antoninus9
New Member
Oh! I forgot to address your question about the GOdF. The Grand Master's paper is a bit confusing unless you are familiar with how the GOdF works.
It is true that they don't make female Masons, but they do recognize female Masons as legitimate sisters. I know this sounds rather odd, but there is a method to their madness.
The French are very realistic about things. The realize that female Masons do indeed exist and that they know all the same secrets as male Masons. So what is one to do? Deny their existence?
The answer for them was to remain a male-only fraternity while recognizing and accepting the sisters. Women can visit GOdF lodges but GOdF lodges cannot make female Masons.
After having met with several female Masonic groups it seems this is a perfectly satisfactory answer for them as well. They don't want men in their lodges all the time because they want a little time alone with their sisters. While they welcome male Masons as visitors, they don't want a steady flow of guys hanging around.
From what I've learned thus far it seems that there is a need for three distinct types of Freemasonry: male-only, female-only, and mixed-gender. All of these groups practice the same basic forms of Freemasonry and have a similar ideology. It seems to me that the Craft could gain much from trying to work together in peace and harmony with everyone else. That's just my opinion.
It is true that they don't make female Masons, but they do recognize female Masons as legitimate sisters. I know this sounds rather odd, but there is a method to their madness.
The French are very realistic about things. The realize that female Masons do indeed exist and that they know all the same secrets as male Masons. So what is one to do? Deny their existence?
The answer for them was to remain a male-only fraternity while recognizing and accepting the sisters. Women can visit GOdF lodges but GOdF lodges cannot make female Masons.
After having met with several female Masonic groups it seems this is a perfectly satisfactory answer for them as well. They don't want men in their lodges all the time because they want a little time alone with their sisters. While they welcome male Masons as visitors, they don't want a steady flow of guys hanging around.
From what I've learned thus far it seems that there is a need for three distinct types of Freemasonry: male-only, female-only, and mixed-gender. All of these groups practice the same basic forms of Freemasonry and have a similar ideology. It seems to me that the Craft could gain much from trying to work together in peace and harmony with everyone else. That's just my opinion.