Italian Mason's Human Rights Violated

The European Court of Human Rights has delivered a Grand Chamber judgment at a public hearing in Strasbourg in the case of an Italian Freemason. The appellant, Angelo Massimo Maestri, is an Italian national who lives in Viareggio. He is a judge and was acting president of the La Spezia District Court when he lodged his application.
    In November 1993 disciplinary proceedings were brought against him, under Article 18 of the Royal Legislative Decree of 31 May 1946, for having been a member of a masonic lodge affiliated to the Grand Orient of Italy. In a decision of 10 October 1995 the National Council of the Judiciary found that the appellant had committed the offence of which he was accused and gave him a reprimand. The disciplinary section stated that it was contrary to disciplinary rules for a judge to be a Freemason, on account of the incompatibility between the masonic and judicial oaths, the hierarchical relationship between Freemasons, the rejection of State justice in favour of masonic justice and the indissoluble nature of the bond between Freemasons. It also referred to the directives issued by the National Council of the Judiciary in March 1990 and July 1993 which highlighted the conflict between membership of the Freemasons and membership of the judiciary.
    According to Mr Maestri, his career has been at a standstill since the disciplinary sanction was imposed on him. The appellant appealed on points of law to the Court of Cassation, which dismissed the appeal on 20 December 1996.
    In the recent action, Mr. Maestri alleged that the imposition of a sanction on him for being a Freemason amounted to a violation of Articles 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion), 10 (freedom of expression) and 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Convention. The Court however considered that the applicant’s complaints fell more particularly within the scope of Article 11 of the Convention. Accordingly, it considered the complaints submitted to it under that provision alone, and at the end of the hearing the Court held, by eleven votes to six, that there had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Anglican Ban on Freemasonry in Sydney

In issue 27 Freemasonry Today reported that the highly-conservative Anglican Synod of the diocese of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia had passed a resolution banning Freemasons from church services and from using Anglican Church facilities. Rev. Bill Winthrop, Rector of St Paul’s Church, Lithgow, refused to conduct the burial service of deceased Past Grand Master Harold Coates, and further told the the Sydney Morning Herald that the Synod motion ‘was not cast in strong enough terms’. Predictably, there has been a reaction of outrage across New South Wales, and Grand Master Tony Lauer has said, in his response, that ‘the Synod is not a theological institution and its expressed opinion as to whether or not Freemasonry is compatible with Christianity is just that – an opinion, and one formed by the Synod of only one Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. Freemasonry will continue to put itself forward to be judged on the basis of what it is, as opposed to what uninformed people say it is, on who its members are and on what its members do. It will continue to urge its members to help those less fortunate than themselves. It will continue to accept that men of like mind, but with widely differing religious and political beliefs and also from any racial or national background, can sit together in a lodge and agree on what is the right way for them to conduct themselves in society without compromising either their political opinions or their religious beliefs or philosophies.’
    Since the ban, the Bishop of Riverina Rt Reverend Bruce Clark met with senior Masons of the region to discuss items of common interest to Freemasonry and the Anglican Church. He said that he wished to assure Freemasons that the motion passed by the Sydney Synod has no bearing outside the Sydney Diocese, stressing that each Diocese, while being a part of the World Anglican Communion and the Australian Anglican Church, retains its own independence and autonomy. ‘As a general policy in the Diocese of Riverina,’ he continued, ‘the Anglican Church would not exclude members of a masonic lodge from its worship or organisations’. He hoped ‘that members of the lodge would know that they are welcome, and not feel that they must leave the Church because of the Sydney Synod resolution’.

New Zealand Masons Bring Independence

To have the independence to help others has always been the driving force for Donna-Rose Mackay, the Manager of the Disability and Support Unit at Otago University. Donna-Rose is herself severely disabled as a result of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. While studying at Otago University herself, she campaigned for better access on campus for disabled students, a campaign which led to her present job.
    Her specially-adapted car recently reached the end of its life. With no state assistance available, she and her husband launched a fund-raising campaign for a new vehicle.
    A local company donated a vehicle, but this was just the start of a long fund-raising effort. Early last year the vehicle, now known as ‘Ruby’, was sent to Hamilton to be converted to suit Donna-Rose. $82,000 was required to cover the cost of the special conversion to meet her needs. This desperate goal was finally reached with a grant of $32,350 from the Grand Lodge Board of Benevolence.
    Donna-Rose took delivery of the specially-adapted vehicle during a celebration party at Dunedin. The moment was a joyous one as she arrived in the new vehicle in front of the old one, the door opened and she rolled down the ramp for the presentation. ‘I can’t quite believe we have got there!’, she said. ‘It’s taken three long years. I have met some fantastic people along the way and have had the support of a great team.’
    The Grand Master, Laurie Inder, was present for the occasion, together with Board of Benevolence President Terry Meekan. The Grand Master said ‘I am thrilled that we have been able to assist in this way. This action is indicative of what Freemasons of New Zealand are all about.’
    With acknowledgment to New Zealand Freemason

