Letter to the Scotsman, 18th April 2006
There has been an exchange of letters in the Scotsman newspaper. A letter by a Mr Minogue was given the most prominent position on the letters page - that is centred on the page with a banner headline, in the newspaper on Tuesday, 18th April. The Grand Lodge of Scotland replied to the Scotsman (by e-mail and by snail mail) on Wednesday, 19th and an edited version of the letter was, eventually, published in the Scotsman on Monday, 24th April. Below we provide a copy of Mr Minogue's letter, followed by the full version of the reply sent to the Scotsman by Grand Lodge. Lastly the version, as edited by the Scotsman, of Grand Lodge's letter is provided.
You will note that the reply of Grand Lodge is not given the same prominence as Mr Minogue's letter - that is, it is not featured centrally on the page, it does not have a banner headline and it was not reproduced in full. (Please also see the comments at the end of this article).
For ease of reading the text of the above letter is provided below:
Duncan Hamilton (Opinion 17 April) makes a fair case against sectarianism and concludes his piece with the statement that legislation alone cannot cure this problem, and "ultimately eradicating the problem is about making the real 'Scottish' identity of the coming century irreconcilable with the remaining pockets of poisonous and ignorant sectarianism".Duncan Hamilton is echoing our most famous living Scot, Sir Sean Connery, who, on 12 March, was quoted as giving two reasons why he would not return to Scotland: "sectarian violence and Freemasonry".
I agree with both these eminent Scots and while I would not go as far as Sir Sean in linking the two extremes of sectarianism (in the true sense of the word), I would argue that there is a peculiar Scottish trait in sticking to one's own sect, a fact supported by statistics that show Scotland has more Freemasons per head of population than any country in the world (four times more than England).
So, in a way, when UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) suggests that there is a peculiar acceptance of sectarian behaviour in Scotland, there are statistics to support their view. A loving of Lodges which house Orange, Masonic or other secret societies would appear to be a Scots trait.
As Duncan Hamilton says, if we seek a more confident and inclusive Scottish society we should eradicate this flaw in our national identity.
However, he was the main mover in scuppering a petition to the Scottish Parliament which, in the interests of openness and inclusivity, called for legislation to compel judges and other decision-makers to declare their membership of secret societies. He said such societies were legal and there was no evidence that they were divisive.
Tom Minogue
Victoria Terrace
Kirkcaldy
Fife
Full text of Grand Lodge's reply sent to the Scotsman on 19th April:
To: The Editor,
The Scotsman,
108 Holyrood Road,
Edinburgh
EH8 8AS
Dear Sir,
I refer to the letter in the Scotsman by a Tom Minogue on the 18th April in which he suggests that Scottish Freemasonry is sectarian. Freemasonry, by its very nature, is probably the least sectarian organisation imaginable. There are Freemasons in almost every country of the world, and Scottish Freemasonry i.e. Freemasons whose ‘head office’ is The Grand Lodge of Scotland, range across 45 countries. Members are drawn from every race, religion, creed and colour. Distinctions of religion, politics, social position, occupation or personal wealth are of no relevance within the organisation. Such differences have no bearing on eligibility for membership. Are these the criterion of a sectarian organisation?
Following the South East Asia Tsunami disaster Scottish Freemasons raised over £100,000 for disaster relief in a matter of weeks and sent relief funds to Scottish Lodges in South East Asia within a matter of hours. The Grand Master Mason, Sir Archibald Donald Orr Ewing and I have recently returned from a visit to Scottish Lodges in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Malawi. Whilst in Sri Lanka we visited a Tsunami Recovery project funded by Scottish Freemasons where, in partnership with the local Roman Catholic, Muslim and Buddhist communities we have rebuilt houses for local fishermen whose homes were lost. Whilst in India, Kenya, and Malawi we visited children’s homes, orphanages, hospitals and other relief projects supported by Scottish Freemasons. Are these the actions of a sectarian organisation ? In 1966 the Grand Lodge of Scotland founded the Grand Lodge of Turkey – a Muslim country- as an independent Grand Lodge. In 1953 the Grand Lodge of Scotland consecrated the Grand Lodge of Israel – a Jewish country - as an independent Grand Lodge. Last December the Grand Master Mason and I were honoured guests at the Installation of the National Grand Lodge of France – a Roman Catholic country. Are these acts indicative of a sectarian organisation?
With regard to the statistics which supposedly show that Scotland has more Freemasons per head of the population than any country in the world and four times more than England I regret that this is totally inaccurate.
With regard to the claim that Sir Sean Connery is alleged to have said that one of the reasons he would not return to Scotland was because of Freemasonry, it is interesting to note that his adopted country, The Bahamas, has a very strong Scottish Masonic tradition and the Grand Lodge of Scotland is proud to have seven Lodges in that comparatively small country.
David M Begg
Grand Secretary
The Grand Lodge of Scotland
The Letter as published by the Scotsman on Monday, 24th April:
In reply to Tom Minogue, who suggests Scottish Freemasonry is sectarian (Letters, 18 April), by its very nature, it is probably the least sectarian organisation imaginable. There are Freemasons in almost every country and Scottish Freemasonry ranges across 45 countries. Members are drawn from every race, religion, creed, and colour. Distinctions of religion, politics, social position, occupation of personal wealth are of no relevance in the organisation. Such differences have no bearing on eligibility for membership. The claim that Scotland has more Freemasons per head of the population than any other country in the world, and four times more than England is totally inaccurate. Also, with regards to the claim that Sir Sean Connery is alleged to have said that one of the reasons he would not be returning to Scotland was because of Freemasonry, his adopted country, the Bahamas, has a very strong Scottish Masonic tradition, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland is proud to have seven Lodges there.
In reply to Tom Minogue, who suggests Scottish Freemasonry is sectarian (Letters, 18 April), by its very nature, it is probably the least sectarian organisation imaginable. There are Freemasons in almost every country and Scottish Freemasonry ranges across 45 countries. Members are drawn from every race, religion, creed, and colour. Distinctions of religion, politics, social position, occupation of personal wealth are of no releva