From: DMcG
Date: 08 Feb 18 - 01:24 PM

The Roman Catholic church though is quite clear that membership of the Masons is not compatible with Roman Catholicism

The situation is more complicated, In the days of the 'Penny Catechism' that was certainly the case. Then, quoting the Catholic Herald:
'the Code of Canon Law was reformed, following Vatican II, the canon specifically prohibiting Catholics from joining 'Masonic societies' was revised. In the new code, promulgated in 1983 by St John Paul II, explicit mention of Freemasonry was dropped completely. The new Canon 1374 referred only to societies that 'plot against the Church'.'

The Catholic Herald article seems to be a bit stuck in the past (which is the norm for the paper), but is quite clear that the Roman Catholic Church no longer singles out freemasons as such.

The same source makes clear that not mentioning Freemasonry explicitly was only so as not to limit the exclusion, not to change the stance on Freemasonry. From that source:

When the Code of Canon Law was reformed, following Vatican II, the canon specifically prohibiting Catholics from joining 'Masonic societies' was revised. In the new code, promulgated in 1983 by St John Paul II, explicit mention of Freemasonry was dropped completely. The new Canon 1374 referred only to societies that 'plot against the Church'. Many took this change to indicate that Freemasonry was no longer always bad in the eyes of the Church. In fact, the reforming committee made it clear that they meant not just Freemasons, but many other organisations; the 'plot' of its secularist agenda had spread so far beyond the lodges that to keep using the umbrella term 'Masonic' would be confusing. The then Cardinal Ratzinger issued an authoritative clarification of the new law in 1983, in which he made it clear that the new canon was phrased to encourage broader interpretation and application.