Floods in Prague Hit Czech Grand Lodge Archives

In August this year widespread flooding hit Central Europe, the Danube reached unprecedented heights and burst its banks with devastating results. In Prague, the ancient city centre was flooded causing extensive damage to the historic buildings; amongst those affected were the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic.
    The office, library and archives were inundated with water and mud. Such was the extent of the damage that the building has been abandoned and declared unsuitable for further occupation. As a result, the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic has been officially included in the list of organisations which will qualify for State financial aid.
    Already government experts from the National Museum and National Library have assisted in the preservation of damaged archival material – books, manuscripts and photographs. The British Council in Prague has just installed a large freeze-drying installation which is being made free of charge in order to aid in the salvage of hundreds of thousands of volumes damaged in town libraries and archives. Officials of the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic are waiting for their turn to have their books and papers processed in this way.
    All the water and mud soaked books and documents were taken from the Grand Lodge archives to another location where they were washed and dried in the air. Fortunately, three quarters of the material treated in this way remains legible. Included are invaluable handwritten documents, lodge minute books, membership files and numerous unique documents covering the periods 1919-1939 (First Czechoslovak Republic), 1939-1945 (London, the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic in exile) as well as the secret archives of the clandestine survival of Czechoslovak Freemasonry during the Nazi and Communist regimes until 1989. These records also include the archives of the lodges in exile during the same period.
    During the salvage work it was discovered that the older documents resisted damage much better than more recent ones. Modern papers tended to stick together whereas older paper written on with India ink survived the flooding and subsequent drying well.
    Miroslav Herman, Grand Secretary for External Relations, on behalf of the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, wishes to thank the other Grand Lodges and individual Brethren overseas who have sent messages of support and offers of financial assistance: all donations would be gratefully received and applied. Donations to aid in the restoration and relocation are best made by bank transfer to: Bank C.S.O.B., Account No. 01-68496280/0300, Velika Loze Ceské Republiky, S.W.I.F.T. CEKO CZ PP, reference, Prague Floods.

Aid for Children’s School in India

Mumbai (Bombay) based lodge, Lodge Deolali, No. 91, organised a fund-raising programme for a school for mentally challenged children at Sanpada, Mumbai, the AASHRAY Centre for Rehabilitation. They wished to contribute towards the completion of two floors in order to provide more classes, furniture, fittings and equipment. Their fund-raising was very successful and provided a large percentage of the funds needed. In gratitude, the management of the school decided to name one of the additional floors after the lodge. The photograph above shows the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India inaugurating the recently completed "Lodge Deolali" floor.
    The Manager of the AASHRAY school, Captain S.P. Rao, is also the Secretary of Lodge Deodali. He, together with his family and friends, founded the school six years ago. It is the only institution of its kind in Navi Mumbai and currently has 50 students taught and aided by professionally qualified faculty and therapists. The Mumbai City Industrial Development Corporation kindly allotted the site for the school at a reduced cost.
    The Grand Lodge of India is not recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England.

Australia: Freemasons in Victoria Change Rules

In June the Grand Lodge of Victoria changed its Constitution in order to allow the age of admission into Freemasonry to be lowered from 21 to 18 years. It is hoped that many young masons will want to take advantage of this move and join Freemasonry at an age normally restricted to a Lewis, that is, a son of a Freemason. The move should especially help Scouting and School lodges. For example, it would now be possible for school lodges to hold open nights for final year students.
    The first young mason to take advantage of this rule change was 19 year old actor, Peter Noonan. He had been very impressed by the way that Freemasons cared for his late step-father, Robert Summers, who had recently died from brain tumours and who, before his death, had been raised to the Third Degree at his home. Peter asked if he could join the Craft immediately but was told that as he was not a Lewis he would have to wait until he was 21. But since the rule change he has now been initiated into Willsmere Philatelic Lodge. His mother, Karen Summers, said, "I know that Robert would have been very proud his step-son has joined."
    The evening was impressive: the First Degree ceremony being conducted by a Past Deputy Grand Master in the presence of the Grand Master, John Wilson, and his current Deputy Grand Master.

Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, Installs New Grand Master

On 6 April this year, at an impressive ceremony attended by many representatives of international Freemasonry, outgoing Grand Master of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, Prof. Giuliano Di Bernardo, installed his successor as Grand Master, Fabio Venzi. Previously Fabio Venzi, a sociologist, had been Grand Secretary of the GLRI.
    The reception was held in the Hotel St. Regis, Rome, in the presence of 500 Brethren and 10 delegations from abroad: from The United Grand Lodge of England, The Grand Lodge of Ireland, The Grand Orient of Brazil, The Grand Lodge of Paraguay, The Grand Lodge of the State of Israel, The Grand Lodge of Turkey, The National Grand Lodge of France, The Grand Lodge of Norway, The Grand Lodge of Cameroon, and The Grand Lodge of Burkina Faso.
    In his sincere and eloquent speech, Grand Master Venzi first said that he wished to gain a real dignity for Freemasonry in general, to create the conditions that will make all masons proud of their Craft.
    He then presented his view of Freemasonry in Italy: starting from Freemasonry’s ethical and cultural vision his intention is to see the GLRI, with its attachment to traditional masonic principles, and representing in Italy the Anglo-Saxon tradition of Freemasonry, become the catalyst of a general movement which will bring together the often disparate nature of the Craft in Italy. He noted the fragmented nature of Freemasonry, together with the many quasi-masonic Orders in Italy and the very negative impact on public opinion of the Lodge P2 scandal, as factors affecting the present-day image and credibility of Freemasonry in Italy.
    He pointed out that the roots of masonic thought are to be found in the humanistic and renaissance philosophy, in particular he highlighted the important renaissance oration "On the Dignity of Man" by Pico Della Mirandola. Renaissance thought with its concept of "Research of Light" is very pertinent to masonic endeavour – he said, "The human mind", "is comparable to an eye that needs light to see."
    He called for a new education of people: his ideal is of an approach he terms "Civic Humanism"; an expression of humanistic culture "at the service of the active life of each citizen."
    It was announced that the GLRI has committed itself to the financial support of an important sanitation programme in Cameroon run by the international medical charity, "Médicins sans frontières".