Since the first condemnation of Freemasonry by Pope Clement XII in 1738, membership of Catholics in Masonic lodges has been subject to ecclesiastical penalties. Despite historically conditioned national differences within Freemasonry and efforts for a nuanced perspective, the stance of the relevant church authorities regarding the simultaneous membership of Catholics in Masonic lodges and the Catholic Church has remained rigorously unchanged to this day. Based on the historical occasions of the ecclesiastical condemnations, the canonical part of the work analyzes the penal norms up to the current legal situation, outlines developments, and ultimately revisits the question of the absolute incompatibility of being both a Catholic and a Freemason.