Archdiocese of Boston
Posted on 09/19/2014 3:36:25 PM PDT by NYer
Archdiocese of Boston
Ever since he first learned of a local satanic group's plans to use a public theater to perform a "black mass," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City has been urging public officials to cancel the event and asking Catholics to pray for that intention.
He has been unsuccessful, and this Sunday, the Dakhma of Angra Mainyu will take to the stage in an 88-seat theater within the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall to reenact a ritual that is an inversion of the Catholic Mass. Though they were forced to hand over what they claimed was a consecrated Host, which they planned to desecrate during the ritual, the sect still plans to perform their own version of a "consecration" over a substitute "host," as well as a "Satanic Exorcism."
Outside, groups opposed to the use of public space for this event will be praying and protesting. Archbishop Coakley will be leading a prayer vigil several hours earlier at an Oklahoma City church.
Aleteia spoke with Archbishop Coakley today about his attempts to keep the black mass out of Oklahoma City and to strengthen his flock through prayer.
This year, we’ve seen attempts to perform the black mass for the public in two places—at Harvard University and in Oklahoma City. We see a group called the Satanic Temple attempting to install a statue at the Oklahoma State capitol and the same organization announcing that it will open 15 chapters nationwide. In your view, is there a rise in Satanic activity? If so, what accounts for it?
There certainly seems to be a new boldness among satanic groups in that they’re coming out of the shadows, which is where they’ve been very comfortable dwelling up until now, and displaying a much more public face. I’d never heard of a public black mass before the event that was scheduled at Harvard, only to be followed by the one here in Oklahoma City.
So there certaily seems to be an increase in public satanic activity; whether that indicates that there is more satanic activity, I don’t know. it could well be with the rise of secularism and the growing fashionable nature of atheism these days. It kind of leaves the door open to this kind of interest or curiosity and influence.
Going back to this summer, as this story was developing, can you tell me about your negotiations with city officials when you were trying to convince them to cancel this event? What was each side’s basic position, and why did they not seem to get it that this sort of thing is deeply offensive to Catholics?
In my conversation with our city officials, they indicated that they found the event deeply offensive as well. Though none of them around the table were Catholic, they found that this was offensive to all Christians.
But as their justification for doing nothing to stop it, they indicated that they were bound by the Constitution, bound by their own by-laws, the fact that the city had to remain neutral about the kinds of programming that would take place in a public facility.
The bottom line was that they were afraid of a lawsuit, and that they were not willing to risk a lawsuit and the costs to taxpayers to defend a lawsuit, which they felt was unwinnable.
As they appeal to the First Amendment, so might also the Dakhma of Angra Mainyu, so might also the Satanic Temple, which wants to install a statue of Baphomet at the state capitol. Is it a challenge for you, to come up with an argument that trumps an appeal to the Constitution, to religious liberty?
For one thing, I think there are other regulations restricting what can be placed on the steps of the state capitol. There are all kinds of codes, and I think anybody who wants to can’t come along and place the monument of their choice there. I think they permitted the Ten Commandments to be placed there because the capitol is the place where lawmakers make laws, and the Ten Commandments are a set of laws, so it had a certain fittingness, whereas there’s nothing fitting or appropriate between a statue of Satan and what takes place within the capitol.
So personally, I don’t think that’s going to ever go anywhere.
But we’re not responding to the black mass performance in terms of religious liberty. They will be doing their satanic rituals in the future as they have in the past—and I suppose they have a right to do that—but the nature of this black mass, in my view, is that it is not authentic religion; it’s really more akin to hate speech. It’s a direct attack upon the Christian faith and the Catholic Mass and the Eucharist. It’s deliberately intended to inflame and incite, so I don’t think it’s necessarily a form of speech that is appropriate for a public venue. Not all speech is protected speech. If, for example, a group had desired to come and rent this same facility for the purpose of burning the Quran or lighting a cross in a racist, Ku Klux Klan sort of demonstration, or somehow committing anti-Semitic acts, I think the city likely would have found a reason to prevent that. Not all speech is protected speech.
But there seems to be perhaps a double standard being applied here that we don’t recognize—that the black mass is equally offensive to Catholics and to Christians. That’s a great cause of concern. That was an argument we tried to make to our city leaders.
