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<\/div>\n

Harvard president Drew Faust issued a statement today. \u00a0She finds the happening of the Black Mass on campus \u201cabhorrent\u201d and states she will attend a Eucharistic Holy Hour and Benediction at the campus church to reaffirm the university\u2019s respect for the Catholic faith. \u00a0That\u2019s great, but the Black Mass will still happen. \u00a0She will not act against it.<\/p>\n

Cardinal O\u2019Malley of Boston questioned, \u201cwhy people would want to do something that is so offensive to so many people in the community, whether they\u2019re Catholic or not, it\u2019s very repugnant.\u201d \u00a0He continued saying, \u201cthere\u2019s a great fascination with evil in the world, but you know, it doesn\u2019t lead to anything good.\u201d

<\/span>A Black Mass offends everything that is sacred and holy since it mocks what we as Catholics hold most dear, the celebration of the Eucharist. \u00a0I hope that Harvard defends the voice of opposition and dissent to this Black Mass as it has defended the right of this group to hold it. \u00a0Below is the statement by President Drew Faust taken from The Anchoress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Black Mass Relocated Off Campus<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reenactment of a \u2018black mass\u2019 planned by a student group affiliated with the Harvard Extension School challenges us to reconcile the dedication to free expression at the heart of a university with our commitment to foster a community based on civility and mutual understanding. Vigorous and open discussion and debate are essential to the pursuit of knowledge, and we must uphold these values even in the face of controversy. Freedom of expression, as Justice Holmes famously said long ago, protects not only free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut even as we permit expression of the widest range of ideas, we must also take responsibility for debating and challenging expression with which we profoundly disagree. The \u2018black mass\u2019 had its historical origins as a means of denigrating the Catholic Church; it mocks a deeply sacred event in Catholicism, and is highly offensive to many in the Church and beyond. The decision by a student club to sponsor an enactment of this ritual is abhorrent; it represents a fundamental affront to the values of inclusion, belonging and mutual respect that must define our community. It is deeply regrettable that the organizers of this event, well aware of the offense they are causing so many others, have chosen to proceed with a form of expression that is so flagrantly disrespectful and inflammatory.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, consistent with the University\u2019s commitment to free expression, including expression that may deeply offend us, the decision to proceed is and will remain theirs. At the same time, we will vigorously protect the right of others to respond\u2014and to address offensive expression with expression of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI plan to attend a Eucharistic Holy Hour and Benediction at St. Paul\u2019s Church on our campus on Monday evening in order to join others in reaffirming our respect for the Catholic faith at Harvard and to demonstrate that the most powerful response to offensive speech is not censorship, but reasoned discourse and robust dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"