Freemasons distance members from occultism

Accra, May 16, GNA - Mr Samuel Bannerman Martin-Daniels, Chairman of the Public Unit of Freemasons Lodge, a charitable organisation, had denied public perception that the organisation was a secret society dabbling in occultism.

He said since the evolution of Freemasonry in Ghana in 1810 the misconception and misinformation about the aims and objectives of the Lodge had impeded its growth and posed a major threat to its survival. Mr Martin-Daniels, who was speaking at a press soiree to launch the Diamond Jubilee of the District Grand Lodge of Ghana, which spans May 2006 to March 2007, said due to such misconceptions the Lodge was banned by the erstwhile Peoples National Defence Council.

He said what Freemasons did best was the giving to charity and catalogued a number of such interventions including the donation of 283 million cedis to equip the Urology Unit of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and an additional 55 million cedis to aid research at the Unit. The Lodge, he said, was also involved in health education lectures on hypertension, prostrate cancer and onchocerciasis. Mr Martin-Daniels said the 75th anniversary would be used to unveil the true story of Freemasonry to break the myth surrounding it. Dr Joe Blanson, a member of the Lodge, said Freemasonry was not a religion but a fraternity that taught people about moral uprightness and how to live up to duties to God and humanity.