On September 21, MESA has called a crucial meeting in the recent history of the Grand Lodge of Spain. This is the writing of a document for «correct governance» of the Grand Lodge of Spain. Diario Masónico has managed to reproduce it exclusively. We leave you with the first part of the document. “VIABILITY OF THE G.L.E. AS A FRAMEWORK IN WHICH TO DEVELOP REGULAR FRANCMASONERY IN SPAIN ”

Those interested in participating in the MESA meeting on September 21, can fill out this form (click here) and send it to the email address: mesa2@protonmail.com. You can also send questions and queries about the process. Only validly registered Master Masons can participate.

All the Bethreen participants in the meeting will be provided with copies of all invoices as proof of economic transparency.

The meeting to discuss this document will take place in a room rented for the occasion, in all likelihood on Calle Princesa of Madrid, although in the next few days the exact location will be definitively confirmed.

The start time will be from 10 to 10:30 while the Bethren present are credited. It will end around 17:30, with the corresponding breaks to eat. The only requirement to participate in the meeting is to be a member of this MESA group and communicate it in advance.

Each attendee will receive, when accredited, as in the meeting a year ago, a card with the number of votes available (his plus the delegates) as well as the nominal relationship of the Brothers who have delegated their votes in it.

The MESA group remains open to the incorporation of active Mason Masters of the GLE.

We also leave the instruction document for participation in this link (Click here)

Organization for correct governance of the G.L.E.

Madrid, 21^st. September 2019 (e.v.)

Presentation

Viability of the GLE as a name for the development Of Regular Freemasonry in Spain

Introduction

The aims of modern Freemasonry, known as speculative, are well known and universal. All the objectives of Masonry, both those that are aimed at the individual as those directed to society, are aimed at progress, improvement and overcoming differences in pursuit of harmony and universal brotherhood.

Freemasonry has a collection of traditions accumulated over centuries of evolution whose remotest origins are still subject to study and analysis. The fact of having previously been a closed and secret initiation institution based on preservation and secrecy in the transmission of the knowledge that it treasured, caused it to accommodate a multitude of traditions that found within it a safe haven before an outside world not always tolerant or friendly, that escapes the orthodoxy of the moment.

Over time, what we know today as Freemasonry. has been expressed and practiced under different thoughts and ideas. For this reason, due to its proven antiquity, Freemasonry has neither been brought into existence nor owned by the organizations that currently house it under the creation of Grand Lodges or Grand Orients. Grand Lodges have, as their main purpose and aim, and we dare to say, the preservation and care of Freemasonry, that will grow, evolve, expand or mutate depending on the one hand, the care and attention that is presented and, on the other hand, the degree of freedom granted to Freemasons, as being the living parts of Freemasonry, to develop it.

If a non-Mason in these matters asks whether it is possible to acquire knowledge through the exclusive use of reason and education, specialised or factual materials that exist in the world of commercial activity, at the disposal of the general public, or in libraries specialised in education and research, we would have to answer no. It is not possible and not because Masonry is transmitted through a personal relationship, of an extraordinary nature, which develops between successive Masters and the Apprentice. Without this connection and the experience of the personal encounter of the myths and misconceptions that are developed within the Lodge, it is impossible to fully acquire the rudiments of Masonry. One can be a learned scholar of the history of Masonry, of the overflowing symbolism, of its rituals and even of its procedures and forms of transmission, without implying anything more than an intellectual knowledge of the subject.

Freemasonry is therefore composed of two indivisible elements: one that is readily available to the general public consisting of texts, pictures and other symbolic materials and another, reserved for Masons, an element that is personal, initiatory and based on experience and observation, acquired by dissemination through the experience of working together with the rest of the other Brethren in the Lodge. It is therefore the primary function and main purpose of Grand Lodges to safeguard the first element in its purity and to preserve the second element pure from profane corruption so that the initiatory transmission can take place effectively.

A – THE PROBLEM

A.1 – Actions which should have been taken by the Grand Lodge of Spain

From the reasoning expressed in the introduction, if we consider whether the Grand Lodge of Spain has fulfilled and continues to accomplish these 2 objectives, we obtain the result that it has not been able to preserve and order its own historical and cultural heritage, nor has it been able to preserve the initiatory work in the Lodges.

