"The endeavor 'to learn and experience the history of different cultural practices' might in another year lead to historical re-enactments of anti-Semitic or racist ceremonies familiar from Western history or parodies that trivialize Native American heritage or other revivals of cultural and religious insult." Clooney, in an op-ed in the Harvard Crimson. Greaves said black Masses began as a protest by people who felt oppressed by their local religious cultures.īut some Catholics say the "black Mass" is more sacrilegious than satirical.įaust, a noted historian, said: "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."Ī Harvard Divinity School professor who is also a Catholic priest said none of cultural club's other events include the "blaspheming of Catholic sacramental practice." The temple does not believe in a real devil but advocates for religious tolerance and pluralism.
The Satanic Temple, which announced the Harvard club's plans last week, is also behind an effort to place a satanic statue next to a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of Oklahoma's state Capitol. The Boston archdiocese scheduled the event as a protest to the black Mass.
#Tormented souls cancelled free#
The Harvard president said she would allow the black Mass to continue, citing the value of free expression on campus, but planned attend a prayer ceremony Monday night at St. "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," Faust continued. The cultural club said it also plans to host a Shinto tea ceremony, a Shaker exhibit and a presentation on Buddhist meditation.īut Harvard University President Drew Faust called the plans to reenact a black Mass "abhorrent."
“Our purpose is not to denigrate any religion or faith, which would be repugnant to our educational purposes," the Harvard student group had said in a statement, "but instead to learn and experience the history of different cultural practices.” The Masses often parody Catholic sacraments, such as Communion, and liturgical vestments. The history of black Masses is murky, but Catholics say the intent of such ceremonies is obvious: to mock their rituals and beliefs. It is unclear why the building was no longer available. The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club had planned host the two-hour ceremony at the Queens Head pub in Memorial Hall in on the school's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Greaves was not immediately available for further comment.Ī petition to stop the black Mass had garnered 60,000 signatures, according to Aurora Griffin, president of the Harvard Student Catholic Association. “And I don’t necessarily blame them, because I understand that they were getting a lot of vitriolic hate mail, and I don’t think they expected it." “Everyone involved, outside of the Satanic Temple, got really scared,” Greaves told the newspaper. Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the New York-based Satanic Temple, told the Boston Globe late Monday that the event was called off because no venue was available. (CNN) - A Harvard club's plans to stage a satanic "black Mass" were abruptly cancelled Monday after drawing fire from the Archdiocese of Boston and condemnation from the president of the Ivy League school.
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