According to Raw Story:
When Oklahoma officials passed special laws allowing for the display of faith-based monuments and statuary at the state Capitol, they inadvertently paved the way for The Satanic Temple, a religious group based in the New York City, to establish an official presence on the Capitol’s grounds.
The Satanists unveiled a plan for a 7-foot, goat-headed statue of the pagan deity Baphomet, who was appropriated as the symbol of the Satanic Church in the early 20th century. Because the state ruled that faith-based symbology and monuments are welcome on public property, the state government was forced to make room for the Satanic monument.
So when Satanists announced plans for a 'black mass', Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin promptly
made her disgust known on the ok.gov website:
“This 'Black Mass' is a disgusting mockery of the Catholic faith, and it should be equally repellent to Catholics and non-Catholics alike,” said Fallin. “It may be protected by the First Amendment, but that doesn't mean we can't condemn it in the strongest terms possible for the moral outrage which it is. It is shocking and disgusting that a group of New York City ‘satanists’ would travel all the way to Oklahoma to peddle their filth here. I pray they realize how hurtful their actions are and cancel this event.”
Fallin joins Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley in criticizing the event, scheduled for Sept. 21 at the Oklahoma City Civic Center. The archbishop said the black mass “is a satanic inversion and distortion of the most sacred beliefs not only of Catholics, but of all Christians.”
Unfortunately for Gov. Fallin, the Satanists who are planning to celebrate the autumnal equinox on Sep. 21 by holding a so-called “black mass” at the Oklahoma City Civic Center are not from the Satanic Temple. As
KFOR-News reports:
...according to the Satanic Temple’s spokesperson, Lucien Greaves, they are not responsible for the event.
“We have nothing to do with this event whatsoever. For the Governor to display such a complete failure of due diligence, to the point of erroneously focusing public ire on us, is unconscionable. We’re disgusted. We have sown a great deal of good will in Oklahoma and this seems to be a deliberate attempt to undermine that. I feel the Governor owes our organization an apology,” said Greaves.
In fact, Greaves says the Satanic Temple does not endorse the Oklahoma Black Mass.
“It’s not a matter of what they’re doing, it’s a matter of who’s doing it,” Greaves explains. “If it were just some people inspired to do a Black Mass, we’d be all for it. As it turns out, however, we are aware of the event’s organizers and don’t think them to be acting responsibly.”
Satanist Adam Daniels of Oklahoma City is one of the organizers of the Oklahoma City Black Mass.
The Satanic Temple is the organization currently working to get a Satanic monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
It's hard not to feel a twinge of sympathy for Gov. Fallin: how do you tell one 'filth-peddling' Satanist cult from another? Perhaps Gov. Fallin should consider appointing an adviser on Alternative Faith matters.
Then again, she might want to get out the old Ouija board and see if Anton LaVey can give her any tips.