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OKLAHOMA CITY - Archbishop Paul Coakley says Oklahoma City should have the “courage” to prohibit a Civic Center production mocking Catholic beliefs, a course of action City Manager Jim Couch expects would result in a lawsuit the city probably would lose, at significant cost to taxpayers.

A satanist has rented a small, basement theater in Civic Center Music Hall to stage a “Black Mass” on Sept. 21. The organizer says the event is similar to a Catholic Mass, but involving a sacrifice to the devil, a practice known as inversion of the Christian ritual.

Coakley issued a statement condemning the production earlier this month, then in an email exchange with Couch wrote, “You must have a legal team there that can find a way around this.”