GL of Florida Paying Lodges to Advertise

by Christopher Hodapp

Individual Grand Lodges, the Scottish Rite Northern Jurisdiction, Shriners International and other Masonic organizations have been spending money and research and efforts to craft advertising campaigns for use by lodges for many years now. But all the advertising in the world does no good if ads themselves are placed in the wrong places, getting in front of the wrong eyeballs (especially in these days of internet advertising and the lingering death of print media and broadcast TV). Even worse, advertising itself fails when there's no follow-through by the advertiser when a prospect shows up and pounds on the door.

Season 5 Episode 184 of the Old Fashion Masonic Podcast, hosted by WB Bryan Byrd, features an interview with Florida Past Master Tim French, who is part of the membership development team of the Grand Lodge of Florida. The Grand Lodge has committed a portion of their annual media and marketing budget to encouraging individual lodges to step up and make use of social media. They are reimbursing up to $600 a year to any Florida lodge that takes out advertising promoting membership on Facebook.

Here's the depressing part. They've been doing this for three years. Florida has over 300 lodges on its rolls. 

Only about 40 lodges have taken advantage of the program. 

That's about 12-14%. In three years.

Tim holds Zoom meetings with lodges to talk them through how to do this, how to place the ads effectively (because it's easy to pour cash down the bottomless well of Facebook ads and never get a result), and most important, to FOLLOW UP ON LEADS WHEN THEY CALL OR WRITE.

We've all been told time and again by interested men, "Gee, I e-mailed and telephoned the lodge to ask about joining, but no one ever got back to me." There's no excuse for this happening! As these brethren stress, treat your lodge and membership development like a business, and new leads like customers. Every single lodge needs two or three members to will commit to just responding to new member enquiries, however they come in. 

I won't rehash what Worshipful Brothers French and Byrd talk about - give the show a listen because there's much gold to be mined here. Click the video up top, or follow THIS LINK.

But I will stress something they bump up against near the end: membership and retention is the responsibility of every single man in your lodge, because you never know what comment, what behavior, what night 'the new guy' was ignored, will turn him off and make him walk away.

Years ago, I visited a lodge and walked into their installation a bit late. I came in quietly and sat down in a back seat trying not to disturb the proceedings. Instantly, two Brothers across the room hopped to their feet, came over and plopped down in the two seats on either side of me. One explained in a quiet voice, "Welcome, Brother. No one in this lodge ever sits alone."

That's mighty fine rule to follow in any lodge.

Rise In Anti-Semitism May Bring More Anti-Masonic Attacks With It

by Christopher Hodapp

Weekend vandalism at the Oleeta-West Dade Masonic Center in Miami Springs, Florida, is a stark reminder that Masonic buildings—and the Brothers who gather in them—are increasingly becoming targets in today's volatile climate.

Late last week (Friday night into early Saturday morning), surveillance video captured a young man climbing onto a low roof ledge to reach and badly damage two exterior signs at the Masonic center. The footage, shared by WSVN-TV7, shows the suspect pulling himself up to get at the sign and twist one expensive sign off the wall. Damage has been estimated at around $3,000. 

Thankfully, Miami Springs police acted quickly: 20-year-old Brian Guanche was charged with one count of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and one count of criminal mischief. He's since bonded out, but the incident is under investigation.

This wasn't some random act of mischief—it's part of a troubling pattern. Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable uptick in violent attacks, arsons, and vandalism against Masonic buildings around the world, with more than a few tied directly to antisemitic motives. We've seen lodges targeted in places like Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and even Vancouver (where one arsonist hit three buildings in a single morning, causing millions in damage). Overseas, halls in Ireland and Greece have faced similar assaults, and doubtless there have been many more that simply have not hit the news services. Some perpetrators have acted out of bizarre delusions—like believing Masons placed curses on them or controlled minds—while others have been fueled by outright hatered.

That hate often bleeds over from the dramatic and alarming rise in anti-Semitism across the United States (and beyond) in recent months, especially since the outbreak of the war involving Iran. Unfortunately, Freemasonry is getting swept up in the crossfire. Our symbolism—drawing from ancient Jerusalem, King Solomon's Temple, and Old Testament imagery—has been twisted into anti-Jewish conspiracy theories since the 19th century. It doesn't help when historical figures like Pope Leo XIII, influenced by the admitted hoaxes of anti-Catholic prankster Léo Taxil in the 1880s-90s, lumped Masons in with phrases like "Synagogue of Satan" (originally from the New Testament letters, referring to persecutors of early Christians who falsely claimed Jewish identity). Leo clearly bought into the nonsense that a bunch of middle-aged Protestant gentlemen cosplaying as Old Testament figures in ritual were somehow undermining the Church. That old canard still echoes today.

And right now, it's getting amplified by noisy voices with big platforms. Candace Owens, who has somehow amassed nearly three million YouTube subscribers by peddling increasingly outrageous claims, has ramped up her attacks on Freemasonry. Owens (a recent convert to Catholicism) is a certifiable attention-seeker at this point, jumping on every fringe theory that drives clicks and eyeballs—whether it's moon landings, celebrity deaths tied to "sacrifices," or wild Masonic plots. 

