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SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey, April 20, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – On March 30, more than 30 Catholics gathered in front of Seton Hall University to protest Satanic music being played from the university's official radio station, WSOU. The event was organized by ShutDownWSOU and the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP).
It brought together men, women, and children of all ages in prayer for an end to the broadcasts.
The group is planning to gather again at the university this month with the participation of the young adults of TFP Student Action. On April 26, they will peacefully meet to pray the rosary at two locations. At 1 p.m. EST, ShutDownWSOU will be in front of the entrance to Seton Hall University at S. Orange Avenue and Centre Street. At 2:30 p.m. EST, they will gather in front of the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Newark, 171 Clifton Avenue, in Newark, New Jersey.
Protests and prayer campaigns have been organized over several months against the Satanism, violence, and blasphemy being broadcast by the university radio station. Online petitions from The Lepanto Institute, Return to Order, and TFP Student Action have together gained more than 30,000 signatures.
There has so far been a “complete blackout” from mainstream Catholic news agencies, Richard Smaglick, one of the organizers of ShutDownWSOU, told LifeSiteNews. He has extensively researched the anti-Chrisitan ideologies associated with the musical genres regularly aired on the station, including Black Metal. Smaglick says that this sub-genre of heavy metal was founded to promote violence against Christians, and has inspired numerous church burnings and serial church arsonists.
The appeals from ShutDownWSOU have thus far been met with promises of “oversight” by Seton Hall officials. But ShutDownWSOU says that the university is refusing to answer questions about recent airings of highly disturbing material.
Email communications obtained by LifeSiteNews show that the university has been sending unsigned “communications” emails every time ShutDownWSOU and other organizations petition them.
These communications have included statements such as:
“Every song that WSOU plays must meet strict FCC standards for content. … In addition, its music also must meet even stricter University standards for content…”
“Everything that airs on WSOU is ‘clean,’ meaning songs are edited to remove offensive lyrics. … WSOU is committed to strengthening Seton Hall’s Catholic and academic identity.”
“WSOU encourages students and listeners to pursue a quest for lifelong learning sustained by Catholic values.”
However, these claims contradict the audio and video evidence from as recently as this month, which can be heard on ShutDownWSOU’s website. (Warning: graphic imagery and explicitly blasphemous and violent content.)
A “song” that aired April 4 titled “Last Caress” by Misfits contains these lyrics:
I got somethin' to say
I killed your baby today
and it doesn't matter much to me
as long as it's dead
On March 15, the station aired “Maneblot” (Moonblood) by the Scandinavian Satanic artist Myrkur, which describes sexual sin and the ritual sacrifice of a newborn child. On March 31, the track “Old Evil” by Windhand and Satan's Satyrs was played on the station. “Old Evil” contains the following lyrics:
You who bury your crosses
You who crawl through the weeds
You who whisper your curses
You will show it to me
Kneel, surrender, a servant, of dawn
PETITION UPDATE (3/15/21) -
Reports suggest that the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference (USCCB) is preparing a vote on what to do about pro-abortion Joe Biden (and, presumably, other abortion-promoting politicians) who continues to present himself (themselves) for Holy Communion.
Public excommunication would be a suitable response for Biden's obstinate, public and grave sin of scandalously promoting abortion.
Please continue to SIGN and SHARE this important petition.
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PETITION UPDATE (2/4/20)
Since Joe Biden was sworn-in on the 20th of January, he has wasted no time in signing Executive Orders to destroy the protections which former President Trump offered to the unborn and to the innocence and modesty of children of the United States.
In one executive order, Biden rescinded the Mexico City Policy prohibiting the federal government from spending taxpayer monies on abortion and the promotion of abortion.
And, in another executive order, Biden seeks to force girls' athletic programs, restrooms, and locker rooms to accept gender-confused males.
Since the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was shamefully silent throughout the presidential campaign on the pre-eminent issues of abortion and gender ideology, and what Biden vowed he would do as president, it is cold comfort that their pro-life office is now speaking up about this Administration's wilful disregard for human life and for God's design of human nature (i.e., two biological sexes).
Stated plainly, Joe Biden is as bad as he said he would be, and the bishop, acting in unison (as the USCCB) have an obligation to the Lord (first) and to the faithful (second) to refuse Holy Communion to this grave public sinner.
