Controversy surrounds a "Black Mass" on October 31 in a deconsecrated Church
Controversy surrounds a "Black Mass" on October 31 in a deconsecrated Church
An artistic event is causing a stir in Montpellier, as it is described as nothing less than a "Black Mass of Emotions" in the former chapel of the Saint Charles General Hospital (17th-18th centuries), which was deconsecrated and became the Maison des Choeurs (House of Choirs) in 2006. It is scheduled for October 31 at 7 p.m. While there is no desecration because the building is deconsecrated, and this event falls under the umbrella of artistic freedom (or even freedom of enterprise), the question of respect for the dead arises (Articles 16 et seq. of the Civil Code) since the building still contains graves – even if, ostensibly, the organizers do not intend to desecrate them (Article 225-17 of the Penal Code).
The event description announces, in no particular order: “A (de)secrated but repurposed space for a black mass of emotions, sounds, bodies, and lights; incantatory concerts with the eccentric Schlaasss,…