Similarly, Shawn Ryan has leaned into kookball anti-Masonic conspiracy content on his show, hosting guests who push debunked nonsense about "Masonic Bibles" and secret influences. Countless lesser imitators follow suit online.

I don't care where you fall on the political spectrum—left, right, or somewhere in the never-never land in between. Spreading this stuff is dangerous. My wife and I wrote a book on conspiracy theories years ago, and Owens is a textbook example of madness given a megaphone and free rein on the internet. There's no filter of responsibility anymore: anybody can launch a podcast, build a persona, and attract an audience of the credulous or the angry by using sensationalistic 'made you look' tactics. There are no qualifications required. People who swallow her brand of "research" don't just nod along—they act. We've already seen real-world consequences, including threats, violence, attacks on our buildings, and worse. 

Texas Freemason Robert Wise was murdered outside of his lodge in 2023 precisely because of this delusional thinking. His killer told police that he shot Wise because Masons were "devil worshiping Illuminatists."

With geopolitical tensions boiling over and antisemitism surging, we have to be vigilant. Masonic temples aren't fortresses, but Brothers and lodge officers need to take practical steps: review security cameras, lighting, and alarms; coordinate with local law enforcement; avoid leaving valuables or regalia visible; and report suspicious activity immediately. Most of these incidents happen at night when buildings are empty, so proactive measures can make a real difference.

Freemasonry has endured worse for centuries, and we'll keep doing what we do—meeting in peace, practicing brotherly love and relief, and building better men. But ignoring the threats won't make them disappear. Stay aware, stay safe, and let's look out for one another.

If you're a Mason reading this, talk to your lodge about security. If you're not, but you value fair-minded institutions that promote charity and moral improvement, know that the same bigots targeting synagogues and Jewish communities are increasingly turning their gaze toward Masonic halls too.

GM of Florida Renders Decision Over Social Media Sharing of Controversial Communications - Whatever They Are

by Christopher Hodapp

THIS ought to play out predictably. With lots of noise and gnashing of teeth.

MW Donald W. Cowart (photo), Grand Master of the Grand Lodge F&AM of Florida has just issued an official decree on October 17th forbidding all Masons in his jurisdiction from sharing "any critical or controversial communications between or concerning Masons or any other derogatory Masonic information" on "any online platform, including but not limited to social media, blogs, websites, forums, podcasts, and video sharing..."

Don't know the specific background or events that led to this decision, but I can attest that this kind of struggle between GMs and online Masons has been going on for at least a quarter century now. On the one hand, there are brethren who believe it's their emphatic, GAOTU-given right to unfettered free-speech, no matter what. On the other hand, when do the privacy rights prevail for our fellow Freemasons – to whom we are obligated to "whisper good counsel in his ear, and in the most tender manner possible, remind him of his faults, aid in his reformation, and ward off all approaching danger" – if we as individuals think their privacy violates our own free speech?

As Masons, like it or not, grand masters do get to swing their weight around and make those decisions for us at times. But then the question arises: is a grand master – acting from a position of responsibility and authority on behalf of his members – entitled to those self-same privacy rights? After all, we are all ultimately taught to respect the men we elevate to officer positions and to abide by their decisions, until such time as the next grand lodge meeting in which his actions, rulings, decisions, and edicts are reviewed and approved by us. And a GM is generally the ultimate authority in all matters of Masonic jurisprudence until such a review occurs.

Then comes the third question: can a GM's decision or action be hidden from the membership by a misguided or improperly abused demand for 'secrecy'? We've all seen damage done to individual Masons or lodges when a GM yanks dues cards or charters, destroying decades of Masonic careers or years of lodge rebuilding. Reviewing his actions 11 months later doesn't undo the damage.

I'm sure this seems comically ironic on this website that has at times shared not exactly flattering Masonic stories online. Or possibly just plain hypocritical. In my own case, I hold myself solely responsible for selectively deciding stories to report or withhold here. It's my own little fiefdom here, and if I wind up suffering another suspension penalty at some point in my future, I'll lick my wounds and take a bit of time on a beach to contemplate my virtues, my sins, and my place in the Cosmos. All I can say in defense of my own mercurial role as occasional public tattler of injustices is that I follow the Justice Potter theory of decision justification: "I know it when I see it."

MSA Issues Hurricane Helene Disaster Appeals for Grand Lodges of Florida, North, and South Carolina, As Hurricane Milton Heads For Florida

by Christopher Hodapp

The Masonic Service Association of North America has officially issued Disaster Relief Appeals for the grand lodges of Florida, North, and South Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene two weeks ago. MSA Administrator Craig Davis, PGM, has posted the following information on the MSANA website:

South Carolina Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief Appeal

Grand Master Steven D. Hames has requested the Masonic Service Association of North America (MSA) to issue this Disaster Relief Appeal. The situation in South Carolina is quite dire. The brothers in South Carolina after being hit by the storm Helene have suffered a great deal of loss of property. Power continues to be in the outage and repair phase in areas of the upstate where the families have lost their entire supply of fresh food. Grocery stores have lost all food that needed to be refrigerated. Homes have been destroyed and or damaged where they cannot be occupied until repaired or replaced.

