If a Koran-Burning Threat in Florida Was Major National News, Why Isn't a Satanic 'Black Mass' at Harvard?

Tim Graham
May 10th, 2014 12:31 PM
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Isn't a Satanic Mass at Harvard as national a news story as a potential Koran burning in Jacksonville? Just before the 9-11 anniversary in 2010, pastor Terry Jones – who they mocked for having a congregation of 30 even as they treated him as hugely influential – threatened to burn a Koran, drawing a major media uproar, even a TV question to the president.

Catholic bloggers and CNSNews.com reported the story on Thursday and Friday that a Harvard student group is planning a “black Mass” on Monday, a satanist event designed to mock the Catholic church. Other than two mentions on “The Five” on Fox News Channel, the national media is AWOL. Journalists think...hey, Catholics don’t threaten to kill people and riot over it.

Elizabeth Scalia at The Anchoress first drew our attention as the satanists originally discussed using a consecrated host at this stunt event – the most intense provocation of Catholics, which would be directly mocking the Body of Christ in the host. The satanists then denied they would use such a host.

Michael Chapman, our colleague at CNSNews, explained : “Historically, a Satanic Black Mass is a ceremony that mimics, in a mocking and disrespectful way, the Catholic Mass, whereby many of the prayers and actions are inverted or done in reverse to symbolize the opposite of holy, the opposite of Christian, and to worship Lucifer.”

Incredibly, the Harvard Extension School Cultural Studies Club claimed in a statement that this is merely an educational event and is not intended to denigrate a religion!

We are hosting a reenactment of a historical event known as a Black Mass. The performance is designed to be educational and is preceded by a lecture that provides the history, context, and origin of the Black Mass. While a piece of bread is used in the reenactment, the performance unequivocally does not include a consecrated host. Our purpose is not to denigrate any religion or faith, which would be repugnant to our educational purposes, but instead to learn and experience the history of different cultural practices.

The Archdiocese of Boston drew local coverage by calling on Harvard “to disassociate itself from this activity,” which it said “places participants dangerously close to destructive works of evil.”

At her blog Feast of Eden, Dawn Eden really packed a wallop. She reported that Lucien Greaves, an organizer of this event, has some distasteful associations:

Moreover, I am not encouraged by the fact that Greaves is close with registered sex offender Adam B. Daniels, who, along with his wife, run a Satanic worship center in Oklahoma. Here is a video interview in which they talk about why they personally submitted the application for Greaves’ Satanic Temple to build a monument to Satan at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Just this week, Daniels told an Oklahoma news stations of his “conversations” with Greaves.

Look up “Adam B. Daniels” in the national sex offender registry and you will see that he was convicted of sexual battery in 2009. The rap sheet notes that he has satanic tattoos all over his body. The court ruled that he had to remain on the registry for life....

Greaves too has committed criminal sexual activity. He was photographed last year exposing himself upon the grave site of the mother of the Westboro Baptist Church founder as part of what he called a “satanic ritual,” which you can read about here.

....Given that the news broke just this week that Harvard is on a list of colleges being investigated by the feds for potentially mishandling sex-abuse and assault charges, I would say Harvard can do a lot better if it wants to tell abusive people that they are not welcome. It can start by pulling back the welcome mat it has offered to Lucien Greaves.

Harvard's chaplain called the event a "matter of hatred." But apparently, unbelievers can't be haters. Here's the fun that Greaves is having on Twitter: