Media Q & A. No Comment is not an option

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1 Media Q & A No Comment is not an option Communications Objectives: To build a more positive reputation for Freemasonry in society today To help attract and retain quality members To ensure UGLE s long term future Subject Areas What is Freemasonry? Ceremony & Symbolism (incl. the handshake ) Charity The Church & English Freemasonry Corruption Hillsborough Disclosure Women & Freemasonry Gender What is Freemasonry? Question: What s it all about? Answer: Freemasonry is an historic society which promotes an approach to life based on integrity, tolerance, kindness, honesty and fairness. It means different things to each of those who join. For some it maybe about making new friends and acquaintances. For others it s about being able to help deserving causes making a contribution to family and in the community. And for them all, it is an enjoyable and fulfilling activity. It s much more than a club or a hobby, it encourages good values Proof Point: A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. Question: So what are the values of Freemasonry? Answer: Freemasonry is founded on three key principles brotherly love, relief and truth and thus Freemasons follow five key values, as they have done for many years. These encompass and embrace the fundamental principles of good citizenship in all walks of life: Integrity: We say what we mean and when we make a promise, we keep it. Kindness: We believe in altruism and playing a key role in our communities we willingly give time and/or money to assist those not as fortunate as ourselves. Honesty: We pride ourselves on transparency. Not only are we completely free to acknowledge our membership, we are encouraged to do so. Fairness: We treat everyone as equal we listen to others, explore our differences and work to find the common ground.

2 Tolerance: We show respect for the opinions of others and behave with understanding towards others. In an increasingly fast-paced and digital world, the camaraderie and support many people find through Freemasonry means it is more relevant and important to society today than ever. Additionally, from its earliest days, Freemasonry has been concerned with the care of others in society. This work continues unabated today and Freemasonry is now one of the largest charitable givers in the UK, contributing over 33 million to charitable causes every year, of which over half goes to local and national charities operating in communities in England, Wales and overseas. Only 5% of the Masonic giving goes to members with 95% going to their families. Question: Why would anyone want to join Freemasonry? What s the point? Answer: Freemasonry offers the chance to make life-long friendships with good men. Meetings are enjoyable good fun - and we often go for dinner afterwards. Question: Who can join? Answer: We would say just, upright and free men of mature age, sound judgement and strict morals. Ordinarily a man needs to be aged 21 years with a dispensation he may join at 18, and this also extends to University Scheme Lodges. Question: What s in it for a young man, why should they join? Answer: First, you have a lot of fun and build some amazing friendships with people of all different ages and from all different backgrounds that you might not otherwise have had the chance to meet. The knowledge, unique challenge and experience that this gives you in terms of both personal development and confidence building is invaluable. The spokespeople can then go on to mention some of the key things they have loved about Freemasonry, and what it means to them. Ceremony & Symbolism and the handshake Question: What do the symbols in Freemasonry stand for? Answer: The symbols in Freemasonry are part of its rich history. Many originate from stonemasonry; the chisel represents learning, the square represents morality and the level, equality. And there are, of course, many more. Question: We ve all heard about the Masonic secret handshake will you show it to me? Answer: There s been a lot of confusion about this in the past. There is a handshake several actually which we call a grip or a token, and only used in Lodge meetings. It came from stonemasonry as a way of showing what level of competence you were in the trade. We now use it to show what level we are within the Lodge it is only ceremonial. If asked to show it, the spokesperson can say that they are only allowed to use it in the Lodge, but that there is lots of information online should anyone be interested. Question: What about the rolled up trouser leg? Answer: It s symbolic and shows that the candidate is a free man i.e. that he is not wearing a shackle, as well as being a fit and healthy man, able to work as a mason. Question: What are the secret rituals of Freemasonry and what do they mean? Answer: None of the rituals are secret, they can be read about in books or online. They help teach and instruct members how to be better men through three one act plays. These are the three degrees of Freemasonry each one representing a different stage in life. Without going through them in the meetings they don t have the same meaning. For example, when an Initiate comes in, the entire meeting is about them and it is very special.