A.1.1. – Custody and conservation of the historical, cultural heritage

Regarding our own historic and cultural heritage, we are obliged to point out that in its forty years of existence, the G.L.E. has been unable to generate definitive teaching and training, nor has it worked to recover the Spanish Masonic heritage. It is well known that Masonry in Spain existed long before the G.L.E. / G.O.E. As cannot be otherwise understood, it was a mission to work constantly and planned to generate a knowledge base of what is ours. Today the G.L.E. / G.O.E. is the last place to go to in search of any information about Spanish Masonry. Should a Mason who is a member of the G.L.E. try to study and learn from our Masonic past, it goes without saying that he can save himself the trouble of going to our Institution. There is nothing there ! In most cases it was basically just to ask for copies in the places in which our history is deposited. No effort whatsoever has been made in this regard. On the other hand, essential for every Master Mason or at whatever elementary level, the members of the G.L.E. who are interested in these issues, are compelled to purchase publications, in some cases lacking accuracy, or to go to external sources. Disinterest in this issue in an organization that has its reason for existence in its historical and traditional sources, shows the futility with which the Institution has been administered.

Regarding teaching materials, so many different versions of the rituals, their constant reforms, translation or modifications exist that as a result, confusion and perplexity have become the norm and totally acceptable. The rituals change depending on the different parameters and sensitivities of the direction of the change, the ways and forms are altered, the translations are not respected and instead, those that most of the time someone voluntarily but unknowledgeable and unqualified has imposed, are considered

more convenient. Through the improper carelessness of a serious and regular Institution, Apprentices have been allowed to obtain their formation from the literature that can be found in bookstores and libraries. Absolutely nothing was done during these decades to officially recover, sort out, assess and evaluate the legacy which was left in the past by Spanish Brethren. Once again, it is thanks to personal initiative of some Brethren from the field of history, literature or academic research, that we have become aware of our history and the legacy of the past. The G.L.E. has never developed a plan to recover, conserve or generate Masonic information and data. It is ours and one of our main reasons for existence.

In its 40 years of existence, the Lodges of the G.L.E. have generated thousands of pages of reflection and Masonic work, whether in the form of communications, essays, presentations, teaching matter and the dissemination of all kinds of data. Even today, all this material, which continues to be generated on a daily basis as a result of the work of Brethren, is still distributed and in most cases, lost along the way without the G.L.E. even considering its conservation and without making it all available to the Brethren of the Order.

A.1.2 – Preservation of the initiatory work in the Lodges

In terms of initiation work, the conclusions cannot be more daunting and discouraging. Freemasonry starts from the premise that its implementation improves the individual. The initiatory fact together with the study of rituals and the understanding of their cultured and moral teachings give the individual new skills with which to face the challenges of life. It is about fashioning and shaping new, more tolerant individuals, with better abilities to understand reality and, where appropriate, transform it for their own good and that of the environment. it is not because Freemasonry is philanthropic but is the true love of man. The development of his potential, self-knowledge and the improvement and correction of his weaknesses is the arduous path which a Mason is subjected to right from his entry into the Institution.

If this is what regular Freemasonry proclaims of its beginning, the GL.E. in its 40 years of existence, should now have many thousands of members, proud to belong to the organization, tolerant, happy and enthusiastic about the work being carried out in its Lodges. By now the Lodges should have grown both in number and in membership and all of them should have maintained Lodges with large numbers of mature, experienced Masters with decades of membership in the Order.

if it is true that within the G.L.E. the initiatory work that proclaims universal Freemasonry was sold by developing, in a harmonious and constant way, the members of

the organization would effectively share the moral values and virtues of Masonry because they would be engraved indelibly in their hearts, a true fraternity based on respect and brotherly love would be re-established and without going any further, would resolve all their differences according to the way the ancient rituals establish. If the above is true, the members of the G.L.E. would put dialogue before imposition placing forgiveness of resentment, preservation of peace and harmony above all.

On the other hand, if all the above has been produced in the past and is established in the present, there is no sense in preparing this paper. But the mere fact of seeing ourselves in the position of writing this paper to discuss it and to approve the result of its debate, constitutes in itself, proof that reality is very far from the idyllic panorama in which we could live if the truth contained in our ancient rituals had been followed to the letter.

It is not possible to affirm that the initiatory work within the Grand Lodge of Spain has been developed as required. The reason is because if it was possible, we would be forced by honesty, to accept what the critics of Freemasonry say; that in its best case, it is innocuous, that is to say that it does not produce any improvement in the individual; or that it is counterproductive and develops the individual who approaches its inner thoughts.

