Harvard Satanic Mass Canceled Due to Perversity; RC Church Objected to Re-enactment of Ritual

The Harvard University Extension School Cultural Studies Club has dropped its sponsorship of a re-enactment of a Satanic "black mass" ritual, which was scheduled to occur this evening (May 12, 2014) at Cambridge Queen's Head Pub, The Crimson website reports.

The Harvard Extension School Cultural Studies Club originally said that it planned to relocate its re-enactment of a Satanic black mass ritual to an off-campus site, citing in an email that "misinterpretations about the nature of the event were harming perceptions about Harvard and adversely impacting the student community."

The club wrote in its email around 5 p.m. today that it planned for the event to be held at The Middle East nightclub in Central Square -- about a half-mile from Harvard's main campus -- at 9 p.m. But Clay Fernald -- the general manager of The Middle East -- said this evening that the nightclub will not host the event, as negotiations with the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club had fallen through.

In response to the event's relocation, Terrence Donilon -- secretary of communications for the Archdiocese of Boston -- said the Catholic Church still condemns any re-enactment of the Satanic ritual, regardless of setting.

"Whether they have it at Harvard or at some other location, this is repugnant. No other community would stand up for this," Donilon said. "We recognize that we're a country that allows free speech, but we're also a country that shares in the common good. There's nothing good that comes out of desecrating the central element of the Catholic Church, which is the Eucharist."