With all due respect to these bishops, they diminish the Holy Eucharist and their high office, as well as cause grave scandal to the faithful, by dialoguing with a man who is promoting mass murder of the unborn against the constant teaching of the Church.
A man who continues to use the church as a backdrop for statements about how "Catholic/religious" he is, but, at the same time, is now doing everything in his power to protect the murder of the innocent, needs to publicly repent before dialogue can begin.
The bishops should not dialogue with or congratulate someone who has publicly betrayed the Church's teaching and who is leading others astray.
It's an embarrassment and a scandal for the bishops to continue to allow him to receive Holy Communion.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
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PETITION UPDATE (12/10/20)
Prior to the election on November 3, the U.S. bishops did not address Joe Biden’s anti-Catholic position regarding faith and morals as a unified body.
The USCCB, the organization to which every U.S. bishop belongs and which is staffed and led by bishops, remained disgracefully silent in the run-up to the election.
What were the bishops afraid of, losing their charitable tax status with the IRS, or being deprived of fat checks from the HHS (immigration programs) and USAID (foreign aid programs)?
Or, were they just too cowardly to clearly declare Christ's law to be above man's law and risk the ire of a Joe Biden as president?
Either way, the bishops’ lack of clarity in this regard is a terrible scandal in itself and probably greatly contributed to the possible election of a pro-abortion, anti-Catholic Catholic to the presidency.
Given the fact that exit polling shows Catholics split their vote 50-50 for Trump and Biden, even a slight deviation in the heavily-Catholic swing-states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania could have produced different results.
The bishops could have spoken out against Biden’s pro-abortion stance collectively, but, again, they were overwhelmingly and shamefully silent.
Because of this, they will be at least partly responsible for the policies advanced by a Biden administration, in the event that Biden is sworn into office.
However, the bishops can, even now, mitigate the damage done by their inaction by taking the following steps: 1) Speak with one voice, as the USCCB, and plainly condemn Biden's pro-abortion stance; 2) Publicly advise Biden not to present himself for Holy Communion because of his scandalous position on abortion and homosexual "marriage;" and, 3) Tell Biden to publicly repent of publicly promoting the wilfull murder of the preborn, sins against nature, and diminishing the natural family.
Thankfully, some individual bishops have spoken out forcefully on Biden's scandalous behavior, and his standing in the Church.
On November 9, Archbishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas tweeted: “A dark cloud has descended on this nation when the USCCB and Planned Parenthood speak in unison in support of a Biden-Harris administration that supports the slaughter of innocents by abortion for all 9 months of pregnancy.”
Additionally, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, Colorado and Archbishop Charles Chaput have both declared publicly that Joe Biden “should not receive Holy Communion."
But, to add insult to injury, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. has said that he will give Holy Communion to Biden because “it’s a matter of the responsibility that I have as the archbishop to be engaged and to be in dialogue with him, even in those areas where we obviously have some differences.”
And, Bishop W. Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Delaware and Bishop McElroy of San Diego also congratulated Biden in statements, but they have not indicated whether or not they would administer Holy Communion to him.
With all due respect to these bishops, they diminish the Holy Eucharist and their high office, as well as cause grave scandal to the faithful, by dialoguing with a man who is promoting mass murder of the unborn against the constant teaching of the Church.
A man who uses the church as a backdrop to make sickening political advertisements about how "Catholic/religious" he is, but, at the same time, says that he will do everything in his power to protect the murder of the innocent, needs to publicly repent before dialogue can begin.
The bishops should not dialogue with or congratulate someone who has publicly betrayed the Church's teaching and who is leading others astray.
It's an embarrassment and a scandal for the bishops to continue to allow him to receive Holy Communion.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/us-catholics-weigh-mixed-reaction-biden-win
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PETITION UPDATE (9/29/20)
Cardinal Raymond Burke has stated that Democratic candidate Joe Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion.
In an interview for Thomas McKenna's Catholic Action for Faith and Family podcast, Cardinal Burke states the following (starting around 5:00):
First of all, I would tell him [Biden] not to approach to receive Holy Communion, out of charity toward him, because that would be a sacrilege and endanger the salvation of his own soul.
