Bill Donohue comments on Harvard’s response to the antics of a student club:
When it was brought to our attention that the Harvard University Extension Cultural Studies Club was planning a campus event featuring a performance by the Satanic Temple, we sought to establish the connection that this student group has with the university. We were unable to find any. However, we have now learned that it is an independent organization. More important, we know that Harvard’s handling of this matter is outrageous.
The Satanic Temple will perform a “Black Mass” at the Queen’s Head Pub in Memorial Hall on May 12. The purpose of this exhibition is to denigrate the Mass by inviting students to participate in Satanic worship. Other events are also scheduled.
Today, the Harvard University Public Affairs and Communications Office issued a statement emphasizing the independent status of this student group. Admitting that the group plans to host “a controversial student event,” it cited, “a Shinto tea ceremony, a Shaker exhibition, and a Buddhist presentation on meditation.”
The statement did not say what was “controversial” about these three events. Of greater interest to the Catholic League is the glaring omission: it never mentioned the Satanic Temple’s “Black Mass.” Yet if Shinto, Shaker and Buddhist presentations are so controversial that they demand an explanation, why wasn’t this deliberate assault on Catholic sensibilities mentioned? This was not an oversight.
We urge everyone to contact Harvard and let your thoughts known.
Contact Jeff Neal, who released this statement: jeff_neal@harvard.edu
