that there are some religious minorities that do not receive sufficient protection from their governments. He has also criticized laws that infringe on religious beliefs and has said that laws forcing abortion and euthanasia practices are the most prevalent examples. On 24 February 2016, the Italian daily newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore published the official open letter addressed by Mgr. Ravasian to the global Freemasonry which started with the expression Dear Masonic Brothers, never used before by an official Vatican document. After an historical excursus of the Magisterium's declarations on the incompatibility between the Masonic membership and the Christian faith, the text affirmed it was "evident that Masonry assumed Christian models, even liturgical ones", and finally opened to a new prolific dialogue through the parties, based on the comunance of moral values like the philanthropy, the human dignity and the opposition to materialism. Female diaconate Cardinal Ravasi has suggested that the diaconate for women was a possibility. In a 2017 interview with a German news site, Ravasi said that "women deacons would be a possibility in my eyes, but it would naturally have to be discussed first as the historical tradition is very complex". He has also said that the current debate regarding the issue made the matter very 'clerical' and tied too closely to the matter of female ordination. However, Ravasi also said that it was prudent to show caution when discussing the matter since ambiguity in the media becomes a greater problem that hijacks the debate and steers it in the wrong direction. Liturgy In a retreat preached to the Roman Curia, Ravasi said that "our liturgy is continuously looking upward, toward the transcendence of God and Christ, to His Word". Ravasi is also a strong proponent of the liturgy that emerged following the Second Vatican Council as opposed to the pre-Conciliar Tridentine Mass. However, he is attentive to the musical tradition of the Church in a way that can be an expression of true worship. Distinctions Ravasi was admitted to the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George by Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria in 2006 and promoted to Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice following his elevation to the College of Cardinals, in 2010. Notes References External links 1942 births Living people People from Merate 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Italian biblical scholars Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the