Archbishop Warns Against Satanic Temple's First-Ever Black Mass in Canada: "We Need to Pray"
Ottawa, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast told the faithful to pray in reparation for an upcoming satanic mass scheduled for 10 p.m. on Aug. 17 in Ottawa, Canada.
Reports explained that the Satanic Temple in Canada is sponsoring the event at The Koven, a restaurant and bar intended for heavy metal and rock music fans.
The event is reportedly the first-ever public satanic black mass in Canada’s history.
“My concern is for the faith of our people and the offense this brings to their love of and reverence for the Eucharist,” Archbishop Prendergast told The Catholic Register of Canada.
National Satanic Temple coordinator Nicholas Marc told Global News that the event “involves using traditional symbols and inverting them to create a ritual that is meant to be the opposite of traditional mass.”
The ritual intentionally mocks Christianity, particularly Catholicism. Although, the Satanic Temple will reportedly not desecrate a Eucharistic host at this event.
However, Archbishop Prendergast asks priests and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion “to be vigilant” that communicants consume the Eucharistic host immediately upon receiving.
Archbishop Prendergast said the satanic ritual is “hate speech” due to its “widespread publicity.”
“To tamper with and mock the Mass — which is what this satanic ritual does — is hateful and will affect more than those who participate in it,” Archbishop Prendergast told The Catholic Register.
“It will say loudly that the central belief of Christians should not be shown respect, as we would expect respect to be shown to the Jewish Torah, the Muslim Koran and to the sacred objects of other faiths.”
Warning against involvement in occult practices
The archbishop also warned against involvement in occult practices.
He said these rituals have “the potential of opening a spiritual doorway into the evil realm — giving demonic spirits permission, in other words — to infest our city with negative and evil energies.”
“People have expressed surprise that Pope Francis so often refers to the devil at work in our world as he and his minions attempt to thwart the good that Christians and the Church are committed to,” he told The Catholic Register.
“But, as St. Paul says, our spiritual battle is not merely against flesh and blood — that is to say, other human beings who are opposed to the Gospel message, but ‘against principalities and powers, against the dark rulers of this world,’ that is rebellious angels who continue to attempt to undermine the spread of God’s Kingdom in human hearts.”
“We need to pray,” offer Masses
Archbishop Prendergast will offer a Mass of Reparation on the morning of Aug. 17 for the blasphemy occurring in Ottawa. He also encourages the priests and parishes of his diocese to offer additional masses.
Furthermore, the archbishop asks pastors “to alert the faithful of their parishes to offer Mass, holy hours and prayers in reparation.”
“We need to pray in reparation for the spiritual harm that is being planned, and that God would turn this blasphemous project into an occasion of grace.”
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!
[See also: “Not Going to Stand For It”: Catholics Protest Satanists Wanting Demonic Statue at Arkansas Capitol]