Bishops move to counter black Mass in Oklahoma City

August 06, 2014

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma have moved to counter a Black Mass scheduled for September 21st. The Black Mass is slated to be performed at the publicly-supported Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.

Archbishop Coakley has alerted his diocese to the proposed event, explaining the deeply sacrilegious nature of a Black Mass, and calling upon civic leaders to "find a way to remedy this situation". On the archdiocesan website, he noted:

If the event does move forward, we will consider other peaceful, prayerful and respectful options to demonstrate our opposition to this publicly supported sacrilegious act.

Meanwhile, Bishop Paul Slattery of Tulsa stated that the Civic Center has been non-responsive. In a letter to all Catholics in his diocese, he has launched a public campaign of prayer and reparation. Bishop Slattery asked everyone to keep the nine days prior to the Feast of the Assumption as days of extraordinary prayer and penance, including abstinence from meat and praying a decade of the Rosary and the prayer to St. Michael.

This period begins today, August 6th, and runs through August 14th. Then, on August 15th:

we will ask Our Lady on her Feast, to intercede for us and protect us. On that day I in the Cathedral, and every priest in his own parish, will pray a special prayer written by Pope Leo XIII for the defense of the Church against the attack of the Enemy and his apostate angels.

Finally, Bishop Slattery noted that if the Black Mass is not cancelled, he will ask every priest in the diocese to conduct a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament at 7:00 pm on September 21st, the same time as the Civic Center program. "Wherever possible," he said:

I ask that Eucharistic Processions—especially outdoor processions—be arranged as part of these holy hours. Let us give a public witness to our faith in the Eucharist which is being so profoundly mocked and ridiculed by this event.

The proposed Black Mass in Oklahoma City is reminiscent of the proposed Black Mass at Harvard University last May. That event was cancelled as hundreds of Catholics gathered for a Eucharistic Holy Hour at a church near Harvard Square.

 

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Further information:

• Deliver us from evil. Amen. (Bishop Coakley)
• Countering with Prayer the proposed Black Mass in Oklahoma City (Bishop Slattery)
• 'Black mass' cancelled as hundreds join in Eucharistic adoration at Harvard