the members of a Lodge or Grand Lodge behave in accordance with
the Regulations, they have given themselves, then they are regular and do
not need any license. There are many who support this idea of “regularity.”
I do not consider it valid and will give a justification for it.
Suppose each Lodge or Grand Lodge gives itself its own Regulations, as was
the case before 1717. It is inevitable that they will be different since they
are inspired by different visions. All would be well if one remained within
the same Lodge or Grand Lodge. Problems would arise when one wanted to
establish relationships between two or more Grand Lodges. The first thing
that would have to be done would be a comparison of the Grand Lodges’
Regulations and Rituals. Since they would differ in certain aspects, it would
be necessary to modify them to make them uniform. If this could be done,
then two or more Grand Lodges would have the same Regulations and
Ritual. Other Grand Lodges, wishing to enter relations with them, would
have to modify the Regulations and Rituals to be accepted, and so on.
Gradually the exact same situation of the UGLE would be determined. If
one wanted to maintain the sovereignty of the Lodge, or Grand Lodge, it
would make it difficult, if not impossible, to establish relations with other
Lodges, or Grand Lodges. As can be seen, the License of Regularity given by
a Grand Lodge to other Grand Lodges is the necessary and sufficient
condition to guarantee their relations. The crisis in the Masonic world,
which we are observing and experiencing, is not due to the License that the
UGLE gives to other Grand Lodges, but to its weakening brought about by
the renunciation of the principle of territorial exclusivity.
The UGLE has abdicated its hegemonic role, which it exercised for three
centuries, with the result that the Masonic world now finds itself without
an enlightened leader. Is there another Masonic authority, like the UGLE,
that could aspire to its succession? The first thought goes to the Grand
Orient of France, which, since 1877, by renouncing the figure of the Great
Architect of the Universe, has definitively distanced itself from English
Freemasonry and set itself up as an alternative to it. However, it failed to
provide an adequate philosophical anthropology of Freemasonry, like that
of English Freemasonry, which would have justified its different way of
posing to other Freemasonries. The conclusion is that the weakening of the
UGLE affects world Freemasonry by making it increasingly inadequate to
interpret the needs of the contemporary world.
As time passes, the gap will become abysmal and Freemasonry will find
itself in a museum, bearing witness to a world now dead and buried. Only
the advent of enlightened Grand Masters could delay its extinction. Where
are they? Around us we find only dwarfs, devoted to infighting to protect
personal or group interests, without any ideal momentum. And even the
opponents often do not know what to do, having also lost the only possible
way: that of morality.
It will be these Freemasons who will resurrect, from the ashes, the phoenix
of true and pure Freemasonry. It will be this Freemasonry that will
illuminate the future of human society.
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