If the initiatory work within the lodges of the G.L.E. is what marks our traditions and Masonry is capable of transforming the individual into a better human, there is no explanation for the fact that, with the exception of the first Grand Master who died in the course of his work, the rest were processed, irradiated or left the organization to create another one; or that thousands of Master Masons have left the G.L.E., expressing their weariness for the organization but not because of the Freemasonry, or for rejection of the time spent or the efforts invested. Nor is it understandable within a Masonic Institution that internal fights, disciplinary proceedings and suspensions, instead of being an exception, constitute the norm to have to live with (the normalization of the exception).

For this reason, and because we refuse to even assess the possibility that Masonry is empty of content and in view of the consequential outcomes, we can only conclude that the cause of these 40 years of frustration and discontent does not reside in the previous 40 years of persecution and forced silence, but in the poor practice of Freemasonry within the G.L.E..

In view of everything previously expressed, it could be concluded that as an organisation, the G.L.E. has done nothing, nothing at all, regarding its 2 fundamental obligations i.e. neither in its Masonic cultural heritage or in the field of initiatory practice. However, it is a fact that the G.L.E. exists with a very high budget and it also enjoys a

management team of hundreds of Grand Officers ranging from national to provincial level; and if the G.L.E. exists and develops activities (which it does), and fails to comply with its 2 main principles and, having verified that they remain neglected, we will have to analyse what types they are and if necessary, if they are also harmful to the development of true, regular Freemasonry within it.

A.2. – Activities that the Grand Lodge of Spain has developed

The activities that the G.L.E. has been developing since its inception can be considered under 3 headings: administration of the association, representation and relationships with the Grand Lodges and Orders and control and supervision of the work being carried out in the Lodges.

A.2.1. – Administration of the Association

Under this heading, we can say, without any embarrassment, that today, 40 years after its consecration, the G.L.E. has neither reached a level of administration or management of its civil association that can even be described as acceptable or sustainable. The G.L.E. does not have a professional or qualified team of employees at the service of the institution and who are oblivious to the accruals of the different government institutions.

On the contrary, the Grand Secretary’s office and the Grand Treasurer’s office, both key positions, protected in a special way by the Law of Associations, are occupied most of the time by persons acting in the interests of a particular entity, not even respecting such essential issues as communications nor giving adequate notice of summonses of Grand Assemblies and Grand Conclaves, their compositions, or publishing minutes of meetings etc.

The complete lack of transparency regarding the issues of the Treasurer of the Association has proved impossible to suppress and eradicate. The never-ending presence of uncontrolled expenses, sumptuary or without justification, in the name of the Order is now so common that the Brethren have stopped commenting and asking about them in the Assemblies.

An informal type of government has taken root in the culture of the Institution in which the Grand Master has virtually absolute liberality in any decision to spend Grand Lodge funds and on the contrary, the Grand Treasurer is a mere recipient of the receipts and justifications of expenditure without voice or vote, at their convenience. Even to this day,

we still do not know why tens of thousands of euros have been spent by the Grand Master on his innumerable trips abroad, at his convenience, when there is no budget for the replacement of light bulbs in one of the Grand Lodge premises.

There are so many flaws, improvisations and anomalous actions in administration of the G.L.E. that even an organisation with a very high budget (without any exaggeration) has stated that the G.L.E. has been giving special treatment to entities, an action unworthy of a cultural association.

It has also become the cultural norm of the Institution that the salaried, administrative employees respond or otherwise, to the questions asked (whether in person, by telephone or in writing) depending on who formulates them and their greater or lesser degree of affinity with the staff. It is not surprising that communications sent in by Grand Officers for their forwarding or referral to other masonic bodies are completely paralysed pending on the approval of the Grand Master. Nor is it unusual to be denied access to information which the member of every association in Spain is entitled to. Silence is the response that can be expected from the administration of this association.

The renowned role of the Secretary of the Organisation must be referred to. The Law of Associations details, in a comprehensive and clear manner, the functions and responsibilities of the secretary of any association. In the G.L.E., the role of the Grand Secretary with access to all Masonic issues is confused and merged with that of the position of secretary of the civil association. Thus, the Grand Secretary, due to his position and rank in the G.L.E. is allowed to deny or prohibit access to information to which every member of the association is entitled, intervene as a party to the Grand Assemblies as part of the Masonic government of the Order, overstepping the role that the law gives him as secretary of the association, in fact becoming de facto secretary of the Grand Master, which is notoriously irregular.

