Kansas City Archbishop Sues Satanists for Alleged Theft of Holy Eucharist

iStock/Getty Images Kansas City Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann recently filed a lawsuit against a satanic group for allegedly stealing a Holy Eucharist to use in a “black mass” – a claim that the group denied under oath.

The Catholic Church regards a consecrated Eucharist as the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ while retaining the appearance of bread and wine – a theological concept known as transubstantiation. Earlier this month, the archbishop “filed a petition to recover the Eucharist—under state laws governing the return of wrongfully taken or held personal property—in the civil division of the District Court of Leavenworth County, Kansas,” per the Catholic Register .

According to the article:

The motion names the defendants as Michael T. Stewart and Travis L. Roberts, along with The Grotto Society (also known as The Satanic Grotto), described in the document as a Kansas not-for-profit corporation.

Stewart and Roberts are the president and vice president of the society, a Satanic organization that plans to conduct a “black mass” March 28 on the grounds of the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka.

The motion cites posts made earlier this month by Stewart on the social media platform Reddit in which Stewart—using the handle “xsimon666x” and describing himself as “Simon Satanas”—wrote that his group “already secured a consecrated host [Eucharist]” and “wine too” for desecration at the planned March 28 event.

In another post on March 7, Stewart’s handle also wrote on Reddit that the desecration of the Eucharist would be used to “manifest the link between Satan and the capital [sic] building.”

“God will fall and Kansas will be embraced by the black flame of Lucifer,” said a Facebook page for the “black mass.”

In his petition to the court, the archbishop stated that the Catholic Church “maintains ownership of all Consecrated Hosts [Eucharists] and Wine throughout the world,” adding that the “value of Consecrated Hosts and Wine is incalculable because their significance and importance cannot be measured monetarily.”

“In addition, there is a special need for very prompt action due to the immediate danger that Defendants, consistent with the intent of a ‘Black Mass’ and their statements made to date, will desecrate, conceal, or otherwise damage the property at issue,” the petition said.

Catholics in the diocese were partially put at ease when the satanic group’s leader stated under oath that they did not possess a consecrated Eucharist, Catholic Vote reported.

“In a pivotal court development Wednesday, the leader of a group known as the satanic Grotto testified under oath that neither he nor members of his organization possess a validly Consecrated Host, easing a central concern voiced by the Catholic Church ahead of a highly controversial ritual scheduled to take place March 28,” noted the outlet.

“The sworn testimony came just before a civil legal action filed by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas was set to be heard in district court,” according to the report.

The last-minute avowal assuaged some tension surrounding the dark event, according to Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference.

“We now have a sworn statement before a judge that the group does not possess a validly Consecrated Host,” he said. “This alleviates a major concern.”

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