Three recent incidents of Satanism have occurred and none of them has been given much attention by the media.
The gruesome murder of eleven-year old Edward Werner of New Jersey got the coverage it deserved, but what was clearly underreported was the status of his accused killer. It was widely reported that the accused attended a Catholic school, but it was rarely mentioned that he was attracted to Satanism. The defendant wore shirts with the Satanic symbol 666 on it and ascribed to a theory of God as espoused by the lead singer of the band, Smashing Pumpkins: “I don’t care if He exists and if He does, I don’ t think He cares if I care that He exists.”
In a second incident, a member of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) decided to object to animal research at the Catholic institution, Boys Town, by dressing up as Satan and holding forth with a protest on the roof of the Catholic hospital.
Finally, there is the Al Goldstein publication, Screw. The October 6 edition shows a naked man having intercourse with Mother Teresa; the man has a beard, has blood emanating from his side, and is wearing a crucifix and a crown of thorns, with a halo above his head. There is also a picture of Mother Teresa’ s face superimposed on the naked body of a woman who has her legs spread. And there is a cartoon of Mother Teresa sitting on a toilet.
William Donohue characterized these incidents this way:
“Just as it is a mistake to brand Satanic that which one viscerally rejects, it is also a mistake to retire this word from one’s lexicon. If these three cases don’t merit the term Satanic, then the word has no meaning.
“What will the Catholic League do about this? Pray.”
