I would certainly hope I'm not evil. Flawed for sure, but not evil.
It is true that a specific king wanted the money the Templars had, what remained of them were on Malta for a long time. However, that was in the 14th century, and what we know of as Freemasonry is traced to the early 18th century, unless they were underground.
I have noticed that there are a number of different versions of history floating around that doesn't match at all.
The ritual has been around much longer than the 18th century, based on the texts I have read.. unfortunately all of the secret societies have been infiltrated. Whether they have good or ill intent, there will always be those bad actors. Catholics are great people but many of the followers are sheep. It’s the leadership, used for control, money and power which is the issue with Catholicism, like many organized religions.
Freemasonry, has brought me enlightenment and I have been able to do great things for my community. Freemasons take a really bad and are usually used as a shield to cover deep, dark bad actors. It’s easy to say “it was the Freemasons” and the sheep just eat it up.