Gov. Mary Fallin has condemned a performance of a satanic black mass next month in Oklahoma City.
“This ‘Black Mass’ is a disgusting mockery of the Catholic faith, and it should be equally repellent to Catholics and non-Catholics alike,” said Fallin. “It may be protected by the First Amendment, but that doesn’t mean we can’t condemn it in the strongest terms possible for the moral outrage which it is. It is shocking and disgusting that a group of New York City ‘satanists’ would travel all the way to Oklahoma to peddle their filth here. I pray they realize how hurtful their actions are and cancel this event.”
Fallin joins Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley in criticizing the event, set Sept. 21, at the Oklahoma City Civic Center. The archbishop said the black mass “is a satanic inversion and distortion of the most sacred beliefs not only of Catholics, but also of all Christians.”
When asked about the Satanists‘ “Black Mass” plans, Anthony L. Jordan, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, said, “While the Black Mass may not be illegal, it violates common respect and decency toward others. It is a deplorable and deliberate act of disrespect for the beliefs of Catholics. It is one thing to disagree with their doctrine, it is quite another to mock and desecrate core beliefs of others no matter what religion they may be.”
Oklahoma City officials have said the Civic Center is a public building, and the city must abide by the First Amendment and allow it to be leased to any group that agrees to abide by all laws and city ordinances.
The “Black Mass” in Oklahoma City reportedly is being organized by the Satanic Temple of New York City, which last year also submitted plans for a public monument of a seated Satan on the state Capitol grounds to counter a monument of the Ten Commandments.
