Help Needed For International Freemason Study

Brethren, I received the following message today from Worshipful Brother Vincent Lombardo, a Past Master of Quinte St. Alban’s Lodge No. 620, in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, a regular lodge chartered by the Grand Lodge of Canada AF&AM in the Province of Ontario. He is seeking information for a huge study he's working on about the statistics and practices of Freemasonry all around the world. Here is his note:

Dear Sir and Brother Hodapp,

I am searching for information for a Study about the present conditions of Freemasonry in the world, which I have undertaken. I already have the answers for Pennsylvania, Montana, New Brunswick, Cuba, Germany, and Italy.

Masonic Protocol does not permit me to contact Grand Lodges directly, and since such information is rarely or not at all available on the internet, I would like to post on your blog an invitation to any brother who has knowledge in the matters pertinent to my study to help me out by sharing with me whatever knowledge he/they may have.

The purpose of this research is to form a snapshot of the Present Conditions of Masonry in the world, as compared to the past, and draw from it lessons that may help us Masons work to address present issues, recognize successes or failures, and find solutions for the better future of our Craft. The sources of the information I may receive will remain completely confidential, and under no circumstance I shall disclose it. At the conclusion of this study I will disclose my findings, but not the sources, to all those who have contributed, and they will be free to use this information as they deem it proper.

I have prepared a series of questions for this study, and I have attached it to this message for your consideration.

I will be grateful for any help you may be able to afford me in this endeavor.

Fraternally,

Vincent Lombardo 


The questionnaire may be downloaded by clicking here: FMStudy.doc

If you read it, you can see that while some of the questions may be answered by lodge Masters or Secretaries, many of them require up to date information that only state or national Grand Masters and Grand Secretaries have access to. This is beyond the scope of even District or Provincial areas.

This is not being done officially by his Grand Lodge - it's a private project - hence his desire to go straight to the Brethren who have this information without the formality of contacting individual GLs through his own GL. That's why he came to me, since I get between 2,000 and 6,000 readers every day, plus the Brethren I reach on Facebook.

If you are a regular reader here, I hope you realize I would not knowingly endorse anything that would be injurious or embarrassing to the Craft. WBro. Lombardo is embarking on a massive research project, and the results, once he publishes them, will be of great use to Grand Lodges all over the world as they plan for the future direction of their own programs in the near future. 

Please take a moment to look over the questions. If you are not a grand officer, and you know your own Grand Master or Grand Secretary well enough that you feel comfortable passing the document along to them, please do so at your earliest convenience. Obviously, he can't complete his study without assistance of Masons all over the world.

If you have any questions about his study, you may email him here, and his phone number is in the document.

Many thanks in advance for your help.