But, also, he should not approach to receive Holy Communion because he gives scandal to everyone, because if someone says, 'I'm a devout Catholic," and, at the same time is promoting abortion, it gives the impression to others that it's acceptable for a Catholic to be in favor of abortion.
Of course, it's absolutely not acceptable, and never has been, and never will be.
We give thanks for Cardinal Burke's frankness and clarity. And, we call on every U.S. Catholic bishop to follow Cardinal Burke's lead and call out Joe Biden for his bloody-minded hypocrisy on the issue of abortion.
To reiterate: You cannot be a Catholic and support abortion.
Thank you for continuing to sign this urgent petition.
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PETITION UPDATE (8/17/20)
The Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, keeps claiming to be Catholic but has said he will do everything in his power to support abortion.
And, with his pick of California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, Biden has just cemented abortion into the Democrats' 2020 presidential ticket.
Indeed, Harris is vehemently pro-abortion.
During her time as attorney general of California, Harris played a key role in defending Planned Parenthood over its sale of aborted baby parts (which violated multiple federal laws, according to undercover video of abortion industry personnel).
And, last year, Harris unveiled a plan to essentially force pro-life states to seek permission from the federal government before pro-life laws can take effect.
Additionally, Harris has dangerous views on religious liberty and freedom of speech.
Harris displayed anti-Catholic bigotry in the confirmation hearings of Judge Brian Buescher. Harris cited his membership in the “all-male society” the Knights of Columbus and its stances against abortion and same-sex “marriage” as grounds for rejecting Buescher for a federal district court in Nebraska.
And, David Daleiden, head of the pro-life investigative group Center for Medical Progress, wrote that from his firsthand experience, he considers Harris the “greatest threat to First Amendment civil rights our country has ever seen.”
Joe Biden has seriously erred by taking on Kamala Harris as his running mate, further distancing himself from the truths of the Catholic Faith, especially that every life is sacred from conception till natural death.
Please CLICK HERE to read an article which details one U.S. bishop's warning about the Biden-Harris ticket.
And, please continue to SIGN and SHARE this petition.
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Of course, these two things are incompatible: you cannot be Catholic and pro-abortion.
And, a "Catholic" politician's responsibility in this regard is absolute: On pain of serious sin, he or she can never promote abortion because abortion is the wilful murder of innocent preborn human beings, and also because doing so causes grave scandal to the Church and the faithful.
Please SIGN this urgent petition asking the bishops of the United States to refuse to give Holy Communion to Joe Biden until he publicly repents from his scandalous promotion of abortion.
Biden recently promised to “codify Roe v. Wade” as president, adding, "my Justice Department will do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that so blatantly violate a woman’s protected, constitutional right to choose."
And, since starting his latest run for the presidency, Biden also flip-flopped against the Hyde Amendment, saying that he would allow federal funds to be spent on abortion - a position he claimed to be against for more than 40 years.
In short, Joe Biden will do everything in his power to enable and defend the wilful murder of innocent preborn human beings.
So, this should not be a hard decision for our U.S. bishops. In fact, in another circumstance, it was already done by an Illinois bishop.
Indeed, Bishop Paprocki, of Springfield, Illinois, invoked Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law to withdraw Holy Communion from two Illinois state politicians who had worked to enact radical new abortion legislation in 2019.
Canon 915 states: "Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."
Of course, no-one, least of all the bishops, wants anyone to be deprived of Holy Communion.
A politician who publicly and obstinately advocates for the murder of innocent preborn babies puts himself out-of-communion with the Church and her teaching.
Pro-abortion politicians should not think that they can advocate for the murder of the unborn and receive the Body of Christ at the same time. This would be to defile the Eucharist while giving scandal to the faithful.
Depriving politicians of Holy Communion is not just meant to prevent scandal; it is also designed to bring a grave public sinner to repentance. In this way, such an action is meant to be for the good of their souls, too.