The brothers South Carolina are now using their own energy to help the citizens of their communities try and recover while trying to recover from their personal loss. 

Florida Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief Appeal

Grand Master Donald W. Cowart has requested the Masonic Service Association of North America (MSA) to issue this Disaster Relief Appeal. Following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Grand Lodge has many lodges that could not afford the insurance outlay of funds. Now alas they are in need of assistance. 

North Carolina Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief Appeal

Grand Master Bobby Rideout has requested the Masonic Service Association of North America (MSA) to issue this Disaster Relief Appeal. The situation in North Carolina is quite dire. Whole 
communities have been washed away in floods and landslides.

PLEASE NOTE: Check with your own grand lodge to see if they are collecting donations as part of an MSA Appeal, just to prevent confusion as to whom is donating to what.

When remitting funds directly to MSA, please mark donations specifically to "Florida, North, OR South Carolina Disaster Appeal." They are 3 separate funds, so you need to specify which one you are donating to.

To donate directly to the MSA Appeals by mail, make checks payable to MSA Disaster Relief Fund and send them to:

Masonic Service Association
813 1st Ave SE, Suite 357
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(NOTE: MSA is no longer in Maryland – this is the correct address!) 

MSA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. 

You can also donate online HERE.

The Masonic Service Association is arguably the best and most effective way to provide financial assistance to Masons in the stricken areas. MSA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. That is important to remember, especially if you, your company, or foundation are making a large donation and are in need of a tax deduction in return. The charitable arm of the Masonic Service Association was specifically established for the purpose of raising tax deductible donations, and to effectively distribute and account for the funds provided to Masons who receive assistance. Your entire donation will be sent to the affected jurisdiction. MSA deducts nothing for administrative expenses or expenses of any kind. Meaning if you donate $100.00, all $100.00 gets to the specific grand lodge issuing the appeal.

As of October 7th,  the current death toll across the 6 states hit by the Category 5 hurricane has reached at least 230, and continues to rise as officials and volunteers race to recover bodies and remove as much debris as possible. 

If the destruction from Helene hasn't been terrible enough, time is of the essence. Hurricane Milton has just increased in intensity to a Category 5 hurricane as of Tuesday morning. It's headed for landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast, almost exactly where Helene came ashore, and workers are desperately attempting to clear wreckage from the first storm. The fear is that the debris will become deadly projectiles as this second storm slams into Florida.

UPDATES: Hurricane Helene Hits Six States

The 600-mile path of Hurricane Helene (Image: New York Times)

by Christopher HodappS
UPDATE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2024: Over the last several days, the Masonic Service Association has issued separate Disaster Appeals on behalf of the grand lodges in Florida, North, and South Carolina. CLICK HERE to see that story.

UPDATE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024: Added appeal from North Carolina Masonic Foundation seeking donations. 

The path of destruction and devastation over the weekend from Hurricane Helene stretched 600 miles across six states. Thousands are without homes in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, while deaths from the storm continue to rise – as many as 130 are reported dead as of 10:30 Monday night, according to the Associated Press.

Scores of communities all along the storm's path have been wiped out, and images from small, hard-to-reach Appalachian towns in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee look apocalyptic in scope. 

The Masonic Service Association has not yet issued any official disaster relief announcements for grand lodges in the affected states, but I will update this post as news specifically involving Masons and lodges in the hurricane areas become available.

Please send information to me directly at hodapp@aol.com .

FLORIDA

Gulf Beach Lodge 291 before the hurricane

Gulf Beach Lodge 291 in Madeira, Florida, near St. Petersburg, sustained extensive flood damage from the hurricane's unprecedented storm surge.

A photo on Facebook of the lodge's front door shows the flood rose to about 4-feet, and water damage to the secretary's office, kitchen, and dining room is extensive. Worshipful Master Bobby Burkett reports they will be meeting at Northside Lodge 283 until they are able to repair or rebuild their building.

NORTH CAROLINA

Western North Carolina has been badly hit by the storm, and images from Chimney Rock and Lake Lure near Asheville show almost unfathomable destruction. Entire towns have been swept away. The Grand Lodge of North Carolina's Masonic Foundation is accepting donations online specifically to help, aid, and assist Masons and their families in their state. The NCMF will be matching donations up to $25,000, so your money will go twice as far. When you go to their website at https://mfnc.org/ a pop-up window will open with information and a link to donate (or CLICK HERE if the popup doesn't work on your browser.)

SOUTH CAROLINA

MW Steven D. Hames, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of South Carolina has issued a blanket dispensation to all lodges in his jurisdiction permitting Worshipful Masters wide latitude to cancel or reschedule all meetings, including regular stated meetings. 

