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Post by denardidiego on Nov 1, 2012 8:48:48 GMT
I am from Brazil and in our Grand Orient there is a barrier against handicapped people that we are trying to overcome with a study and research. It would be most helpful if anyone had examples of a blind, deaf, paraplegic, etc. that was initiated and the adaptions made in the ritual to better suit the candidate's needs. Diego ARLS Obreiros da Arte Real, 3932
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Post by penfold on Nov 1, 2012 19:02:59 GMT
The ritual doesn't need to change, many GL's across the world have members who have disabilities
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Post by billmcelligott on Nov 2, 2012 13:15:40 GMT
If you every get a chance to view a meeting of any of the Grand Lodges at Great Queen Street, you will see a section at the front near the Grand master reserved for wheelchairs.
There is always assistance for partially sighted or blind Masons.
This all happens with the ritual we have now in UGLE. I can not however speak for any of the Orient workings.
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Post by denardidiego on Nov 2, 2012 14:45:11 GMT
We had the idea of writing a paper on how an initiation is conducted in UGLE's Lodges. For example, if the candidate is blind, do you use a hood as well? And if he is deaf, does anyone translate into LIBRAS (sign language) or does he read the ritual? And if he is paraplegic, how are the apprentice`s steps taught to him? Are the steps only perfomed by the warden or does he kind of walk or roll with the wheelchair? For me this question sounds silly, but it is said here, based on the 18ht Landmark of Mackey, that if one cannot stand or hear the word, or see the light, one can not be initiated!!!! Writing about the ritual in England could be of help clarifying the matter for many Masons in Brazil that think this is impossible and does not exist in regular GL. Believe me this is a real taboo issue in our country. Any information will be helpful.
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Post by whistler on Nov 5, 2012 3:13:33 GMT
This is a really interesting topic. I can understand that there could be no problem if a Freemason should become disabled. So to move away from the PC World. Just Musing on Potential candidates. A Blind person should have no problem A deaf person Should have no Problem. A person without arms and no mechanical help may have a problem A person with artificial arms Should have no problems. so in reality not many genuine people would find their disability a bar to becoming a Freemason. in the example Should a Blind person still wear a hood -- Certainly why not give the candidate the dignity of an ordinary person. Of the Deaf Person - In NZ Sign Language is one of the official Language of our country so it would be hard to deny the use. I would have a little problem with somebody who couldn't prove that they were a Freemason -- certainly a subject to ponder on
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Post by darkwolf57 on Dec 25, 2012 0:37:29 GMT
"For me this question sounds silly, but it is said here, based on the 18ht Landmark of Mackey, that if one cannot stand or hear the word, or see the light, one can not be initiated!!!! Writing about the ritual in England could be of help clarifying the matter for many Masons in Brazil that think this is impossible and does not exist in regular GL."
Mackey has been superseded for many, many years in most GLs. His "Perfect Man" Doctrine is very rare, today in the US. In my own GL (Indiana), we have a Special Lodge of Past Masters (Under Dispensation) who have been trained to assist the Handicapped through their Degrees. As we are taught that it is the Internal, and not the External Qualities that make a man suitable to be a Mason, there are very few physical disqualifications that cannot be overcome.
In Indiana, a blind man is still ineligible to be elected as Master... but even the blind can (and do) serve in every other Place and Station.
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Post by darkwolf57 on Dec 25, 2012 0:38:11 GMT
"For me this question sounds silly, but it is said here, based on the 18ht Landmark of Mackey, that if one cannot stand or hear the word, or see the light, one can not be initiated!!!! Writing about the ritual in England could be of help clarifying the matter for many Masons in Brazil that think this is impossible and does not exist in regular GL."
Mackey has been superseded for many, many years in most GLs. His "Perfect Man" Doctrine is very rare, today in the US. In my own GL (Indiana), we have a Special Lodge of Past Masters (Under Dispensation) who have been trained to assist the Handicapped through their Degrees. As we are taught that it is the Internal, and not the External Qualities that make a man suitable to be a Mason, there are very few physical disqualifications that cannot be overcome.
In Indiana, a blind man is still ineligible to be elected as Master... but even the blind can (and do) serve in every other Place and Station.
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