Thank you for SIGNING this urgent petition which calls on the U.S. Catholic bishops to refuse to admit Joe Biden to Holy Communion until he publicly repents from his scandalous promotion of abortion.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Joe Biden: I support abortion ‘under any circumstance’ - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/joe-biden-i-support-abortion-under-any-circumstance
Catholic priest denies Joe Biden Holy Communion for pro-abortion stance - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-priest-denies-joe-biden-holy-communion-for-pro-abortion-stance
Cardinal McCarrick and the Concealing of Rome’s Position on Denying Communion - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-mccarrick-and-the-concealing-of-romes-position-on-denying-communio
**Photo Credit: Joshua Roberts / Getty Images
Not only are Seton Hall’s leaders aware of the facts that demonstrate the serious problems with the music played by WSOU, but so is the Newark Archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who is the chair of the diocesan university’s Board of Trustees and the president of their Board of Regents. In 2019, an anonymous Catholic sent a 44-page report detailing all the evidence of the Satanic music being played at the radio station to the U.S. Apostolic Nuncio in the hope of the report being brought to the attention of Pope Francis. The author of the report, who wishes to remain anonymous, told LifeSiteNews that the nunciature informed them that the report was forwarded to Tobin.
Seton Hall claimed to ban Satanic radio broadcasts in 1988 and 2001. Yet WSOU continues to air Satanic music.
The protesters assert that “there is no form of oversight that can make the broadcasting of genres fundamentally opposed to Christianity and Catholic values consistent with the moral and social obligations of a Catholic institution.”
A series of rosary rallies
The attendees at the March 30 event to pray for an end to the broadcast of Satanic music told LifeSiteNews that they received incredible support from drivers passing by in their vehicles. An overwhelming number of people in cars honked in favor of the gathering. The group held signs and banners reading: “HONK to protect our children,” “Faithful Catholics protest the Satanic & obscene broadcasting on Seton Hall's 'Catholic' radio station, WSOU,” and “No Seton Hall Satanism.”
At one point during the rosary rally, a Catholic priest stopped his car and spoke to the crowd. He voiced his support for the gathering but also mentioned his regrets for previously attending Immaculate Conception Seminary, located on the university campus just feet from the radio station. One of the organizers told LifeSiteNews that the priest said, “I am ashamed and embarrassed to say that I went here. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’m praying for you.”
Despite all the support received during the event, there were a few minor incidents displaying the pervasiveness of Satanism at Seton Hall. For example, some students were heard shouting “Hail Satan” as they drove out of the campus, and others screamed curses and expletives at the attendees. Another incident, which was captured on video, included a father and child in a car waving Satanic hand gestures at the faithful praying the rosary.
Media outlets criticize Catholics
Following the event, a number of media outlets have criticized both the prayer rally and its participants.
A New York Post news piece on March 27 named the group as “outraged activists,” and The Lepanto Institute as “arch-conservative.” Although the story did mention a disturbing example of the “music” played at WSOU, referencing lyrics such as “Piano wire strangling our necks,” it did not include any references to the numerous blasphemous, violent, and anti-Christian songs. Moreover, a report from a New Jersey news radio station described the criticisms of the Seton Hall radio station as coming from “out-of-state groups,” even though the people protesting for months at the campus are all residents of the state.
“The Lepanto Institute isn’t an ‘arch-conservative’ or ‘ultra-conservative’ organization, as these media outlets assert,” Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Insitute, told LifeSiteNews. “We are a Catholic organization living out our sacramental obligation to witness, spread, and defend the faith boldly and without shame.”
The Setonian, which labels itself as “the official undergraduate newspaper of Seton Hall,” published a story on the day of the rally complaining that the Catholics praying the rosary outdoors were “unmasked.” It is worth noting that WSOU and The Setonian work together or a radio program called “Pirate News Desk.”
The Setonian also cited the radical leftist and anti-Catholic Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), while describing TFP as “virulently anti-LGBT.” The SPLC regularly suggests pro-life organizations are “hate groups” on par with neo-Nazis.
But Hichborn told LifeSiteNews that while Seton Hall claims to be a Catholic institution, it is in fact betraying its Catholic charter by broadcasting “blasphemous, demonic music that glorifies violence against women and children and even includes prayers to devils.”
“That these reporters, who make a living out of sniffing out hypocrisy whenever they can find it, can’t even see the contradictory nature of what Seton Hall is doing speaks only to their willful blindness,” Hichborn said.
As their movement grows, the faithful Catholics from New Jersey remain confident in their fight to have the radio station WSOU shut down, and have promised to “continue to increase the stakes until that occurs.” More information about ShutDownWSOU can be found at the group’s website.