The Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, Kansas. (Photo courtesy of Wikicommons Images, Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0)The Archdiocese of Kansas City has filed a lawsuit against the organizers of a black mass scheduled to take place on March 28 on statehouse grounds in Topeka, Kansas, demanding the return of consecrated hosts and wine that were stolen for use in the ritual.
According to CatholicVote.org, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City filed an emergency motion in district court this week demanding the return of consecrated hosts and wine the group intends to desecrate. The suit states that the consecrated Hosts and wine are the property of the Catholic Church and must be returned by the leaders of the group sponsoring the event, Michael T. Stewart and Travis L. Roberts of the Satanic Grotto.
"They are not permitted to possess the consecrated hosts and wine, and rather “intend to desecrate property in a manner that is directly contrary to Catholic Church teachings, doctrines, beliefs, and interests in such property,” the motion states.
As CatholicVote reports, “the defendants are ‘boasting’ both online and to the Kansas Catholic Conference Executive Director Chris Weber that they have ‘secured a consecrated host’ and plan to desecrate it.”
Because of the urgency of the matter, the Archdiocese is asking for prompt relief in order to recover the property that belongs to him and the Archdiocese of Kansas City.
Satanic Grotto president Michael T. Stewart responded to the suit to KSNT.com. “We were served today with a lawsuit from the archdiocese of Kansas, The complaint was in regards to stolen eucharists,” Stewart said on March 18. “We here at the Grotto would like to say that we have never stolen or obtained any Eucharist by deceit or fraudulence. All of our wafers were purchased legally. I lead the transubstantiation in the ritual. I consecrate the host. My authority as a Satanist allows me this power, even outside the regular Catholic practices and laws.”
This is not the only blowback the Satanic Grotto has experienced since announcing its intentions. After receiving thousands of signatures protesting the event, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly stated on March 12 that although she is limited in what she can do to prevent a protest that is protected by free speech, she did announce that the event cannot take place inside the Capital but must take place outdoors.
However, as the Archbishop’s motion states, Stewart responded to the Governor’s action by texting Weber, “stating that he intends to defy Governor Kelly’s decree, and will enter the Capitol and ‘kill Jesus’ (meaning the Consecrated Host and Wine).”
This open declaration of defiance against the governor’s orders has further jeopardize the group’s nefarious plans by drawing the attention of members of the state legislature who promptly issued resolution No. 6016 that officially denounces “the satanic worship ritual.”
In addition, the state’s Legislative Coordinating Council reacted to the group’s criminal intent by clarifying the rules for hosting events on Capitol grounds, stating that ‘criminal conduct’ is not protected and unanimously agreeing to “prevent groups who are engaging in criminal conduct or making threats against public officials from hosting events on the grounds of the state capitol.”
“The Kansas State Capitol is a beautiful place for individuals and groups with diverse views to gather and share their opinions," the Council stated. "The First Amendment protects gatherings and speech, including offensive speech, and we cherish those rights. However, the First Amendment does not protect criminal conduct. Recent statements from an organization – which pledged to engage in such conduct – necessitated a thoughtful review of policies to ensure the safety of all those visiting our State Capitol.”
The group remains defiant, saying: “We might even find this mix up humorous, if it wasn’t followed by house resolution 6016, which condemned our religion," Stewart told KSNT. "We have still yet to be personally contacted by any of our accusers to ask what we plan to do or how we plan to do it. All of this was cleared by Capitol Police days before Laura Kelly first intervened. We provided them a walk-through of the ritual and receipts for the materials we were using. This is a classic satanic panic, maybe we should stop and look at how easy it is for Catholic interest to override and overwhelm any disagreement. I sure hope they don’t disagree with a Baptist minister somewhere. Hail Satan.”
On the day of the black mass, Archbishop Naumann plans to conduct a Holy Hour at Assumption Church which is directly north of the statehouse at 11:00 AM, followed by Holy Mass. He also plans to reconsecrate Kansas to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation.
Click here for more information on suggestions on how to prayerfully respond to this grave offense against our Blessed Lord.
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