Post by Tamrin on Aug 18, 2008 19:11:52 GMT 10
Even more significant than the evant itself was the reporting of this by the mainstream masonic press.
At a ceremony in Paris recently, attended by approximately 400 Freemasons from around the world, Danièle Juette was installed as the new Grand Master of International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain by her predecessor, Njördur Njardvik from Iceland. Also present at the ceremony were representatives from, amongst others, the Grand Orient de France, the Grande Loge de France and the Grande Loge Féminine de France.
Danièle Juette, who was initiated in a lodge in Rennes in northern France in 1974, now heads the only truly international Grand Lodge. Grand Masters are elected to serve for a period of five years, and their responsibility extends to an Order covering 48 countries, including Britain. The Order is predominantly francophone, having been created in France at the turn of the twentieth century.
French Freemasonry follows very closely the principles of the Republic – Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, and in this Le Droit Humain is no different from French national masonic jurisdictions.
The new Grand Master takes these principles seriously. ‘Women have the same duties in society as men – they therefore have the same rights. Equality is more than a word,’ she says. ‘When Anderson wrote his Constitutions, women were nothing more than chattels. Today, that is different. ‘I think it is important that Freemasonry raises its profile in the world, and that includes all the many different streams in Freemasonry.’ Le Droit Humain believes that the internet should play an ever-increasing role in this.
The Order is not recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England.
Danièle Juette, who was initiated in a lodge in Rennes in northern France in 1974, now heads the only truly international Grand Lodge. Grand Masters are elected to serve for a period of five years, and their responsibility extends to an Order covering 48 countries, including Britain. The Order is predominantly francophone, having been created in France at the turn of the twentieth century.
French Freemasonry follows very closely the principles of the Republic – Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, and in this Le Droit Humain is no different from French national masonic jurisdictions.
The new Grand Master takes these principles seriously. ‘Women have the same duties in society as men – they therefore have the same rights. Equality is more than a word,’ she says. ‘When Anderson wrote his Constitutions, women were nothing more than chattels. Today, that is different. ‘I think it is important that Freemasonry raises its profile in the world, and that includes all the many different streams in Freemasonry.’ Le Droit Humain believes that the internet should play an ever-increasing role in this.
The Order is not recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England.
