Black Mass at Harvard to Reenact Satanic Rituals-Truth!

Black Mass at Harvard to Reenact Satanic Rituals-Truth!

Summary of eRumor:
Reports on the Internet that a group of students planned a “black mass” at Harvard that would reenact satanic rituals on campus drew criticism from the Archdiocese of Boston and other religious groups for mocking Catholic Mass.

The Truth:
 
It’s true that an independent group of Harvard students planned to host a black mass reenactment on the campus. The group later dropped its sponsorship, and the event was held off campus on May 12, 2014.

The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club announced in a statement on May 9, 2014, that it no longer supported holding the black mass reenactment on campus and that the event had been moved to an undisclosed location off campus.

“We do not agree with the student group’s decision to stage an event that is so deeply disturbing and offensive to many in the Harvard community and beyond,” Robert Neugeboren, dean of students and affairs at the Harvard Extension School, said. “While we support the ability of all our students to explore difficult issues, we also encourage them to do so in ways that are sensitive to others.”

Harvard President Drew Faust released a statement condemning the black mass reenactment as denigration and mockery of Catholicism.
“The decision by a student club to sponsor an enactment of this ritual is abhorrent; it represents a fundamental affront to the values of inclusion, belonging and mutual respect that must define our community,” Faust said.
Still, Faust said, the university wouldn’t force a student group to cancel an event because the campus was committed to free expression.
Before the independent student group decided on its own not to host the event, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley also weighed in.
O’Malley said black mass was a “ritual performed as a sacrilegious parody of the Roman Catholic Mass,” according to a report from the Boston Pilot, which publishes news on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Posted 05/14/14