Harvard president: satanic mass ‘abhorrent’ but may proceed

Last updated on: May 12, 2014 at 4:38 pm by CNA Daily News

Harvard president: satanic mass ‘abhorrent’ but may proceed 2014-05-12T16:38:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Cambridge, Mass., May 12, 2014 / 10:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The president of Harvard said that a student group’s plans to hold a re-enactment of a satanic black mass are offensive, disrespectful and inflammatory, but will be allowed to proceed for the sake of free expression.

“The 'black mass' had its historical origins as a means of denigrating the Catholic Church; it mocks a deeply sacred event in Catholicism, and is highly offensive to many in the Church and beyond,” university president Drew Faust said in a May 12 statement.

“The decision by a student club to sponsor an enactment of this ritual is abhorrent; it represents a fundamental affront to the values of inclusion, belonging and mutual respect that must define our community,” she continued.

“It is deeply regrettable that the organizers of this event, well aware of the offense they are causing so many others, have chosen to proceed with a form of expression that is so flagrantly disrespectful and inflammatory.”

However, the president continued, due to the university’s “commitment to free expression,” the student group will be permitted to continue with its ceremony.

Faust said that she plans to attend a Eucharistic Holy Hour and Benediction to be held by the Catholic community at St. Paul's Church on the edge of campus, to coincide with the black mass.

In doing so, Faust said that she hopes to “join others in reaffirming our respect for the Catholic faith at Harvard and to demonstrate that the most powerful response to offensive speech is not censorship, but reasoned discourse and robust dissent.”

The announcement that the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club is planning a May 12 re-enactment of a satanic black mass on campus has prompted a wave of complaint from the Harvard community and beyond.

A black mass is a sacrilegious ceremony structured as a parody of the Catholic Mass. Connected to witchcraft and demonic worship, it invokes Satan and demons, often in Latin.

The ceremony is centered around the desecration of the Eucharist, which is generally done by stealing a consecrated host from a Catholic Church and using it in a profane sexual ritual, or defecating and urinating on it.

A spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, which is staging the event, initially told media outlets that a consecrated host would be used, although the temple and the Cultural Studies Club both later denied this, insisting that only a plain piece of bread would be used.

The Archdiocese of Boston has voiced strong opposition to the event, and many individuals in the Harvard community and broader Catholic community have called for it to be canceled. Critics argue that the university would not allow a re-enactment of a Koran burning or lynchings of African Americans for the sake of free expression, and neither should it allow a sacrilegious ceremony mocking the Catholic faith.

The Cultural Studies Club has defended the black mass re-enactment as educational and dismissed critics as demonstrating a close-minded “paranoia.” The group told CNA that those offended by the event hold outdated views “based on intolerance and ignorance,” which are “arrogant and egocentric.”

Previous Post

May 12, 2014

Holy Spirit is what keeps the Church going, Pope reflects

Next Post

May 12, 2014 Miami archbishop laments large-scale incarceration in US

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the name for Christian monastic orders that focus on community life and prayer?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Pentecostals Benedictines Waldensians Franciscans