3 Charity Question: What is different about the way Freemasons give to charity? Answer: We are one of the biggest charitable givers in the country. Last year we gave 33m to charitable causes. All money given to charity comes out of our own pockets. The Masonic Charitable Foundation tackles some of the most significant challenges facing society, in particular, reducing loneliness in later life and ensuring a positive future for young children. We work in partnership with some of the biggest charities in the country to deliver our support. In ,000 people, most of whom were members of the public, voted to determine how we should spend an additional 3 million Community Award fund. Freemasonry also does a huge amount for research into treatments for cancer, disabilities and a range of other conditions, makes donations to support those affected by overseas disasters and those at home, such as Grenfell. [The spokesperson should then include some examples of local charity work to them, and include as much detail about specific people it has helped and the difference that was made to their lives. The MCF can provide examples of charitable giving in your area] Proof Point: From the Charge After Initiation Be especially careful to maintain in their fullest splendour those truly Masonic ornaments, which have already been amply illustrated - Benevolence and Charity. The Church & Freemasonry (content review required) Question: Do you have to be religious to be a Freemason? Answer: To join Freemasonry, you have to believe in a supreme being. We feel that in order to think of the needs of others, you have to believe in something bigger than yourself. Freemasons approach to life is to embrace a moral code, where the belief in a supreme being provides the reason for adhering to that code. Members can have any religion or belief and that is why we have such a wide variety of members with different backgrounds, including Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Muslims and many more. Proof points: When Rudyard Kipling was initiated into Freemasonry in Lahore in 1886 there were potentially four Holy Books (Volumes of the Sacred Law) upon the Master s pedestal, representing the dominant religions in the area. Many years later he wrote: "I was secretary for some years of Hope and Perseverance Lodge No. 782, in Lahore, which included Brethren of at least four creeds. I was entered by a member of Brahmo Somaj, a Hindu; passed by a Mohammedan; and raised by an Englishman. Our Tyler was an Indian Jew. We met, of course on the level, and the only difference anyone would notice was that at the banquets, some of the Brethren, who were debarred by caste from eating food not ceremonially prepared, sat over empty plates." Three Palestinian Arabs have served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel since its foundation in Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir Israel Brodie, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain & the Commonwealth, were both Freemasons. Hence, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned by a Freemason. Samuel Wesley, known as the English Mozart, and son of Methodist movement founder Charles Wesley, was a Freemason. A group is being convened to look carefully at all issues relating to the church and English Freemasonry and their comments will appear in due course.

4 Corruption Question: Do Freemasons look after their own? Answer: It is forbidden for a Freemason to use their membership for personal or business gain. Members found to be abusing their membership will face disciplinary action. A strong and defined ethical position is at the heart of Freemasonry. Members are directed towards self-development as well as improving the lives of others. Our activities are designed to help good men become better to help them hold true to their beliefs and to express them in dealing with their family, friends and in the community. There are five core values in Freemasonry; integrity, kindness, honesty, fairness and tolerance. Proof Points: First Degree - uninfluenced by mercenary or other unworthy motive. - It (Freemasonry) is founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue. - As a citizen of the world, I am to enjoin you to be exemplary in the discharge of your civil duties, by never proposing or at all countenancing any act that may have a tendency to subvert the peace and good order of society, by paying due obedience to the laws of any State which may for a time become the place of your residence or afford you its protection, and above all, by never losing sight of the allegiance due to the Sovereign of your native land.. - by abstaining from every topic of political or religious discussion.. Third Degree - my breast shall be the sacred repository of his secrets when entrusted to my caremurder, treason, felony, and all other offences contrary to the laws of God and the ordinances of the realm being at all times most especially excepted. Question: This could be any case which has come up in the media recently or been dug up by the journalist spokespeople should be aware of all current and previous cases linked to Freemasonry. Answer: Freemasonry makes us better men. Criminal activity is completely unacceptable within the organisation and totally alien to our values - any member found to be involved faces disciplinary action, which may result in being removed from the membership. Question: I thought Freemasonry was all about looking out for each other? Answer: You do not get any financial or business gain from being a Freemason, it is completely prohibited. Apart from the confidence to talk in front of large numbers of people and interact with people from all walks of life, the thing that brings us together is the common goal to make ourselves better men. Question: So I ve heard there are specialist Lodges of only lawyers or only policemen; that sounds like a hot house for making back door deals? Answer: There are lots of different special interest Lodges, all of which are set up based on a particular interest, we have a fishing Lodge, a sailing Lodge, a bell-ringing Lodge, football, rugby etc etc the spokesperson should explain further based on his own knowledge. However, talking about business and politics is not allowed in the Lodge. Hillsborough Question: Weren t Freemasons involved in a cover up in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster? Answer: We always open up our membership records to official bodies in the course of their investigations, and fully assist them with those investigations. We checked, on behalf of the IPCC (now the

5 IPOC), over one hundred male names supplied to us, covering a full range of ages, despite being under no legal obligation to do so, and despite no other membership organisation being subjected to the same level of scrutiny. This is something we are happy to do in both the interest of our reputation, and in correcting the ongoing prejudice shown and felt by some members of the public. No evidence of wrongdoing was found. The IPCC investigation recommended criminal charges against six people, one of whom happened to be a Freemason. There was no evidence at all of any Masonic cover up or untoward involvement of any other Freemasons. The ongoing innuendo linking Hillsborough and Freemasonry has been disproved by the IPCC as anyone who has read the report cannot fail to appreciate. In light of this report, using Hillsborough as an ongoing example to discredit Freemasonry is not only unjustified but utterly disgraceful. Disclosure Question: If you hold a position of public trust, your affiliations should be open. Why will you not make membership of the Freemasons public in such cases? Answer: There is still a lingering prejudice against Freemasons in some areas of society or among some individuals and this includes some employers or people in a position to make life unpleasant or difficult for members. We believe everyone should have a choice about how they live and should not be exposed to prejudice because of it. You are not asked to disclose your political allegiance or sexuality. We are encouraged to talk about Freemasonry openly as we are proud of it and what the organisation does in the community and for charity. However, it s a matter of personal choice and we shouldn t be treated differently from anyone else. In the case of a police enquiry: In a police enquiry, UGLE would assist at every opportunity however, I cannot discuss any specific cases particularly anywhere the investigation is currently active. Proof Points: Home Affairs Select Committee - In 1996/97 the HASC held an inquiry into Freemasonry in the Police and Judiciary. In their report they stated that none of those who appeared before the Committee or had made written representations to it had been able to produce any evidence that Freemasonry had interfered in the administration of criminal justice in England and Wales. The following are quotes from their report: - It is obvious that there is a great deal of unjustified paranoia about Freemasonry and we have no wish to add to it. - We do not believe that there is anything sinister about Freemasonry, properly observed, and are confident that Freemasonry itself does not encourage malpractice. - The Committee conclude that when the [Masonic] oaths are read in context, there is nothing in them that would appear sinister and nothing in the evidence that we have heard that would show a conflict between the oath taken by a judge or policeman and that taken by a Freemason. European Court of Human Rights - In 2001 the ECHR gave judgement in a case brought by the Grand Orient of Italy as a result of the Marches Regional government barring Freemasons from standing for election to public office or applying for public employment. The ECHR ruled that Freemasonry was not a

6 secret or unlawful association and that the ban was a breach of Article 11 (rights of lawful association) and Article 14 (general right not to be discriminated against) of the European Convention on Human Rights. - In 2007 the ECHR gave judgement on a second case brought by the Grand Orient of Italy against other regional governments which required those standing for public office or seeking public employment to declare whether or not they were Freemasons. The ECHR restated its 2001 judgement that Freemasonry was neither a secret nor an unlawful association; stated that singling out Freemasons for special treatment was both discriminatory and unnecessary in a modern democracy and was detrimental to the reputation of the association; and ruled that the local authorities concerned were in breach of Articles 11 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Local Government Ombudsman - In 1999 Sir Tony Baldry raised a question in the House on the number of complaints that the Ombudsman had received claiming Masonic interference in local administration. The Ombudsman replied that in the period his office had received over 90,000 complaints of which only 26 claimed Masonic interference. Of those 26, in 24 cases there was no evidence of any Masonic involvement. In the other 2 cases (planning decisions) two Councillors had their wrists rapped for failing to declare a number of interests, including Freemasonry, they shared with the applicants for planning permission. Question: Isn t it only right that, as Freemasons, members should disclose their membership of an organisation directed to charitable purposes? Answer: United Grand Lodge of England is not a charity, and whilst it is true that Masonic Lodges have charitable activities, charity is not their only purpose. To this extent Freemasonry can be distinguished from other societies such as Rotary and the Lions. It is significant that the Standards of England guidance makes no mention of Freemasonry. We would also be concerned at the even handedness or otherwise of any such request for disclosure, as I suggest that, for example, members of the National Trust and shareholders of FTSE100 companies (both groups being very much directed towards charitable purposes) are unlikely to be required to disclose their status or membership. Question: Freemasonry is reputed to be a secret organisation or an organisation with secrets? How can we trust or know what Freemasons are up to? Answer: We are an open organisation, which is why I am here today. You can read about us, see us on the web and visit our Lodges. Our Head office at Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden, London is open to the public and there are hourly tours of the wonderful art deco building. The Spokesperson should then explain the things they have coming up in their area, including open days at Masonic Centres. They should also reference the vast number of events held during the Tercentenary year. If pushed on the subject of being secret previously, the Spokesperson could reference Nazi persecution and originally the need to maintain skills and standards in stonemasonry. Proof Point: my breast shall be the sacred repository of his secrets when entrusted to my care-murder, treason, felony, and all other offences contrary to the laws of God and the ordinances of the realm being at all times most especially excepted. Women & Freemasonry (a more compelling justification is still required) Question: You say you are a 21 st Century organisation, but you don t let women in?