Florida vs. Paraguay: Masonic Regularity, Recognition, Muddles and Mayhem

by Christopher Hodapp

Ever wonder what "regular, recognized" means when it comes to the many grand lodges of Masons all over the world, and just who decides such things? 

I'll warn you here at the outset: this is one of those Masonic stories that will make your eyes glaze over. It has little or nothing to do with most everyday Masons all over the world, and it's rooted in Freemasonry's three-century-old methods and policies that grew out of 18th century European government and religious diplomatic traditions. This story will be like reading all the supporting documents and commentary of the International High Seas Biodiversity Treaty negotiations, without nearly as many punchlines.

The Requirements of Regularity and Recognition

The majority of regular grand lodges extend or withdraw relations with foreign jurisdictions based on a set of conditions: 

• that their constituent lodges admit men only; 
• that their lodges work in view of a volume of sacred law and under the auspices of the Grand Architect of the Universe; 
• that discussion of religion and politics are prohibited in their lodge meetings;
• that the grand lodge has legitimately and provably descended in some way from the earliest of grand lodges in England or Scotland; 
• that the grand lodge is considered completely sovereign over its members and territory, sharing it only by treaty with other regular grand lodges (such as in state grand lodges that coexist with Prince Hall Affiliated grand lodges in the U.S.; or when English, Scottish and Irish lodges are still at work in what were once the far-flung colonial outposts of the British Empire in Asia, Africa or the Middle East). This is referred to as "exclusive territorial jurisdiction."

To that end, the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America's (COGMMNA) Commission on Recognition meets every February to investigate Masonic regularity of various grand lodges around the world, or to decipher various controversies of regularity and recognition, in order to issue a report that attempts to determine these sometimes very complicated matters of who's legit and who isn't.

But – 

The COGMMNA Commission on Recognition does not - and CANNOT - force anybody’s grand lodge to recognize, “de-recognize” or just ignore another jurisdiction when it comes to permitting its members to visit foreign lodges. That decision is completely up to every individual grand lodge or grand orient on its own. But let’s not pretend there isn’t such a thing as Masonic peer pressure. A diplomatic problem can arise when a grand lodge (or a group of them) decides to depart from the majority of opinions within its Masonic region and recognize what the others regard as “the wrong grand lodge.” 

Which brings me casually moseying around the barnyard over to Florida.

Florida and the CMI

The Grand Lodge of Florida’s announcement last week that it was withdrawing Masonic relations from 11 different grand lodges is rooted in a disagreement with a large federation of Masonic jurisdictions known as the Confederación Masónica Interamericana, or CMI (the Inter-American Masonic Confederation). In fact, those 11 are only the latest ones Florida has cut off – the total is 13 because they had already severed relations with grand lodges in Argentina and Uruguay a couple of months before. (Click the letters below to enlarge.)

 

The CMI is a cooperative association made up of 94 participating grand lodges, and was established back in 1947. CMI acts in a similar way as COGMMNA, with its membership generally comprising grand lodges and grand orients deemed to be Masonically “regular” by the vast majority of the Masons in the world. CMI's concentration is mostly in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, but there are a handful of CMI-member grand lodges outside of those regions, like the Grand Lodges of New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, plus Spain, Portugal, the Grand Orient of Italy, and France's Grande Loge Nationale Française (you can see the list of CMI’s 94 members HERE). 

Two Paraguay Grand Lodges Walk Into A Bar...

Bear in mind that there are many conflicting (mostly unrecognized and often irregular) grand lodges also at work in the Central and South America which are NOT members of the CMI, and this is the part of the story when Paraguay suddenly bursts into the bar and Florida says, “Order me another frozen banana daiquiri while I go handle this.”

It seems that this whole sticky pickle began after the Grand Lodge of Florida recognized a different Masonic grand lodge in the country of Paraguay than either CMI or a growing number of mainstream, regular grand lodges around the world do. Florida maintains amity with the older Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay, while CMI members mostly recognize the newer Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay, which was established in 2006 after a schism occurred in Paraguayan Masonry. 

Seal/logo of the "newer" Symbolic GL of Paraguay
features the date of 1869

Unfortunately for those of us who have a tough time keeping them straight, both grand lodges have exactly the same name, and both are headquartered in the city of Asunción. This fight first started back in 2006, and it's been a big problem for Paraguay Masons ever since. 

The newer grand lodge had as its founding Grand Master, MW Bro Euclides Acevedo, and this is how many articles and reports often distinguish between the two groups – by simply mentioning Acevedo's name. Its seal features the date of 1869.

Photo:Gerardo Malvetti

The address of this grand lodge is Avda. de la Victoria, No. 690 esq Lopez Moreira, Asunción (photo above). 

Seal of the "older" Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay
features the date of 1895

The "older" Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay features the date of 1895 on its seal. Go figure. I'm also told that the older organization is sometimes referred to as the "centennial" grand lodge, as it celebrated the 100th anniversary of its 1923 REfounding in 2023. Image below is their headquarters on Palma Street in Ascunción.

