A satanic black mass went off as scheduled Sunday at a city-owned civic center in Oklahoma City, but the number of protesters far outnumbered the Satanists who gathered to worship their "god."
Between 40 and 50 Satan worshipers attended the black mass at the Oklahoma City Civic Center's smallest theater, The Oklahoman reported. The event was led by Adam Daniels, a self-professed Satanist who said ceremonies included denouncing Jesus Christ and spitting on holy water that meant to symbolize the Catholic Communion host, Fox News reported.
WND reported last month that the city had given the green light for the black mass to be held in the city-owned civic center, claiming that it was a paid-entry, ticketed event and the Satanists would be treated like any other paying client. The city said it was not in a position, legally, to decide which groups are allowed to use the facility and which are not, as long as the bill gets paid and no city laws or codes are violated.
Previous satanic ceremonies have included sex, urine and nudity in many of the rituals, Daniels told the Tulsa World. But Civic Center spokeswoman Jennifer McClintock told WND last month that the devil worshipers would not be allowed to carry out any activities that violated city codes. All nudity, sex and urination would be strictly forbidden, she said.
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The Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma, under Arch Bishop Paul Coakley, pushed hard to get the city to ban the satanic mockery of the church's Holy Eucharist and more than 215,000 people signed petitions against the event. Coakley agreed to drop a lawsuit he filed against Daniels' cult when a stolen communion Host was returned to the church.
Having failed to convince the city to ban the event, the church decided to protest it.
An estimated 1,200 Roman Catholics converged onto St. Francis of Assisi Church for a holy hour prayer service from Coakley — and another 400 who couldn’t fit into the congregation stood outside the facility, Fox News reported.
Coakley, in his sermon, said "dark forces" had targeted Oklahoma City, but that Christians shouldn't fear.
"We know that Christ conquered Satan," he said. "The war has been won, Christ has conquered, though skirmishes will continue until Christ comes to reign forever."
The attendees of that service then walked to the Civic Center and gathered to demonstrate against the Satanists.
"Shame, shame on Oklahoma City," said one protester, Albert Storz, 44, of Tulsa, who held up a Bible while he spoke, NewsOK reported. “The Bible says evil prevails if good men do nothing. We may be provoking the Satanists, but it’s a whole lot better than standing by and doing nothing. I'm going to be a light, a voice in the darkness.”
Police at one point were called to the Civic Center to ensure crowds didn’t grow violent.