So far this year in the United States, we know of two efforts to stage a public Black Mass. The one scheduled to take place at Harvard University in May was ultimately cancelled as Catholics rallied to a Eucharistic Holy Hour. But a new plan in Oklahoma raises even deeper questions.
I would not attempt a complete analysis of the causes and attractions of participation in a Black Mass. For those who do not know, a Black Mass is a “celebration” in which the Body of Christ in the Eucharist is secretly taken from a Catholic Church, ritually desecrated through sexual acts, and offered to the Devil. But even without a full diagnosis, it should not surprise us that we have reached a point in the perversion of the arts that a Black Mass could be scheduled as a form of artistic entertainment. This is the case in Oklahoma. It is being offered as a “performance” in Oklahoma City’s publicly-funded Civic Center Music Hall.
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