Dear John:

There is nothing wrong with CHRP and the Knights of Columbus holding certain rituals or activities secret as long as the Bishop is informed of the secret.

The justification for the secrets are to prevent new members from knowing in advance the ceremony or activity that offers a meaningful culmination. These groups hold that the justification is no different than someone not revealing the end of a book, or the plot of a movie. It ruins the experience of the book or movie to have that information revealed.

The only issue is that the Church requires that the "secrets" be revealed to the Bishop so he can determine if anything is wrong with them. The Church approves the Knights of Columbus with its secret ritual, and I presume CHRP has similar approval.

Since the Church approves organizations that have these membership initiation secrets it is improper for us to disparage the groups. I would also say that it is improper to say that these secrets have no justification. They do have a justification that is accepted by the Church.

These secrets have nothing to do with doctrine or dogma. That would be wrong to hold secret information that are teachings of the Church. These secrets of these organizations have to with making a point about the faith.

What is permitted is our personal opinions that we personally do not like the secret initiations and thus will not join. That is our choice.

There is another type of secret that is justified and appropriate. For example, I do not reveal detailed information about occult rituals to the general public. The public does not have a need to know. Plus, revealing that information can tempt people to try out the rituals. Our Deliverance Counseling Manual is withheld from the public for the same reason. Releasing the manual to the general public will tempt people to try deliverance without  the proper training, which can cause great harm.

There is a place for proper secrets.

The secret in the Knights of Columbus (I do not know about the CHRP) is, in my opinion, just silly. Although I am not suppose to know the secret, I do know it.

As for my answer to Claire about the Knights, I have no idea what you are talking about. I said nothing bad whatsoever about the Knights. I did not say they were an off-shoot of the Masons. I praised the Knights. I think you have completely misread or misinterpreted that Q&A.

Both you and I can say we do not like secret rituals. That is our preference and we can decide not to join the organization. We cannot suggest, however, that there is something wrong with the secret aspects of the Knights and the CHRP, or disparage these organizations for having secret aspects, when the Church fully approves these policies.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary