"Pope Leo XIV celebrates Masonic, French Revolutionary motto ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’"

Leo XIV celebrated a motto of the French Revolution used by Freemasons —”Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” — as “universal ethical imperatives” during a speech at the Élysée on Friday.

“France was responsible for significant advances in our world, including the recognition of human rights grounded in the nature of the human person, particularly religious freedom,” said Leo in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron and French officials.

“This constant focus on the dignity inherent in every person is echoed in your national motto. Liberty, equality and fraternity are not simply words emblazoned on the front of your public buildings; they refer to universal ethical imperatives that also find in the Gospel message an inexhaustible source of inspiration and fulfillment,” said the pontiff.

Leo’s reference to “Liberty, equality and fraternity” as “universal ethical imperatives” is concerning because, while the words serve as France’s national motto, they also serve as the motto of the Freemasonic Grand Orient and the Grande Loge de France. The motto comes from the French Revolution, which was fiercely opposed to the Catholic Church, and killed thousands of bishops, priests, religious, and lay Catholics by the guillotine during the “Reign of Terror.”

Leo’s praise of the “religious freedom” he said has been recognized by France is also contrary to the Catholic Church’s traditional understanding of the subject. Pope Pius IX’s Quanta Cura and the Syllabus of Errors condemned the idea that “Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.”