Below is a brief summary of the condemnations issued by each pope, and some comments (in blue colour).
Pontifical Constitution "In Eminenti":Those Societies are not in agreement with the civil and economic laws of the states. No further explanation is given.
This pope came in contact with a group in Avignon called the "Order of Felicity" which seems to have been a secret society of debauchers, and which he confused with Freemasons. He also listed six reasons for condemning Freemasonry:
1. The interconfessonalism (or interfaith) of Freemasons
This probably refers to the fact that Freemasonry is a brotherhood which welcomes people of different faiths. Then it is logical to assume that the Pope also condemns football because Catholic players are sometimes on the same team as Protestants or Jews.
2. Their secret
If secrets are inherently wrong, then one can ask how the Papacy defends private masses, the closed conclaves of the Cardinals, the closed areas of monasteries, and other Catholic traditions. Perhaps secrecy is wrong only when the Pope is not among the initiates? Also, where exactly does the RCC draw the line between secrecy and legitimate privacy (which is what modern Freemasons claim).
3. Their oath
It is not specified what is wrong with the oath. More discussion of Masonic oaths under a different headline on this page.
4. Their opposition to Church and State
Freemasonry is not political and takes no stand against church or state. The Pope is probably referring to the popular non-Masonic political ideas of the time, opinions that were shared by many Masons then but did not originate in Masonry.
5. The interdiction pronounced against them in several States by the Heads of such countries
It is interesting that the Pope refers to the opinions of secular princes in his verdict. If it is Catholic doctrine that secular legislation is a model for Church policy, one wonders on what grounds and which particular secular legislation this pertains to. Among the heads of states which have outlawed Freemasonry we find mostly dictators who -- out of the paranoia that is usually inherent in totalitarian regimes -- condemn everything that they can not infiltrate and control, for fear that it might become a threat to their power. Examples include not only some monarchs of the 18th century but also Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
6. Their immorality
There is no evidence that Freemasons ever propagated or practised immorality; the pope is obviously confusing Masonry with other 18th century secret societies of which there were hundreds, some very naughty.
Encyclical "Christianae Republicae Salus" attacked Deism which he confused with Freemasonry.
Encyclical "Ecclesiam a Jesu-Christo": they... hold in contempt the Sacraments of the Church to which in a horrible sacrilegious manner they substitute sacraments of their own invention and they treat with derision the Mysteries of the Catholic Religion
This all sounds unfamiliar to a modern Mason. There are no rites in Masonry designed to imitate or substitute the Sacraments of the church....in the course of their rites, at the 30th degree initiation grade, they throw upside down the Pope's tiara and figuratively pierce his heart. Such things occur at the initiation of the degree of Knight Kadosh.
This occurs in one specific high-degree system, the "Scottish Rite". It is but one of at least 15-20 different high degree systems which exist as add-ons to Craft Masonry. But even in the Scottish Rite, it does not signify hate against the RCC or the pope. It is done in remembrance of the wrongful Papal condemnation of the Knights Templars in 1307 and the subsequent torture and burning of many Templars. Historically, it has been established beyond doubt that the Templars were falsely accused by the French king and the Pope, because these potentates wanted to lay their hands on the Templar's wealth. It was clearly a blatant abuse of papal powers and the Scottish Rite will continue to remember its victims and the perpetrators.
Encyclical "Quo Graviora"
We have endeavored to discover the state, number and influence of secret societies and We easily have been able to acknowledge that, if only due to the number of new sects which have joined them, their audacity has increased. The Sect known under the name of "L'universitaire" has especially drawn Our attention: It has established a center in several Universities where young men, instead of receiving the correct teaching are perverted by a few teachers who are initiates of certain Mysteries which might be called Mysteries of Iniquity and are trained to commit crimes. They have dared publish works on Religion and Affairs of State, they have exposed their contempt for authority, their hatred of Sovereignty, their attacks against the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the very existence of God: They openly vaunt their materialism as well as their codes and statutes which explain their plans and efforts in order to overthrow the legitimate Heads of State and completely destroy the Church.The Pope is not attacking Freemasonry. Denials of the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the existence of God, promotion of materialism and plans to overthrow state and church, are not found in regular international Freemasonry.
It was in the time of this Pope that the Vatican lost its remaining temporal powers at the hands of Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi -- all Masons. These politicians propagated modern ideas of separation between church and state, not because they were Masons but because this was their political conviction. The Pope chose to condemn them not so much for their personal opinions as for the fact that they were Masons, something that had little connection to their politics.
In 1884, this pope produced the famous Encyclical "Humanum Genus". It was partially based on Papal experiences in dealing with the highly political Brazilian Freemasons a few years earlier. The encyclical is expressly aimed at Freemasonry, but the actual critique is rather aimed at some of the modern ideas of the 19th century. If its condemnations against Freemasonry are to be acted on by the present RCC, then that church should logically be equally active in implementing all the other points contained in "Humanum Genus", e.g. condemnations against
All of these ideas were on the general political agenda in the 19th century, several of them were implemented in the 20th and have become so commonplace that hardly anyone questions them today, for instance separation between church and state, and the idea that supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the people.
It is reasonable to ask of the modern RCC: If you strive to implement the criticism against Freemasonry in "Humanum Genus", why then do you not also implement the other points contained in the same document? You should then also condemn all tax-financed government activities (socialism), all countries where state and church are separate, all non-religious governments, the whole of modern science (which denies that a teacher´s authority has any bearing on the truth of his teaching), all democracies (which believe that the people have the right to appoint and change the rulers) and the United Nations (which in the Proclamation of Human Rights claims that all men have the same rights).