



Here's a publishing tip: Don't go rooting around in Nazi propaganda for your stock photos.





Catholic Times newspaper decided to weigh in with their own take on Freemasonry by publishing a letter from one of their readers on the 'Letters To The Editor' page. Blaring the headline, 'Dangers Lurking In Masonic System Of Philosophy,' the letter contained the usual array of canards against the fraternity. Given the Roman Catholic Church's official strictures against joining Masonic lodges, that's to be expected in a paper specifically skewed to that particular audience. If any organization has the right to create their own lopsided messaging that is specifically anti-Masonic in nature, it would certainly be the Catholic press, no matter how incorrect they might be. During the anti-Masonic media tumult in England in February, the Manchester, England-basednewspaper decided to weigh in with their own take on Freemasonry by publishing a letter from one of their readers on the 'Letters To The Editor' page. Blaring the headline,the letter contained the usual array of canards against the fraternity. Given the Roman Catholic Church's official strictures against joining Masonic lodges, that's to be expected in a paper specifically skewed to that particular audience. If any organization has the right to create their own lopsided messaging that is specifically anti-Masonic in nature, it would certainly be the Catholic press, no matter how incorrect they might be.





Unfortunately, the large graphic they chose to accompany the letter couldn't have been a stupider choice.

Immediately below the anti-Masonic letter was a different letter, this one a complaint that the paper had recently published blatantly anti-semitic material in an earlier issue. Anthony Silkoff, the Interfaith and Social Action officer of the

Board of Deputies of British Jews

wrote a strong objection to the Catholic Times about a different reader’s letter which had alleged “a dramatic increase in Jewish voices on the radio”, as well as complaining about a “Jewish comedian” using sexual slang. Mr. Silkoff described the original letter in the paper as “racist drivel,” and his message was printed on the same page as the anti-Masonic letter. Right under it, as a matter of fact.



