Bishop of Rome welcomes his fellow Rotarians to the Vatican for audience -- Rotary funds Planned Parenthood!

In 1951, the Holy Office, now the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the authority of Pope Pius XII issued a decree banning priests from joining the Rotary Club. It was reported in the secular press at the time.

Rotary funds Planned Parenthood. 

Rotarians are not directly Freemasons, but the origin of Rotary is in Freemasonry as describied by Master Mason and Shriner, Joel Montgomery. According to Montgomery:

Freemasons were founding members of both the Lions Club and the Rotary Club.  Gustave E. Loehr, a Mason, was a charter member of the Rotary Club (though it was founded by Paul P. Harris, who was not a Mason to my knowledge), and Melvin Jones, the founder of the Lions Club, was actually a Mason.  But again - Lions and Rotary are not Masonic organizations.

Notwithstanding the Holy Office's decree, in 1999, Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires graciously accepted Honourary membership in the "prestigious organisation."

Today, in Rome, Jorge Bergoglio, its Bishop, and at his invitation, had a special audience with Rotarians.

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/04/30/pope_greets_rotary_members_at_special_jubilee_audience/1226522

Pope greets Rotary members at special Jubilee Audience

Pope Francis greets members of Rotary International at Saturday's Jubilee Audience - AFP

30/04/2016 09:00

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(Vatican Radio) Nearly 9,000 Rotary members attended the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Francis. A delegation greeted the Pope at the end of the Audience.

Rotary, which brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues, kicked off the Rotarian Jubilee on Friday afternoon, with a conference on the challenges refugees are facing worldwide.

The conference organized by the Jesuit Refugee Service - in partnership with Rotary, UNHCR and WFP -  and entitled “Helping Refugees to Start Over”, focused on the work that can be done to give millions of refugees dignity and quality education – the best possible tool for them to be able to shape their lives, not lose hope, dream of a future. 

Linda Bordoni spoke to Ravi Ravindran, President of Rotary International about the Jubilee Audience with the Pope and about Rotary’s commitment to improving the lives of refugees.

Listen to the full interview:

 

Mr. Ravindran called Pope Francis a model for Rotarians, saying "he is doing exactly what every Rotarian should be doing. So we see a great synergy of thought with this Pope, and being here, receiving his blessing, I think is something quite wonderful for us."

"We are all very excited; we are passionate about this. We have Rotarians who have come from 80 countries to be present, so you can imagine the excitement."

Mr. Ravindran compared the conference on giving refugees a new start to lighting a candle in the darkness. "I realize that trying to take on this whole problem is beyond us. I have to be honest and say that Rotary cannot solve this problem, but rather than cursing the darkness, we can light a candle. I definitely know of many, many Rotary Clubs who in their own small way are doing what they can to give refuge, to educate, to take care, to nurse refugees. So if many of us do what we are doing, then to a large extent the problem gets alleviated."