With this "Dakhma of Angra Mainyu" present in town, and with its leader, Adam Daniels’ claim to have had a consecrated Host, have you been worried about possible theft of the Eucharist from any of your churches, and have you asked priests to take extra care that someone, say, receiving Communion by hand might walk off with the Host? Have any extra steps been taken to safeguard the Eucharist?
Yes, of course, I have asked our priests to work with their deacons and any extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, and to ensure that they were exercising special vigilance in light of the fact that a satanic group had somehow acquired, illicitly, a consecrated Host, to ensure that there were special safeguards that assure us that those who receive Communion in whatever way, on the hand in particular, are in fact consuming the Host.
What became of the Host that Daniels was forced to return?
Very often with what might happen with a Host that is dropped or if somebody gets sick after having received Communion, there are procedures in place for reverent and proper ways to dispose of the Host, through the use of the sacrarium at the church. So that’s what I did with the consecrated Host that we had received. I treated it with reverence and respect and honor and placed it in the sacrarium, so that it was taken care of in a proper manner.
Could you discuss what effects this whole episode has had on the faithful in your archdiocese? What are some of the things people are saying about a deepening understanding of the reality of sin and evil, perhaps, or the importance of living a prayerful, sacramental life?
I think there have been good fruits. It’s kind of galvanized our Catholic community and our ecumenical relations here in Oklahoma. We Catholics are a very small minority of the population, and it’s certainly brought particular attention to our Catholic faith, particularly our faith in the Eucharist and how important that is to us, the mystery of the Real Presence. It’s given us an opportunity to talk about that and to preach and to teach about that. We’ve been conducting holy hours in all of our parishes. So it’s certainly given us an opportunity to have a bit more of a public witness in our community. Our Catholic people have certainly learned the Prayer to St. Michael if they had not learned it previously, because that’s been prayed at all of our Masses over the last couple of months.
Bingo! Ping!
Si mundus vos odit, scitote quia me priorem vobis odio habuit. JOANNES 15.18
“Ever since he first learned of a local satanic group’s plans to use a public theater to perform a “black mass,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City has been urging public officials to cancel the event and asking Catholics to pray for that intention.”
Waste of effort and time that only leads to controversy and publicity.
It means nothing.
You should be more concerned about all the false religious stuff in that picture that is a total add-on to Christianity.
That is quite a statement. How about backing it up with solid facts.
Satanism is not a 1st Amendment religion - that’s your legal argument. Take it all the way to SCOTUS. Get ‘er done.
Sheesh. Do you realize that the Bible didn't even have chapters and verses until they were "added on"? Chapters were added by Archbishop Stephen Langton at the University of Paris around 1200 so passages could be cited in commentaries. Verses were put in around 1550 by Robert Estienne, a French scholar and printer who was working on a concordance to the Greek New Testament.
Ampu, my friend, don't you get this? You seem to think Christianity is a case of arrested development, like a fly immobilized in amber ca. 98 A.D. (or even before.)
“whereas there’s nothing fitting or appropriate between a statue of Satan and what takes place within the capitol.”
That’s certainly debatable.
Thanks for this post and kudos to Archbishop Coakley. Now is a good time, with all the Catholic hate out there and a large growth in Satanism (yes, locals in my area have bragged about their growth), to return to receiving Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling. It is much harder to drop the Sacred Host and a lot easier to control its consumption rather than having it pocketed to be used in sacrilege.
John 15
17 This I command you, to love one another.
18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, `A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me.
4 man umbrella - added
Goofy outfits that look religious and worldy? added.
Need I go on?
You will search the scriptures in vain to see any such thing commanded or advocated before 100 ad. After paganism and syncretism crept into the church, sure.
“Ampu, my friend, don’t you get this? You seem to think Christianity is a case of arrested development, like a fly immobilized in amber ca. 98 A.D. (or even before.) “
Sure. The Apostles revelation was handed to the church in written form before 100 AD. It is complete. As such, if you prefer to describe the Apostles teaching as a fly immobilized in amber, I’m with you.
After error crept into the church in the form of paganism, all kinds of false religious practices were added that eventually changed doctrine to accommodate these practices.
Who are we to judge?
Need to start judging.
Shame on you, brother.
•Christians in the military. Military chaplaincies. Not New Testament practices! Added on!