The list of Grand Secretaries who have either resigned or been dismissed for not agreeing to put the Grand Master’s wishes before the interests and general good of the Institution is extensive. No ruler of the Order has seriously proposed, beyond the words and declarations of good intentions in their electoral programs, to provide the organization with a solid and effective administration body, knowledgeable and in total compliance with the law and, in a very special way, incorruptible to the tendencies of those who are tempted to abuse power.

The history of the G.L.E. is full of mishandling, errors, illegalities and wrong actions, simply the result of ignorance and lack of direction and guidance. As example so close in time,

there was a failure to revoke some important decisions taken at a meeting of the Grand Conclave in November 2018, some of them with a significant cost components, and voting taking place without knowing at this point, the composition of the membership of the Grand Conclave, neither those who were supposed to be summoned or whether they participated in the discussions, or Brethren voting who didn’t have membership status of the Grand Conclave. Some members, surprised and puzzled by the situation, requested the composition of the Grand Conclave in writing. They asked for something so simple as the names and surnames of the members of the Grand Conclave, either elected to represent their provinces or designated by the Grand Master. This information has always been available and Grand Lodge is obliged to facilitate it, since the formation of the Grand Conclave by a Decree by the Grand Master. All Decrees are public. Not only was the information not provided but the request to receive the information in writing was refused. Such lack, not only of professionalism, but exclusive of decorum and respect, only obtained delayed gratification after the intervention of the Grand Orator.

To summarise, in November 2018, an official body of the Grand Lodge of Spain, as established by its Constitution met to make decisions and yet in August 2019 no-one knew who attended that meeting their names, if they voted, whether or not they were entitled to vote, if all who were entitled to attend were summoned, nor, if the decisions taken had been implemented. The information still hasn’t been circulated and no apologies have been offered. This serves as a recent example of what we are highlighting. Nor is it an exaggeration to state that, at present and at its highest point of associative degradation, the administration of the G.L.E. has become the personal administration of the Grand Master, to be used at his convenience and personal interest.

A.2.2 – Relations with other Regular Grand Obediences

Since the consecration of the GLE, obtaining recognition by the rest of the Regular Grand Lodges represented extensive work that was practically developed in its entirety during the mandate of the Grand Master Luis Salat. Since his demise, the other Grand Masters have acted according to their own criteria and in a somewhat slight transparent way regarding international relations. Grand Lodges have been recused or recognised without the Grand Assembly, in some cases, being aware of the reasons or in others supplied with information that proved erroneous.

This defendant presidentialism by the Grand Masters in how to act, does nothing but arouse suspicion to the existence of personal and private interests in some actions, even under pressure from other Masonic organisations and in others, simply being motivated by personal affinities whether professional or of friendship. It is for this reason we are unable to talk about the G.L.E.’s relationships with other Regular Orders. To be exact, we must express

that the relationships are those of the Grand Master with the other Grand Masters. The control of the Annual Assembly has been limited and through lack of information being dispersed, some Brethren have protested and expressed their disagreement over the years.

Currently, the Grand Lodge of Spain’s highest item of expenditure is the one destined to the Grand Master’s trips on his travel throughout the Regular Masonic world. A small association of only 2,500 members, keeps its president travelling around the world for up to 6 months a year. This does not seem to make much sense and even less sense not having new Grand Lodge recognitions to work on. It does not seem to be for lack of means or channels to communicate with other regular Grand Lodges. It should also be noted, that on the initiative of the current Grand Master, the physical meetings of the Grand Lodge of Spain’s General Purposes Board established by the Constitution and Bye Laws have ceased to be held. Instead the General Purposes Board meets through videoconferences with the intention of saving time and money. In other words, what is valid for Madrid, is not valid for Brazil, the Philippines or Russia. This type of action seems neither reasonable or rational.

A. 2.3. – Control and supervision of the work of the Brethren and the Lodges

The beginnings of the Grand Lodge of Spain were complicated. Originally from a Provincial Grand Lodge and then from a District of the GLNF – French National Grand Lodge (a very traditional Obedience, installed 70 years earlier as a mimetic reference of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). Later it added nominally or personally (The GOE & GOEU respectively) the historic Grand East. However the G.L.E. was not a product of a natural process of maturation of a pre-existing Spanish Masonry but of a creation from the beginning, very conditioned by its origin, the intense presidentialism of its first Grand Master and, later, in its development, by the strong presence of British Brethren based in Spain but not integrated into Spanish society. The Lodges that were founded later throughout the length and breadth of the country, were the result of voluntarism and could not benefit from a true Magisterium and, on the other hand, were subjected to the change of circumstances of the superstructure of the G.L.E. itself. They lacked enough teachers and endured an administrative reclusive shell from which the best they could expect was non-belligerence.

The Lodges and the Brethren who compose them are still waiting for the Institution that they have helped create, to facilitate the creation of new Lodges, either by helping in financing the acquisition of the high cost materials that are essential for working from the day of the consecration with the minimum of dignity, decorum and intellectual rigour or in something no less important as a planned and effective institutional presence in the territories in which a new Lodge is established that also helps give knowledge of its existence. Yet again, all the effort continues to fall exclusively on the Brethren who form the new lodges. The direct consequence of this absence of help and stubborn dedication to the geographical

expansion is the poor implementation of the GLE in the Spanish territory. 40 years after the foundation of the Grand Lodge of Spain, there are still numerous provincial capitals without the presence of Grand Lodge of Spain Lodges. In the meantime, many Brethren must travel hundreds of kilometres every month to attend meetings at Lodges which they are members of.

Right from the start, the GLE implemented an organizational and participatory system that, once implemented, has been an obstacle to overcome or suppress. There are 2 elements that make up this pernicious obstacle and that maintain a close bond: the early existence of Provincial Grand Lodges and the consecration of the Installed Masters as the basis of the Organization and the only members of the association with the right to have a voice and vote in the Assembly in a vital manner.

As is known, the G.L.E. and the Provincial Grand Lodges maintain similar groups of Grand Officials. These offices can only be occupied by Installed Masters, as stipulated in the Bye Laws and are freely designated by the Grand Master or the Provincial Grand Masters who, except for the Grand Treasurer, Grand Orator and Gran Tyler, are also freely designated by the Grand Master. The total number of active Grand officers, both national and provincial, owe their position and rank to the trust that the Grand Master or his Provincial Grand Masters have placed on them and represent a high percentage of the composition of the Grand Assembly.

On the other hand, and directly related to the above, the first time one hears, within the G.L.E. an Installed Master using the expression “he is simply a Master”, referring to a Brother could be interpreted as a slip or a localism. When this expression is habitual and common to the national territory, it is difficult not to consider that there has been a transformation in the very essence of the configuration of Masonry.

No further explanation is necessary as it constitutes the most important aspect of Masonry. Masonic tradition dictates that we have 3 Degrees viz. Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason. There are no more and nothing else. No more. The organic configuration of the Grand Lodge of Spain, around the profile of the Installed Master represents as an expression in the work of the Mason, and in order to be able to intervene in the decisions of the association which he belongs or to occupy a position of leadership, both at the provincial and national level, it is necessary and essential for him to be installed as Master of a Lodge, and therefore attaining the status of an Installed Master and therefore becoming the cusp of the organisation. It is not a minor alteration; it represents a denial of what the rituals themselves indicate.

From its inception, the G.L.E. cloned an organisation system that, if not suitable for other obediences with tens of thousands of members, laid the flagstone for a nascent entity without history or direction. The Brethren, now, whether it was due to organic necessity or due to a lack of true and profound teaching and development, were made the effort to reach the Venerature as soon as possible in order to participate and thus help the G.L.E. in its normal function.

the figure of the Installed Master represents, as an expression in the work of the Mason, and in order to be able to intervene in the decisions of the association to which it belongs or to occupy management places, , both provincial and national level it is necessary and essential to be Installed as Master of a Lodge and, therefore, the status of an Installed Master, becomes the cusp of the organization. It is not a minor alteration; it represents a denial of what the rituals themselves indicate.

Today, right from the start, we are paying for this wrongdoing. The absence of work in the Third Grade, the true culmination of the Masonic progress of a Mason, quickly leads a Brother waiting to be promoted to a post of responsibility either in his Provincial Grand Lodge or the Grand Lodge of Spain. The rough initiatory ladder that leads from the non-Mason to the figure of Hiram, composed of 3 steps – Entered Apprentice, Companion and Master Mason – has been replaced by another, with a false, golden appearance, which leads to the collar of the Grand Orator and concludes in the chair of the Grand Master. A malevolent confusion. Another error to be added !

