Let's Discuss Further Obligations
What about his wife?
In a comment to yesterday’s post, VW John raised an extremely interesting question. I’ll try to paraphrase it here.
Let’s say that Brother Jimbo, who was always thought to be a great guy is arrested for a serious crime, and it’s obvious that he’s guilty.
Following our processes, we will certainly remove him from Freemasonry.
But, as VW John pointed out, his arrest would have been a shockingly traumatic event for his wife. And children if he has them.
We had obligations to him, while he was a Mason, but those obligations disappeared when he chose to violate our Masonic standards.
That isn’t his wife’s fault though.
Should we, as good Masons, reach out to her and assist if necessary? As we would have been called to do had our Brother died instead?
Let’s chat about it…
A slippery slope. Here's why I lean that way.
First, Masons have an obligation to assist widows and orphans. In this case, his wife is not a widow nor are his children orphans.
If his wife believes Masons should "defend the brother's character" and protect him, then she doesn't understand Freemasonry and our obligations.
The next point is a question as well. Once he is suspended or expelled, he is no longer a Mason. So, as we discussed yesterday, our obligations to him, as a Mason on his part, have ended. BUT is there more we could or should do?
Our closing charge could factor in. Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices. We could fall back on that and say we should help his wife regardless.
Here is the slippery part.
A Mason in our state was expelled. During his suspension period, nasty communications were sent from his wife. At first it was thought to be shock at how fellow Masons could treat her husband after all his years of service. Many of his friends defended his character and it cause a split in a Masonic body.
Investigations uncovered much, including a potential complicit aspect on the part of his wife.
So, now what? If you reach out and get involved, but then find out that the wife is involved in some way, we end up back into the issue of "covering up" for our fellow Masons.
I believe we let events unfold and play out as they should. If his wife were to divorce him because of his acts, meaning she is not involved in the scheme, would she reach out for support? Likely not. But at that time, I would be inclined to ask, "How can I help?"
MW Cameron, thank you for posting my question for a follow on discussion. I didn't have an answer when I asked it, and I still don't. As I continue to reflect on this perhaps the important thing is that we at least ask the question. What if we help? What if we don't? The odds of determining a clear and indisputable answer are probably very low. Facts and circumstances will be unique to each situation. I think a Mason's place in the world is to start by considering the facts and circumstances with an open mind.