7 Answer: It s a matter of personal choice. There are co-freemasons and there are women only Freemasons so each person can decide which they want to join. Much like the WI and the Round Table, UGLE has chosen to keep membership male in line with tradition and personal choice by our membership. Background information: No women s organisations are officially recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England as it is part of our Constitution that members are male, and inter-visitation is not permitted. However, there are two women s Freemasonry Grand Lodges that we consider to be regular in their practice of Freemasonry. We have an informal relationship with these two organisations, have from time to time liaised on matters of mutual concern, and we regularly refer queries regarding women s Freemasonry to them. They are: The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF) 402 Finchley Road, Child s Hill, London NW2 2HR Tel: info@hfaf.org Website: Their Grand Secretary, to whom you might want to address any correspondence, is Maxine Priestley maxbee44@icloud.com The Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) 27 Pembridge Gardens, London W2 4EF Tel: / enquiries@owf.org.uk Website: Their Grand Secretary, for correspondence, is Ms Sylvia Major - secretariat@owf.org.uk. Generally speaking the protocol is that any substantial Masonic communication between Grand Lodges ought to take place through Grand Secretary to Grand Secretary. We usually tell enquirers that the HFAF and OWF practice regular Freemasonry, but point out that there are some Grand Lodges and other apparently Masonic bodies that do not meet these standards, e.g. that do not require a belief in a Supreme Being, or that allow or encourage their members as such to participate in political matters, and that these Grand Lodges and bodies are not recognised or accepted by the United Grand Lodge of England as being Masonically regular. It is entirely in order to hire out Masonic buildings to Lodges affiliated to the two Ladies Grand Lodges as long as this in no way clashes with meetings of the male United Grand Lodge of England members. Both these Ladies organisations and UGLE prefer to practise their Freemasonry in a single sex environment rather like say, hockey, rugby or football, men and ladies play the same game, but mostly not on the same pitch at the same time. Proof Point: From Information for Guidance of Members of the Craft booklet There exist in England and Wales at least two Grand Lodges solely for women. Except that these bodies admit women, they are, so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. There is also one which admits both men and women to membership. They are not recognised by this Grand Lodge and inter-visitation may not take place. There are, however, informal discussions from time to time with the women s Grand Lodges on matters of mutual concern. Members are therefore free to explain to non-masons, if asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Grand Lodge does not itself admit women).

8 Gender Question: What is UGLE s position on gender fluidity? Answer: UGLE does not currently have a transgender inclusion policy per se, but our approach to this issue is straightforward. Our rules permit any man, who is properly proposed and seconded, and whose application has been approved by the members of their lodge, to be initiated into Freemasonry. We would not differentiate between someone who was assigned male at birth and remains male identified, and someone who was assigned female at birth but who subsequently transitioned and is now a man. As for an existing member who identified as a man when they joined Freemasonry, but has subsequently transitioned and is now female identified, we would aim to treat the issue with sensitivity recognising the aspirations of the individual member and the other members in the lodge. If she wishes to remain involved in freemasonry, then we would try to facilitate that. It may be that she would feel more comfortable belonging to an all- female lodge in which case we would seek to support her in moving her membership to one of the two women s Grand Lodges in England and Wales, who we hope would accept her as a joining member without having to be re-initiated. We would, of course, not expect her to sever links with her male Masonic friends. Similarly, if we were asked by either of the women s Grand Lodges to accept an application from one of their members who has transitioned from female to male, it is expected that we could welcome him with open arms. If asked about how you would deal with a non-binary person, you might want to say: Of course we recognise that not everyone experiences their gender in a strictly binary way, but rather at some point or points on a spectrum and we quite respect that. As to whether we could initiate someone who identifies as non-binary, that remains a grey area. It is expected though that some of our more enlightened lodges might well consider an application from someone non-binary who is more masculine presenting, however they describe their gender. After all, we don t ask people for their birth certificate, or their gender recognition certificate. To note: always try and use answers to move the interview onto the positive key messages that you want to get across about Freemasonry.