Home of the older "Centennial" Grand Lodge. Photo: Gustavo Machado  

This mess has also been a thorny issue for the COGMMNA's Commission on Recognition for almost 20 years. And woe betide outsiders who attempt to make heads or tails of the whole mess.

CMI Tries To Make Order From Chaos

The Confederación Masónica Interamericana is a big organization, and it’s divided into several regional zones. CMI’s Zone 6 (which largely covers South America, plus Spain and Portugal) issued a declaration that the "newer" Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay (whose current Grand Master is José Miguel Fernandez Zacur) is the one true “regular” one, and "urged" (not demanded or ordered, but "urged") all of the jurisdictions within their conference to agree with them. But Florida disagreed with with CMI's declaration that the "newer" was the legitimately regular one to be recognized. (Click the Spanish-language documents below to enlarge)

 

Florida isn't even a member of the Confederation, so why they chose to meddle in CMI's business is anyone's guess. But Florida has declared that any grand lodge signing the CMI's Zone 6 agreement to abide by its conclusion was allowing an outside organization to impose rules and shove them around. That smelled like violation of Masonic sovereignty to Florida: ergo, those grand lodges are obviously NOT sovereign if they let some outside group of buttinskys tell them who to recognize or not recognize; ergo, if said grand lodges AREN’T sovereign anymore, that means THEY obviously AREN’T regular anymore; ergo, Florida issued a demand that all the CMI signatories with whom they were in amity explain their wimpy, weak-sister genuflecting to Florida’s satisfaction, or face the loss of Masonic relations between them. And that’s what resulted in the current list of 13 grand lodges from whom Florida has now withdrawn relations over this issue (the eleven named last week, plus Argentina and Uruguay).

It might be a perfectly legitimate line of logical thinking Florida followed, but as we all know, grand lodges and grand masters have the power to do things that they shouldn’t necessarily exercise when it comes to the practicality of Masonry's altruistic notions of harmony among brethren. Unleashing lightening bolts from their terrible swift swords ofttimes wind up causing more harm than good among the rank and file brethren, along with creating very bad publicity for what is supposed to be an organization dedicated to worldwide brotherhood and improvement of the human condition. Florida hasn't just cut off visitations between their own members and Masons from the now-shunned grand lodges when they visit the Sunshine State; they are also demanding that any Florida Masons who hold joint memberships in any of the shunned jurisdictions must resign from one or the other.

Florida’s Past Grand Master from 2012, RW Jorge Aladro, seems to be at the center of this situation, and it should come as no surprise that he also pops up as this year’s chairman of the COGMMNA’s Commission on Recognition, which convenes in February – likely why Florida’s deadline for responses to its ultimatum was timed for late January. He’s also the chairman of Florida’s committee on foreign fraternal relations. (Aladro may be best remembered by the Masonic community as the grand master who passed edicts during 2012 forbidding Wiccans and pagans from Masonic membership in Florida lodges, and essentially declaring that all Florida Masons must be monotheistic.)

What in hell goes on in Paraguay?

Back in 2005 or so, the Supreme Council of the AASR in Paraguay created an internal uproar when it expelled the sitting Grand Master of Paraguay, which kicked in a rule within the Grand Lodge that expulsion from one Masonic body meant expulsion from all. Effectively, the Supreme Council's action forced the removal of the Grand Master from his elected office, which looked and smelled to the Masonic world like the appendant body was really in charge of a subservient and compliant grand lodge.

Let me quote the COGMMNA's Commission on Recognition's report from 2008:

A split has developed in the Grand Lodge of Paraguay. A group of dissidents have now proclaimed themselves to be the Grand Lodge Symbolic of Paraguay. After a questionable investigation, the Interamerican Masonic Confederation has declared this group headed by Mendoza Unzain to be legitimate. This was an unusual act since the by-laws of the CMI prohibits the interference in the internal affairs of a Grand Lodge. This ruling is being contested by the existing [older] Grand Lodge of Paraguay, but they have not allowed [us] to see the report of the investigation, or to offer a response. Nemecio Lichi was legally elected to be the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Paraguay, and the Commission is of the opinion that this Grand Lodge is still the only Grand Lodge in Paraguay that meets the standards for recognition.

But by 2013, the United Grand Lodge of England had recognized the "newer" Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay , which also had the support of many CMI members. By 2014, the COGMMNA Commission on Recognition's report came to the conclusion that the newer body was now the "only Grand Lodge in Paraguay that meets the standards for recognition."

In 2016, the Commission reiterated its conclusion that the newer GL was considered to be the regular one. Because the two groups have exactly the same name, the Commission reported specifically that "The current Grand Master of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay [in 2022] is M∴W∴ Bro. Edgar Sanchez Caballero. The address of that grand lodge is: Gran Logia Simbolica Del Paraguay Avda. de la Victoria No 690 esq Lopez Moreira Asuncion - Paraguay." 