•Academic degrees in religious subjects. Bible colleges. Theology departments. Added on.
•Swearing on a Bible. Added on.
•Radio-TV ministry: added on.
•Belief in a sun-centered solar system, rather than the earth resting in "pillars" as it says in the Bible. Added on.
•Crosses as church furnishings (rather than as a means of execution). Steeples. Crosses on steeples. Added on.
•Church Ownership of property, e.g. a church building and grounds: added on.
•Clergy owning property (instead of selling their property and giving it to the poor): added on.
•Liability insurance and property insurance for the church, health insurance, car insurance, life insurance: added on.
•Pensions--- or, good heavens, even stated salaries --- for the pastoral staff: added on.
•A wedding ceremony in church with bride in white dress and an exchange of rings: added on.
•American flag and/or "Christian flag" in church: added on.
•Youth groups/Youth ministry. Choir. Organs and other keyboard instruments. Guitars. Four white guys singing in harmony. Added on.
•The word “Easter”
•The word "Christmas."
•The words "Incarnation" and Trinity." Added on.
•Christmas trees and holly wreaths. Poinsettias.
•Parades and pageants and processions
•Cakes for birthdays (and candles on cakes)
•Wedding ceremonies themselves, which were also a pagan custom, and are not commanded in Scripture
•Burying people in caskets (coffins).
•putting flowers on graves
•putting crosses on graves
•making statues and paintings of people we admire (e.g. the founding pastor of the church --- and his lovely wife!)
•all theater arts and drama
•all sports, sport teams and athletic competitions
•internet prayer posts. E-mail prayer appeals. •Had enough? Not me! I love them all, and more. Some are theology, some are custom. Some are doctrine, some are devotion. Some are creed, some are culture. All good.
What a lively church we have, AMPU.
In the Religion forum, on a thread titled The Struggle Against the Black Mass, From Oklahoma Archbishop’s Perspective, Mrs. Don-o wrote:
•Chapters and verses in the Bible. Also table of contents. Also the names attached to the Gospels: “Matthew,” “Mark,” “Luke,” and “John.” All added on.
•Christians in the military. Military chaplaincies. Not New Testament practices! Added on!
•Academic degrees in religious subjects. Bible colleges. Theology departments. Added on.
•Swearing on a Bible. Added on.
•Radio-TV ministry: added on.
•Belief in a sun-centered solar system, rather than the earth resting in “pillars” as it says in the Bible. Added on.
•Crosses as church furnishings (rather than as a means of execution). Steeples. Crosses on steeples. Added on.
•Church Ownership of property, e.g. a church building and grounds: added on.
•Clergy owning property (instead of selling their property and giving it to the poor): added on.
•Liability insurance and property insurance for the church, health insurance, car insurance, life insurance: added on.
•Pensions-— or, good heavens, even stated salaries -— for the pastoral staff: added on.
•A wedding ceremony in church with bride in white dress and an exchange of rings: added on.
•American flag and/or “Christian flag” in church: added on.
•Youth groups/Youth ministry. Choir. Organs and other keyboard instruments. Guitars. Four white guys singing in harmony. Added on.
•The word “Easter”
•The word “Christmas.”
•The words “Incarnation” and Trinity.” Added on.
•Christmas trees and holly wreaths. Poinsettias.
•Parades and pageants and processions
•Cakes for birthdays (and candles on cakes)
•Wedding ceremonies themselves, which were also a pagan custom, and are not commanded in Scripture
•Burying people in caskets (coffins).
•putting flowers on graves
•putting crosses on graves
•making statues and paintings of people we admire (e.g. the founding pastor of the church -— and his lovely wife!)
•all theater arts and drama
•all sports, sport teams and athletic competitions
•internet prayer posts. E-mail prayer appeals. •Had enough? Not me! I love them all, and more. Some are theology, some are custom. Some are doctrine, some are devotion. Some are creed, some are culture. All good.
What a lively church we have, AMPU.
Good one. LOL!
The bells that ring as the Mass starts
The bells that are rung at the epiclesis and the consecration.
kneelers in churches
stained glass windows
Rosaries
I could go on too.
I suppose the Satanists will eventually have a float in NYC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Bravo, yada yada.
I’m sure you can differentiate between acts of Christian worship and the list of things you added that fall in vastly different categories.
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