L. SAUCON TWP. — Protesters gathered outside Wednesday afternoon as the first meeting of the After School Satan Club was held inside Saucon Valley Middle School.
More than a dozen people prayed the "Hail Mary" and displayed signs.
- The club's first meeting was set for Wednesday afternoon
- About a dozen or so protesters prayed across the street from Saucon Valley Middle School
- A LehighValleyNews.com reporter was not permitted to attend the meeting
Some of the protesters were from the Lehigh Valley, but many were also from America Needs Fatima, a Catholic nonprofit organization.
David Lopez, a priest with St. Stephen of Hungary Catholic Church in Allentown, said he was there to oppose the idea of Satan and The Satanic Temple, which holds the clubs in schools nationwide.
The temple's website says the religious organization does not believe in the existence of Satan.
"To pretend that he's not real I think is silly," Lopez said. "It's pretty clear that he's real and we have to take it seriously and not allow this sort of danger into schools where children are so vulnerable."
The club met after a legal fight that was highlighted by a federal judge's ruling May 1 that the Saucon Valley School District must allow the meeting in the school.
The Satanic Temple and the American Civil Liberties Union argued that because the district previously allowed other religious groups to use its facilities, it could not discriminate against this one.
A spokesperson for the ACLU said a LehighValleyNews.com reporter would not be allowed into the meeting Wednesday or in the school. School security would not allow reporters onto school property.
A statement later released by June Everett, director of The Satanic Temple’s After School Satan Club program, said students were able to choose among several activities, such as playing with science-themed Legos, working on electronics projects or making friendship bracelets.
The release included photos of coloring books and crafts. It didn't say how many children attended.
"We’re grateful that the court stepped in to protect our right to meet in district facilities," Everett said in an emailed statement. "We’re thrilled that local students have another after-school option that allows them to come together and build community.”
Leo Fitzsimmons, with America Needs Fatima, led the prayers outside of the school. He said The Satanic Temple's goal in holding these after-school clubs in public schools was "to destroy America."
"They want to destroy the innocence of children," he said. "That's their main goal. They cannot stand innocence."
Saucon Valley schools Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty initially approved permission for the After School Satan Club to meet earlier this year, but later reversed course amid backlash from the community, including a threatened shooting.
That led to a court fight that is ongoing.
But Judge John Gallagher of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania issued a preliminary order permitting the Satan Club three meetings before the end of the school year.
“When confronted with a challenge to free speech, the government’s first instinct must be to forward expression rather than quash it. Particularly when the content is controversial or inconvenient."Judge John Gallagher of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania
“When confronted with a challenge to free speech, the government’s first instinct must be to forward expression rather than quash it. Particularly when the content is controversial or inconvenient,” Gallagher wrote in his opinion.
“At this stage of litigation… the record before the Court indicates the decision of Defendant, Saucon Valley School District, to rescind approval of the After School Satan Club’s use of District facilities was based on The Satanic Temple’s controversial views on religion and the community’s negative reactions thereto."
The After School Satan Club rented use of the school to conduct the meeting.
A sign-up flier for the first meeting said this:
"The Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion that views Satan as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit. After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. Instead, The Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves."