(BTW, their most recently elected Grand Master who will serve 2022-2026 is now MW José Miguel Fernández Zacur.)

The Commission on Recognition's report from 2018 enlarged upon the origin story of the newer Paraguayan grand lodge a bit, but threw their hands up over the mess, recommending a treaty or some other solution to jointly share the territory, whether they got along with each other or not:

In 2005, the Grand Master of Paraguay was suspended by an appendant body [Paraguay's Supreme Council of the AASR]. Pursuant to treaty, this lead to his suspension from symbolic or craft Masonry. In 2006, there was a schism in Paraguayan Masonry. For a number of years, attempts were made to reconcile the two grand lodges. In 2014, when such efforts repeatedly failed, this Commission found that the newer grand Lodge met the standards for recognition. This was, in part, because the prior Grand Lodge did not demonstrate sovereignty, as an appendant body functionally controlled the craft. The Commission has now been presented evidence that in 2017, a new treaty was entered into with the appendant body, preserving the sovereignty of the craft. While both grand lodges appear to be practicing regular Freemasonry, before the Commission makes further recommendations, we encourage both parties to discuss a treaty to share the jurisdiction regardless of whether they formally recognize one another Masonically.

As a result, I believe just over a dozen U.S. grand lodges recognize ANY grand lodge of Masons in Paraguay at all. The rest are sitting back and waiting for some sanity to prevail. But Florida is, to my knowledge, the ONLY one sticking with the older organization. Meanwhile, the newer Symbolic Grand Lodge has posted a packet of online documents that demonstrate the worldwide support they have continued to receive over the years. They can be seen HERE.

Of course, the really ironic bit of unintentional pratfall comedy here is that the schism with the original Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay began 20 years ago over the accusation that an outside group (Paraguay's Supreme Council of the AASR) was calling the shots for them – proof that they were no longer a sovereign grand lodge that governed itself. And now, Florida has split from these thirteen GLs in CMI because Florida questions their sovereignty by agreeing to CMI's definition of regularity. 

To finally wrap this up, below is the official English-language response to Florida issued on Saturday by Paraguay from 2022-26 Grand Master Zacur. (Click to enlarge)

  

This episode is the sort of thing your own grand lodge's Foreign Fraternal Relations Committee has to peer into every year, and their report is usually buried deep in the proceedings of your annual meeting – just in case some grand master gets it in his head to appoint you to that committee...

Florida Withdraws Amity With Eleven Foreign Grand Lodges

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATED 1/30/2024 10:00AM: Following the original posting of this story on January 27th, I received documentation that the actual number of grand lodges being shunned by the GL of Florida is now up to 13, since they also severed relations with the grand lodges of Argentina and Uruguay two months ago for the same reasons. I will post a more detailed explanation of this whole mess shortly.

On Friday, Grand Secretary Richard E. Lynn, PGM of the Grand Lodge of F&AM of Florida issued a letter declaring the immediate withdrawal of relations with the following foreign Masonic grand lodges:

• La Gran Logia de Bolivia, 
• La Gran Logia de Chile, A.L. y A.M., 
• La Gran Logia de Costa Rica, F. A. y A, 
• La Gran Logia de la Republica Dommicana, 
• La Grande Loge Nationale Française, 
• La Gran Logia de Guatemala, A.L. y A.M, America Central. 
• La Gran Logia de Honduras, A.L. y A.M., 
• Soberana Gran Login de Nicaragua, 
• La Gran Logia de Panamá, 
• Gran Logia de los A. L. y A.M., de la Republica del Perü, 
• La Grande Loja Legal de Portugal

There are no details as to the specifics of the decision, other than to say, 

"... because they presume to impose on a Grand Lodge who they can recognize, something that would violate our sovereignty.  

"Therefore, no Lodge in Florida may visit nor allow visitors or petitioners for affiliation or dual membership from any Lodge Chartered by the Grand Lodges listed above. If you have a Dual Member, he will have to sign a letter of resignation from the Grand Lodge in question if he wishes to remain a member in Florida or vice versa."

That's a mighty wide swath of grand lodges with which to suddenly cut off relations in one broad swoop. Is there anyone who can shed some light on this announcement? (Click image below to enlarge)

Suspect Arrested For Leesburg, Florida Lodge Fire

by Christopher Hodapp

Police have arrested a man connected with the June 14th destruction of the Masonic Hall shared by Leesburg Lodge 58 and The Villages Lodge 394  near Orlando, Florida. Luke Pratt, 22, had been spotted on surveillance video standing outside the building when the fire started, holding a baseball bat and a can of gasoline.

From the Leesburg-News.com website:

Pratt on June 18 admitted to his mother that he set the fire at the Masonic Lodge, according to an affidavit of probable cause from the Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations. He made the admission while he was at her home in Marion County and was and was taken into custody by Marion County sheriff’s deputies under the Baker Act.

His mother contacted law enforcement and met them at her son’s home in Leesburg where explosive devices were recovered. Pratt’s mother and his brother both identified him in surveillance video from the night of the fire.

