CV NEWS FEED // More than 30,000 people have signed CatholicVote’s petition demanding that Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly stop the satanic worship ritual scheduled at the state Capitol March 28.
The ritual originally was going to take place inside the capitol, until Kelly stated March 12 that all demonstrations set for March 28 would have to take place outdoors on capitol grounds instead.
CatholicVote announced the petition March 17, insisting alongside other Catholic leaders that it is not enough for the ritual to be moved outdoors; it must be stopped altogether.
CatholicVote Vice President Joshua Mercer urged that the ritual is not simply focused on the exercising of one’s “free speech” but on mocking the core of Catholic beliefs and values.
Earlier this month, Michael Stewart, president of the Satanic Grotto, which is organizing the ritual, told a local Kansas journal that the ritual “is a specific response to our legislatures continuing to pander to groups like the Kansas Catholic Conference and to Kansans for Life, where they keep trying to come back and attack abortion rights, much less other rights.”
The Kansas Catholic Conference, which is the public policy voice of the Kansas Catholic bishops, has been outspoken against the ritual, describing it as a “provocative expression of hatred and anti-Catholic bigotry.”
Out of grave concern that the ritual’s organizers were in possession of a consecrated host that they intended to desecrate at the ritual, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City last week filed an emergency motion petitioning the court to order the organizers to return any consecrated hosts or wine in their possession.
On March 18 Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach warned state legislators that, in light of the Archbishop’s motion, the state should not allow the ritual to take place because one or more crimes, including destruction of stolen property, would occur at the ritual. The state should not facilitate this, he said. On the same day, state legislators amended the Capitol grounds and building policy in such a way that potentially would prohibit the satanic ritual organizers from demonstrating on March 28.
The Kansas Catholic Conference announced March 20 that the leader of the Satanic Grotto, the group holding the ritual, has testified under oath that he is not in possession of the Sacred Eucharist.
CatholicVote reported March 21 that “the group reportedly still intends to desecrate a Bible, a crucifix, and other Christian symbols” at the Capitol March 28.
CatholicVote’s petition can be signed here.
“This isn’t just a petition — it’s a stand against hatred and sacrilege,” Mercer said. “Kansas must NOT become a stage for this desecration. We can’t let this happen.”
CatholicVote also urges the faithful to join in prayers of reparation, and to support a prayer and protest rally at the state Capitol on March 28. More information about these initiatives are available here.
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