November '07 First Friday - Freemasonry and the Catholic Church

Our First Friday Speaker for this Friday, November 2, 2007 is Attorney John Salza. Mr. Salza will speak about "Freemasonry and the Catholic Church". A short biography of Mr. Salza appears below.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

John Salza was baptized Catholic and attended Catholic grade school and high school. He grew up having a strong relationship with God. However, during his college years, John began to pursue secular interests and grew lukewarm in his faith. After he graduated from law school, a family member introduced John to Freemasonry. The Masonic Lodge was presented to John as a means of establishing special contacts in the business world. As a young attorney, such an idea appealed to John. John also had no idea that the Catholic Church opposed his membership in the Lodge. However, upon discovering this fact, John quit the Lodge.

Since 1999, John has been a well-respected and highly-skilled Catholic apologist. He is the author of the following books by Our Sunday Visitor: The Biblical Basis for the Catholic Faith (2005); Masonry Unmasked: An Insider Reveals the Secrets of the Lodge (2006); The Biblical Basis for the Papacy (2007); and, The Biblical Basis for the Eucharist (2008). John is a frequent speaker on Catholic radio, appearing on such shows as Catholic Answers Live, Kresta in the Afternoon, and The Drew Mariani Show. John also has his own radio show on Relevant Radio called “Relevant Answers,” a daily apologetics spot on how to explain and defend the Catholic faith using the Bible. John is the creator of www.ScriptureCatholic.com, one of the most popular Catholic apologetics sites on the Internet. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a Doctor of Law degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Wisconsin Law School. John is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the American Catholic Lawyers Association, the National Italian-American Bar Association, the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and the Saint Joseph’s Society.

October '07 First Friday - Prof. Christopher Wolfe - On founding a new catholic university

We were pleased this month to have Prof. Wolfe of Marquette University as our featured speaker for the October '07 First Friday gathering. As described in the recent Journal-Sentinel article linked above, Prof. Wolfe has undertaken an effort to establish a new university based upon the teachings and intellectual approach of Thomas Aquinas.

See this previous post for general information about First Friday, including location, times, directions, etc.

Archbishop Dolan offers Homily at 2007 Red Mass in Washington, D.C.

For the interest of our membership, the homily of our own Archbishop Timothy Dolan on the occasion of the Red Mass in Washington, D.C. has been posted and is available for Download as PDF.

The Archbishop reflects upon the founding principles of the United States, noting the consistencies with our calling as Catholics to recognize and protect the inherent dignity and sanctity of humankind. His prayer for guidance of lawyers, politicians, judges and public servants calls upon us to abide these principles as we work to build and protect "... the city set on a hill..."