[snip]

Pratt, who was in a hospital in Marion County, called his mother during the investigation at his home and he spoke over the phone to investigators.
He admitted that on the night of the fire, he sat in his car in a nearby parking lot, watching with binoculars to ensure everyone had left the lodge. Carrying a gas can, he walked to the front door and used a baseball bat to smash it. He poured gasoline throughout the building and used matches to light a fire. He left the building and drove away, but returned a few minutes later to make sure the fire was still burning. He left a second time, went home and went to bed. 

According to WFTV-9, Investigators said they found five powerful, homemade explosive devices in Pratt’s home that he originally planned to use, but ultimately decided it was “too dangerous.” 

Deputies said Pratt’s mother contacted them after she found the explosive devices. They said Pratt admitted to his mother that he set the fire, and then admitted the same to deputies later on. “The detectives say he showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever and I believe he even stated he would do it again if he had the chance,” said Lt. John Herrell, with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

As to his motive, Pratt told police he is “mad at what the Masonic Lodge stands for” and said he believed they had been following him. Investigators obtained a search warrant that led to the discovery of journals that details Pratt’s “dislike for the Masonic Lodge.”

 

So, in (allegedly) acting upon his (alleged) delusions, Pratt has (allegedly) reduced to ashes what Leesburg's Brethren spent years building and creating — Masonic lodges dedicated to faith, hope, charity, and the brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of God.

Because he didn't like what it stood for.

"The ruthless hand of ignorance."

Some men can only destroy what better men before them have built.

Fire Destroys Florida Masonic Hall: Arson Suspected

by Christopher Hodapp

A devastating fire destroyed the Masonic hall in Leesburg, Florida Wednesday night, following a break in. Leesburg Lodge 58 lost everything in the fire that began about 10:30PM, and arson investigators believe the blaze was deliberately set. 

The Leesburg lodge hall was also home to The Villages Lodge 394, which had been preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary with a rededication ceremony Friday night. That event has been postponed indefinitely.

Grand Master Glen E. Bishop of the Grand Lodge of Florida issued a statement today and said that already several lodges in the area have volunteered meeting spaces and other assistance. 

Photos: Leesburg Fire Rescue Facebook page

UPDATE 6/16/2023, 11:30PM

The State Fire Marshal's office is still investigating the cause of the fire as of late Friday night, but aerial drone footage from local TV station WFTV-9 shows the extent of the destruction.

Confirmed: Grand Master of Cuba Defects to the U.S.

Grand Master Francisco Javier Alfonso Vidal (Facebook)

by Christopher Hodapp

I received a message from a Brother in Texas last week alerting me that the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba had just defected to the United States. He and his wife traveled to Mexico, purportedly on vacation, and crossed into the U.S. at the Texas border where they requested asylum. The Grand Lodge of Florida provided financial assistance to the couple, and they were helped locally by officers from a lodge in Brownsville, Texas. 

They will be staying with relatives in the U.S. while getting settled.

The story was confirmed this week. The Grand Lodge of Cuba issued a statement yesterday saying he had "abandoned his mission" and "escaped" to Mexico. And the now-immediate Past Grand Master himself – Francisco Javier Alfonso Vidal (photo above) – issued a long, public letter explaining his reasons for resigning his position from the Grand Lodge, and for leaving Cuba behind.

For obvious reasons, his name was withheld from the message I received. But just as I sat down today to post it, the following article appeared today on the Translating Cuba website, translated by Regina Anavy. 

Cat's out of the bag now, so I'm not breaking anyone's trust by posting his name.

From: "The Grand Master of the Freemasons of Cuba Denounces a ‘Coup d’état’ of Cuban Counterintelligence"

Francisco Javier Alfonso Vidal, second on the left, 

along with José Ramón Viñas Alonso, first on the right, 

and two other master masons, at an event in Veracruz, Mexico. 

(Facebook/José Ramón Viñas)

14ymedio, Havana, 3 January 2023 — Master Freemason Francisco Javier Alfonso Vidal, leader until Tuesday of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, reported in a public letter the reasons that led him to quit his position and leave the country. Signed in the “Greater East” of the United States, a country where he has applied for asylum with his wife, and addressed to his temporary substitute, Armando Guerra Lozano, the letter denounces the infiltration of State Security into the Cuban Masonic leadership and his intention, for several months, to remove himself from his post. 

On Tuesday, the Grand Lodge of Cuba published a circular in which it explained that Alfonso Vidal had not returned from Mexico, where he was a guest of the Freemasons of Veracruz, and described his escape as an “unexpected and masonically regrettable event.” 