Regarding the transgression of origin, we must add, in a timely manner, the existence and rapid presence of all kinds of Degrees, high level, collateral or complementary etc. that populate the universal Masonic world and still add, if possible, more confusion to the Entered Apprentice. The Master Mason, a figure venerated in antiquity and zenith of Masonic work has now become a “simple Master.” There is no need to add more.

But this replacement at the top of Masonry has caused, as it could not be otherwise, a modification in the way in which the Brethren who run GLE, from their different areas, are related to the Lodges and the Brethren under their jurisdiction. Whereas fraternal help, moral authority, understanding and tolerance should govern fruit of long experience and initiatic work, dictation and sanction prevails, and a forceful unreasoned because «I say so” answer. With some exceptions, and there are quite a few, the various rulers and their teams have fully exploited the use of suspensions and eradications as a method of imposing their judgement. Over the years, there are hundreds of Brethren who have been either suspended or eradicated by Grand Masters. This is not normal. There is no way this can be considered normal.

This conflict is common in the Grand Lodge of Spain. Sadly, it forms a part and parcel of our Institution. The tensions, anxiety and restlessness caused by dissension prevents work being done towards a common goal. The time and energy used and wasted in disputes, collusion and conspiracies debilitates our Order and wastes the immense talent which its members have. The talent, natural aptitude and skills wasted by the G.L.E. since its inception is an outrage and offensive to the Great Architect of the Universe for whose greatest glory we all work.

B – THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

B1. Introduction: The situation of crisis in the Grand Lodge of Spain

If the diagnosis of the situation expressed and brought about in the previous section is accurate, and it is more than reasonable to assume that it is, when conjugating and synthesizing the opinions that have manifested throughout the notable and recognized years, Masters of different and distant places from all over the Masonic territories of Spain, the current situation is practically irreversible and the solution to the crisis allows little room to manipulation.

The G.L.E. is deeply immersed in a very serious crisis. The International Organisation for Standardisation (IOS), which establishes a crisis within an organisation as “a situation with a high level of uncertainty that affects basic activities and / or the credibility of the organisation and requires urgent measures.” Unlike what has been taking place in the previous and recurring conflicts that the G.L.E. has been suffering and subjected to from almost it chaotic beginning that, although they were based on the Grand Master’s own figure, and this time, they were being referred to the forms and ways of administration and control, this time the present crisis meets the three conditions indicated in the governing regulations.

The high level of UNCERTAINTY

There is uncertainty about maintaining the recognition of Masonic Regularity by significant obediences of the regular world. It is not necessary to point what the suspension of recognition would imply. Our neighbour and dearly beloved National Grand Lodge of France (GLNF) has recently experienced and still has not yet fully recovered from its effects. During the past year, the appearance of signs that point in this direction should not and

cannot be ignored. There are 2 fundamental reasons that support this possible intervention: the tension and state of total division within the Grand Lodge of Spain and the almost exclusive indication of the current Grand Master to Masonic politics from his position as Executive Secretary of the World Conference of Regular Grand Lodges. The current Grand Master appears to have embarked on an international battle with an unknown outcome but with known consequences for the Grand Lodge of Spain: abandonment and total neglect. If we add to this situation the unmotivated suspension of the Grand Treasurer, elected by the General Assembly against the criteria of the Grand Orator, also elected by the General Assembly, the immediate future of the G.L.E. may well have reached its greater level and time of uncertainty.

The CREDIBILITY of the organisation

The misuse of social networks by the current Grand Master of the G.L.E., of the publishing at times, of disseminating messages that express the improper ethic of a Mason, of other images in ridiculous situations decorated with the regalia of a Grand Master and the most unfortunate and frequent appearance of texts of a rude and vulgar nature, have generated a state of shock and alarm to the Brethren of the GL.E.. The manifestations of humiliation, embarrassment and disapproval of the communications which the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Spain transmits to Spanish society, are unanimous and the damage caused to the reputation and credibility of the organisation is extreme as it shows a low level of education and respect that affects the very foundations of the Institution.

The need for URGENT ACTION

The constant loss of highly qualified Masters suffered in recent years, places the organisation in the face of a problem of viability. In a country, home of the most exquisite wines, it is not difficult to envisage and compare the figure of a respectable and experienced Master in the Lodge to a good oak barrel. The experienced Master welcomes and softens the texture of the zealous and spirited Apprentices until they are stabilised and helps the Companions to evolve according to their own qualities and skills, thanks to the intelligent and wise contribution of small doses of oxygen, essential in this intermediate stage of Masonic learning. Without good casks, you cannot make good wine, no matter how excellent the grape is. Rumours of the departure of good, experienced Masters, fed up with the current situation and with the aim of creating a new Obedience that responds to their honest concerns are circulating and this would leave the GLE without barrels and with no future whatsoever !

