Roman Catholic Archbishop Paul S. Coakley and a priest performed "prayers of exorcism" to rid the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma of evil spirits that might have been hanging around after a satanic "Black Mass" was held there, Tulsa World reported on Thursday.
Diane Clay, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said that Coakley decided to perform the spirit-ridding ritual in the Oklahoma City public venue after he learned that some Civic Center attendees were troubled and anxious about the possibility of lingering evil after a "black mass" on Sept. 21.
An exorcism is a practice that the Catholic Church believes ward off a demons and push them out of an affected individual.
"From the beginning, we have taken seriously the dark and dangerous spirits being invited into our community. We anticipated this would be a concern for those visiting the Civic Center, and we've received many questions about the safety of the building following the satanic ritual," Coakley said in a statement.
The Dakhma of Angra Mainyu Syndicate, a group of practicing satanists led by Adam Daniels, held the black mass in the Civic Center's Cityspace Theatre, a small venue with less than 100 seats. Daniels told the 42 people who attended the black mass that it was being held to mock the Catholic Mass so that people wouldn't be intimidated the Catholic Church.
Daniels said on Wednesday that he wasn't surprised to learn about Coakley's counter ritual to rid the Civic Center of any lingering dark spirits after the satanic mass, according to News O.K.
"I find it hilarious how over-responsive he's being to all of this," Daniels said. "As I said before, it (black mass) is a deprogramming ritual to cast Christianity out of people. All they (archdiocese) care about is their religious freedom and not anybody else's."