From the United States, the former Grand Master defends himself from those who accuse him of “abandoning his mission” and recalls that he was elected as a representative of the Cuban Freemasonry in an “unquestionable” ceremony from the legal point of view, in addition to pointing out that at no time did he violate the Masonic principles of succession, as say the Masons infiltrated by State Security, he alleges. He clarifies that he is leaving because of the impossibility of fulfilling his duty, as defined by the Masonic statutes, with the “total transparency, autonomy and necessary freedom.”
The position of Grand Master, assumed at the moment by Armando Guerra Lozano — in accordance with Decree 634, the last one signed by Alfonso Vidal — carries the responsibility of remaining in the position until the celebration of a partial election during an extraordinary session of the Masonic directors. 

However, says Alfonso Vidal, there is a faction related to the Government of Havana within the Grand Lodge, managed by counterintelligence officers, which intends to place in office — in violation of the legislation, he says — a candidate favorable to the regime.
“I am aware that my dismissal from office was being orchestrated through an Extraordinary Session in order to create a fictitious circumstance for Deputy Grand Master H. Fernando González García to illegally occupy the position,” Alfonso Vidal denounced in his letter. 

González García, according to the Grand Lodge circular, was also abroad, but will return, they say, on January 5. The former Grand Master suspects that his return is motivated by that goal. 

Alfonso Vidal considers that the special circular of the institution — initialed, in fact, by his substitute — was out of place and manifests a “total contempt for the Masonic Legislation,” in addition to manipulating his decision not to return to Cuba and labeling his attitude as “bad.” To say, moreover, that they had not communicated with him in the last two weeks is not a “coherent motivation” to assume his resignation without a document issued by the former Grand Master himself. 

“What was the ’serious abandonment of the position and functions entrusted’ if all witnesses can attest that I participated in every day of work in our friendly power [the Mexican lodge]? They don’t have an honest answer, I know,” he says. 

The former leader of the Freemasons questions those who try to effect what, in his opinion, is a “coup d’état,” with the intervention of counterintelligence agents of the regime “who claim to be Freemasons.” “Everyone and each of those who find themselves signing, looking for support, trying to win the support of representatives, lodges, opinion leaders, who spent days trying to send me an intimidating message, all are collaborators and perpetrators of the crime of treason to Freemasonry and will pay,” he denounced in his letter. 

The extensive document also describes in great detail the “attacks” on Cuban Freemasonry in recent months, and relates them to the active work of several of its members in denouncing government repression during the protests of July 11, 2021 and those of the summer of 2022. 

He mentions, for example, the open letter to Díaz-Canel sent by Master José Ramón Viñas Alonso, in which he offered “his opinion on the call for confrontation between Cubans that made everything worse,” earning him pressure from State Security to make a retraction. 

Another case is that of his predecessor in the position of Grand Master, Ernesto Zamora, who refused to attend a meeting with Díaz-Canel from which they intended to exclude José Ramón Viñas Alonso, whom the authorities had “regulated*” shortly before, preventing him from traveling to the United States. 

And finally, in December 2021, Alfonso Vidal recalls, the regime considered intolerable the intervention of Grand Speaker Luis Steve Ocaña in which he invited Cuban Freemasons to get involved in politics. 

“When one is elected to Grand Master it’s not all that one imagines it to be, with the pressure that it represents to be in charge of the fraternal destiny of more than twenty thousand brothers. Obstacles appear that one has to overcome,” Alfonso Vidal said in defense. 

“The fact that the Sovereign Grand Commander [José Ramón Viñas Alonso] became a nuisance for the Cuban Government and the organs of repression, and seeing that he received in many cases expressions of support that were not only Masonic but also from outside the order, State Security went on a mission to take him out of the middle,” he explained. 

The short-term intention, says Alfonso Vidal, was to force him, as Grand Master, to expel Viñas Alonso from the order “under some pretext.” He also said that he had mentioned this situation to Viñas Alonso on a trip they made together abroad — once their ban was lifted — “because I did not consider it safe to do so inside Cuba.” 

Faced with his refusal to accede to the pressures of counterintelligence — an individual who identified himself as Poll made more than 70 intimidating phone calls in one day — Alfonso Vidal made the decision not to go out without company. In addition, he received several police summonses, in which an officer told him that for more than 40 years State Security has been working on Cuban Freemasonry with its infiltrators. 

Fernando González García, the current Deputy Grand Master who will return to Cuba on January 5 “running to comply with orders” is one of those agents, in the opinion of the former dignitary. Other members of the Masonic leadership are part of the “conspiracy” against José Ramón Viñas Alonso, he says: Ernesto Zamora, whom he accuses of having apologized to the Communist Party for his opposition to Díaz-Canel, and the current treasurer of the Great Lodge, Ernesto Navarrete, who “is a policeman,” and who he suggests is managing the Masonic funds in an irregular way. 

Taking advantage of a business trip to a lodge in Veracruz, he and his wife decided to request political asylum in the United States, alleging that they have suffered systematic harassment by State Security in its “masonic hunt.” His son, however, remains in Cuba. For his part, says Alfonso Vidal, José Ramón Viñas Alonso — the main objective of counterintelligence — is “resisting harassment.” 

*Translator’s note: “Regulated,” as the term is used by the government, means forbidden to leave the country.