BY: SHERMAN SMITH
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Rep. Sean Tarwater prayed Thursday for his House colleagues who support a satanic plot to make a mockery of his faith.
Tarwater, who identified himself as a devout Catholic, said he stayed silent earlier in the week during a committee hearing on House Resolution 6016, which denounces the Satanic Grotto’s plans to hold a black mass on March 28 at the Statehouse. Tarwater, R-Stillwell, said he was afraid of what he might say if he spoke up during the hearing.
“I was simply dumbfounded by what I heard from some of those that are on the committee,” Tarwater said. “My blood was boiling, and I was deeply emotional. It was a terrible afternoon. The excuses that were made to support the black mass were plentiful and were nothing but an attempt to veil support for the mockery of Catholic religion.”
The House approved the resolution Thursday by a voice vote after members debated the balance between respecting First Amendment protections for offensive speech — and their own right to respond.
The Satanic Grotto’s plans, which include desecration of a Bible and communion wafers, caused an uproar in the Catholic community. Gov. Laura Kelly demanded the group hold the black mass outside the Capitol, which the group’s president agreed to do after initially intending to defy her. Legislative leadership also modified rules designed to limit protests at the Statehouse, and an archbishop filed a civil lawsuit accusing the group of stealing consecrated hosts to use during the black mass.
The House adopted the resolution to make a statement, although it carries no legal weight, that it considers the black mass to be “a despicable, blasphemous and offensive sacrilege to not only Catholics but all people of goodwill.” Seventy-five members sponsored the resolution, which also calls for “all Kansans to promote unity, mutual respect and the values that uphold our identity as one nation under God.”
Allegations that the Satanic Grotto has committed a crime are based on assumptions about what the group means when it says the black mass will include the destruction of a communion wafer.
Rep. Silas Miller, D-Wichita, said during Thursday’s debate in the House that you can buy communion wafers on Amazon for $7.
“The satanists did this specifically to get your attention, and it worked,” Miller said. “And sadly, we’re still missing the point.”
Tarwater said he could handle being offended and that the resolution wasn’t going to stop the satanists: “It’s going to happen, unfortunately.”
He closed his mournful-sounding speech by quoting Bible verse from Luke 23:34.
“What eats at me the most is that I fear for the souls of those that are going to be involved with this black mass, and especially for those that are supporting the black mass in this room and on that committee,” Tarwater said. “And from my souls and my friends and colleagues, I’ve been sitting over there and listening and praying for all of you: ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ ”
Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, a Topeka Democrat and pastor, said he supported the resolution because it doesn’t forbid the Satanic Grotto from protesting.
“I do take exception when a group willfully tries to bait and offend the believers of other faiths in things that are sacred to them,” Schlingensiepen said.
He said he also would denounce the use of Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist symbols “in order to somehow poke fun at them.”
“That said, I want to make an additional point. As a Christian, I will say this: I personally wish that we took the substance of our faith as seriously as we do the abuse of its symbols,” Schlingensiepen said.
He said the Legislature too often has departed from the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount.
“If you’re truly Christian, and I can only speak for my side of or my portion of that spectrum, than to be taking care of the poor, taking care of the marginalized, is a fundamental Christian commitment,” Schlingensiepen said.
Rep. Ken Rahjes, R-Agra, said legislators talk about a lot of subjects, “and I cannot think of one any better than our faith an our beliefs.”
“Do we show love all the time the way it needs to be seen? Probably not,” Rahjes said. “But I think all of us, at one time or the other, when we’ve been on this floor this year, have said a little prayer for our colleague who maybe we don’t agree with. We may have said, ‘Bless their heart,’ under our voice.”