B.2. – The way in which Masonry is transmitted

Of the first generation of Masters and the founders of the Grand Lodge of Spain, only a few now remain in the Institution. These Brethren who remain within the Order and who were members during the time of the Grand Master, Luis Salat have had the opportunity to share Masonic works and their experience with Brethren, who, as a result, have received the transmission of tradition. From another point of view, few remain who have lived in the front line of the tragic consequences of governing without perspective, under constant and severely critical struggles for power. In short, the few still left can say to new Brethren, no Brother !

But over the years, the continued and suicidal policy of imposition and repression based on the mistaken belief that the power of the Grand Master is absolute, has opened a gap whereby one by one, experienced Brethren, with formation and vocation, have caused a drop in the Institution, either expelled or by resignation, which really is nothing but a form of surrender.

Among those understood within the Masonic Order, in addition to pointing out our tradition, there is a total coincidence in highlighting Masonry, with respect to other avenues of improving its group and fraternal character. So, while in other traditions the person becomes renewed, transcends or expands his consciousness, according to what we talk about and without pretending to be exhaustive, through contemplation, loneliness or interference, in Masonry nothing is possible outside the bosom of the Lodge, without the brotherhood.

On the way, the individual is accompanied, and it is on this path that is walked, as the Brother said, the road is made; the road appears. If company in life is important, as we usually remember as teenagers, in Masonry it is everything. The Mason, unable to advance by himself in the different degrees, that will lead him to the grade of Master in the Art, needs to conclude the work of his challenge and the company of his Brethren. For this reason, since the path to be followed by the Brother is not created and marked in advance, and the only path and directions to follow are the rituals and personal experience in the company of the Brethren of his Lodge, the path that the Brother will travel will appear and lead him to a different destination depending on the type of company which accompanies the Apprentice. If fewer and fewer good Masters remain in the Grand Lodge of Spain because they have either been expelled or have left in the disbelief of the possibility of reforming the Institution, who will accompany the new Brethren ? What kind of path will it be ? Where will it lead to ?

B.3 – The State of Affairs

In the first study, as seen from the prism of maturation, there are 2 types of organisations viz. those that have fully grown and acquired their own character with a membrane that protects and at the same time shows their solvency and strength and those that are immature, despite the years of age they treasure, and consequently remain weak, insecure and without predictable criteria.

The first types of organisations give character to those who approach, and, over time, their own culture modulates their leaders, being in turn, those that over the years add some new sensibility, some detail or improvement, without altering nor modifying the basal essence of it. They are organizations without changing opinions and that have arrived at this level after long careful thought and prudent waiting.

The latter types of organisations suffer from their own character and show the character of the leader who presides. If the leader of the organisation is a cinephile, he turns the bulk of his activities towards the world of cine; if another leader is interested in social activities, his mandate of ruling is dinners, dancing and so on ; so if the leader is impolite and rude, then his Assemblies, communications and associative culture are that also.

There seems to be no doubt about it. Although the G.L.E. should belong to the first group, there is a total coincidence that that its strong presidentialism follows it in the second group. 40 years of constant changes and zigzags keep the association that represents Regularity in Spain in an indolent and perennial adolescence. Each new Grand Master, and at this level, by mimetic replication, each new GMP, if not a puppet of the former, redecorates the G.L.E. with omnipotent criteria: ongoing projects are closed, consolidated activities are abandoned, or management systems are changed.

This form of governing the Order compares the Grand Lodge of Spain to the Greek Sisyphus, pushing a heavy stone uphill without the possibility of never seeing the task completed. This is a direct consequence of balances and agreements that have essentially to be achieved to become Grand Master. The current system entails the existence of factions that in exchange for working towards the obtaining necessary votes, obtain a certain amount of slack when ruling their own provincial territories. At the same time, these local factions, work on obtaining their own strength to allow the least opportunity to dispute the Grand Master’s office. The current Grand Master himself has been acting in this way as he recently admitted in an interview published in a national newspaper. It has been this way right from the very beginning and, in our own shame, we will avoid exhaustively detailing the different stories that comprise the rise and fall of all the Grand Masters. This is well known !

