Dear Dr. Boli: Could you explain to me where the jars fit in the Masonic conspiracy? —Sincerely, A Pope Who Prefers to Remain Anonymous.

Dear Sir: Dr. Boli is not a Mason. It is against his taste, if not his principles, to belong to any organization whose rituals are so embarrassingly ridiculous that they cannot be divulged to the general public. In this case, however, there is no secret. The Ancient and Accepted Order of Canners is an appendant body of Freemasonry whose members wear a tall squarish glass hat with a metal screw top and the word “Mason” prominently molded in the glass. That these hats can also be used for preserving food is incidental to their main purpose.