CENTRE
FOR LIAISON AND INFORMATION OF THE MASONIC POWERS
SIGNATORIES OF THE STRASBOURG
APPEAL
NEW
YEAR’S MESSAGE 2026
At the
Orient of Barranquilla, Republic of Colombia, December 30, 2025.
Dear
Sisters and Dear Brothers,
As a
new year begins, I wish to address the Freemasons—women and men—from different
countries and sensibilities, convinced that moments of transition offer a
singular opportunity to pause and reaffirm what binds us beyond shifting
circumstances, passing policies and the circumstantial debates that inevitably
traverse both Masonic life and social life.
The
Masonic tradition has been historically built as a space of encounter among
differences, as a sustained practice of freedom of conscience, and as a
pedagogy of coexistence founded on respect, dialogue, and human dignity. In a
world marked by profound transformations and new forms of fragmentation, these
values become a concrete responsibility that challenges the way Masonry
inhabits the present.
At its
deepest level, CLIPSAS embodies this vocation for connection and openness,
providing a framework that has made possible, over time, mutual recognition
among diverse Obediences, fraternal exchange of experiences, and the
affirmation that plurality constitutes a richness that strengthens Masonic work
and gives it meaning.
It is
within this horizon that the need to work, with serenity and perseverance,
toward the union of Masonry despite the differences that sometimes separate us
acquires particular significance. Such unity invites us to recognize that the
development of human potential, our commitment to peace, and the defense of the
humanist values we proclaim in our Temples only reach their full meaning when
we are able to advance together, as a community that learns, dialogues and
transforms itself without renouncing its identity.
The
year ahead invites us to deepen a Masonry that presents itself to society as a
space of serene reflection and humanist commitment. A Masonry capable of
forming free consciences, cultivating fraternity through contemporary
perspectives, and assuming that the defense of freedom of conscience and
respect for difference is a task renewed each day through critical thought,
responsible speech and shared work.
As we
enter the year 2026, I express my most sincere hope that the Freemasons, women
and men, throughout the world who recognize themselves in these principles will
continue strengthening a practice that is open, responsible and faithful to the
foundations of Masonry, fully aware of their role in building, with serenity
and conviction, a living and plural fraternity oriented toward the common good
of our societies.
Please
receive my warmest wishes for the year that begins.
Iván
HERRERA MICHEL
Past President of CLIPSAS