All the foregoing has produced a state of progressive shame, humiliation, embarrassment and degradation of the G.L.E. up to its current situation which, by far, is the worst the Institution has ever experienced. Because of the very discrediting situation of the Grand Master and the Grand Lodge Governing Bodies, there has been an intense feeling of impunity and an absolute lack of dignity and respect for what we represent on the part of the G.L.E. ruling team. There are hardly any experienced Masters (in the true sense of true mastery) remaining at the head of the Institution. Most of them have abandoned the Order or have chosen to remain in their Lodges, so that the chances of reversing the situation, are rather slim !

The MESA initiative for government of the Grand Lodge of Spain is the last opportunity for the Grand Lodge of Spain to regenerate itself and take a new path.

D . – MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

D.1 Urgent measures to be taken

The way out of this crisis requires that a series of measures be taken by all the Brethren committed to the Regularity and the salvation of the G.L.E. as an association that covers Freemasonry in Spain. The crisis will not be resolved satisfactorily without the commitment, effort and personal involvement in the execution of the measures indicated below by all those who want to join MESA and form part of the solution of the problem.

D.1.1 Diffusion.

Firstly, all Brethren who are members of the Grand Lodge of Spainmust be aware of how delicate and extreme the current situation is. For this, it is essential to provoke and generate discussions and reflection on each of the points expressed in this paper at the local, Provincial and Lodge level. We must encourage and in depth, promulgate dialogue between all the Brethren, in a calm and methodical manner, that serves to awaken the consciences of the Brethren for the peremptory need for immediate action. To do this, Brethren must first come to the conclusion, that by the use of reason and not emotion, of the need for reform is essential and, secondly, be aware that the seriousness of the situation does not allow waiting for the outcome of the celebration of a new ordinary electoral period to undertake this reform.

This paper can and should serve as a basis for the dissemination of both the current situation and the severity of it.

D.1.2 Concentration. While awareness is expanding, we must request that an EXTRAORDINARY GRAND ASSEMBLY of the GRAND LODGE OF SPAIN be held as the only wayto address this delicate situation.

There is no other way forward than to hold an Extraordinary Grand Assembly whose only point of the day is the analysis and debate on the state of the G.L.E.. We consider it essential that the less desirable change of course be carried out, without activating any mechanism outside the Order, and through a mature and democratic use of the Institution’s own governing bodies.

D.1.3 Direction of the Order. Should the Grand Master refuse to convene thisExtraordinary Grand Assembly, he must resign.

If the Grand Master is not willing to convene this Extraordinary Grand Assembly, either because he refuses to recognize the deep crisis that the association is experiencing or does not need or want to hear the opinion of the Brethren in an extraordinary meeting, we must demand his immediate resignation.

If the Grand Master refuses to submit his resignation, blocking the Grand Lodge of Spain, there will be no other way but to activate all the other legal mechanisms to provoke the celebration of an Extraordinary Meeting, the cessation of the Grand Master and the election and proclamation of a new administration team. The new administration team must be perfectly identifiable by the Brethren and known before the election and will work under the direction of a new Grand Master – with the attributions provided by the Landmarks – after an explicit commitment to carry out the reforms and to give way to a new electoral process.

This governing team must be formed by a cross section of respected representatives of all current generations with sensibility , with breadth and depth.

The management team that is presented to the Brethren for election will expressly assume the Code of Ethics that is promoted for all the Lodges.

D.1.4 Reforms

It is incorrect from Masons to build without plans. It is such an obvious embarrassment that the G.L.E. has been ruled by Grand Masters who without plans or projects have resorted to improvisations, intuitions or occurrences.

The transition management team must immediately activate the constitutional reform on the one hand while, at the same time, create the necessary commissions whose

purpose is to prepare for short, medium and long-term action projects in all areas of performance of the GLE, to be submitted to the Grand Assembly for subsequent approval.

Measure that go beyond the short term must be delineated and described in their fundamental points and subject top the criteria of the Assembly.

The G.L.E. needs to be deconstructed and analysed, safeguarding the stones the construction a new building whose plans must be known and approved by all. The risk of failure to take immediate action in this way, will result in the collapse of the Grand Lodge of Spain itself. The cracks, symptoms and signs that the Institution is showing are of such magnitude, nothing will remain of the dream of those Brethren who brought Regular Freemasonry to our country. There is no other way out.