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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
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.