New Jersey Trolley Raises Profile

The New Jersey, USA, Masonic Home for the Elderly comprises a large campus of over 450 acres. For short shopping trips and to facilitate commuting to different parts of the campus, the Masonic Trolley was acquired about six years ago. Its antique style and interior have been enhanced by the masonic emblems on the outside, and the trolley has served as an invaluable aid in raising the profile of New Jersey Freemasons in the community. It has become a public relations symbol for both the Home and for Freemasonry. For the past five years it has been invited to the Miss America parade on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. It also travels around the State of New Jersey to participate in town and regional parades, such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July and various holiday celebrations. The trolley has been extensively used during the Masonic Home Family Day, where it shuttles visitors between parking areas and the Home’s main grounds. Family Day visitors exceed 5,000 and the little trolley is one of the children’s favourites.
    The trolley’s design and wooden interior are nostalgic, bringing back the look of the 1900s trolleys that transported many residents in the towns and cities of New Jersey.
    With acknowledgments to New Jersey Freemason

Massachusetts Masons Honour Bunker Hill

Continuing a tradition begun nearly two centuries ago, Massachusetts lodges have stepped forward to help restore the monument erected to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought in 1775, one of the pivotal battles in the American War of Independence. The National Park Service has announced a $3.1 million restoration plan. Grand Master Donald G. Hicks Jr. recently presented a cheque for $500,000 on behalf of Massachusetts Freemasons. The presentation was in the presence of Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry.
    Freemasonry and the monument have been linked since the famous battle. During his opening remarks, Superintendent of the Boston National Historical Park, Terry Savage, noted that Masons have had ‘a long association with Charlestown, Bunker Hill, the monument, and the struggle for liberty.’
    Remembered for Col. Prescott’s famous command ‘Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes’, it is also the battle where Joseph Warren became the first important martyr of the young independence movement. General Warren was Master of St. Andrew’s Lodge at the time of his death, and also Provincial Grand Master. As the Grand Master presented the cheque he said ‘Many of the patriots we honour today were Freemasons.’
    When Warren died, he was first buried in a mass grave, but later re-interred in a family plot. Fellow Freemason Paul Revere may well have been the first forensic dentist. He identified the remains through dental work he had once performed on Warren.
    The first monument erected on the site was an 18-ft. wooden pillar with a gilt urn, erected in 1794 by King Solomon’s Lodge. That Lodge still exists today in the nearby town of Somerville, and takes part in annual commmemorations. A replica of the pillar is on display.
    In 1823 the Bunker Hill Monument Association was formed with the stated intention of erecting a permanent monument. In 1825, exactly fifty years after the battle, the cornerstone of the current monument was placed. King Solomon’s Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and General Lafayette himself all took part in the ceremony. The Marquis de Lafayette, a very committed Freemason, was on a farewell trip to America, visiting each State. His final stop was at Bunker Hill to help lay the cornerstone.
    Freemasonry and the monument have been linked throughout the monument’s 180-year history.
    With acknowledgment to The Northern Light

Anglo-Austrian Masonic Partnership

The Museum of the Grand Lodge of Austria at the Castle of Rosenau has opened a new temporary exhibition in partnership with the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London, entitled Living with Symbols - the Four Worlds of the English Freemason. Over one hundred objects ranging from snuffboxes to cutthroat razors are used to illustrate masonic objects in the lodge room, the mason’s home, the lodge’s life in the outside world, and the mason in day-to-day life.
    The Baroque Castle of Rosenau, 75 miles west of Vienna, was the site of a masonic lodge in the 1700s. It suffered major damage during the Russian occupation after the Second World War and when it was restored magnificent masonic wall paintings were uncovered, which proved a catalyst for the creation of the masonic museum. Today it shares the castle with a hotel, and the original chapel next to the lodge room is now the parish church.
    United Grand Lodge of England Curator Mark Dennis said ‘Rosenau is on a traditional trade route from the Czech Republic and countries further east, and attracts many visitors from these newly joined EU countries. We are delighted to work with our colleagues in Rosenau to show this new audience some of the heritage of English Constitution Masons’.
    The exhibition will run for two years.