On Sunday November 9, 2014, dozens of friends and supporters of the American Society for the Defene of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) and America Needs Fatima gathered outside the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco to protest the blasphemous play Testament.
Previously titled The Testament of Mary, the work makes a mockery of the Virgin Mary and Catholic teaching, going so far as to portray Our Lady as an idolatrous woman who denies the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Arriving Sunday afternoon it became clear to the protesters their presence was not welcomed, as several cars were parked in the spaces where the protest was to occur. Not letting this be a hindrance, the faithful Catholics crowded the sidewalks, holding up banners and signs expressing their indignation. The 20 foot standards of the American TFP, sonorous melodies played on the bagpipes, and banners with the names of 45,239 individuals who signed an online protest against the blasphemy were impossible to ignore, many passersby snapping photos of the manifestation with cell phones. The crowd prayed the Most Holy Rosary and offered up many other prayers in reparation, and sang hymns to honor the Mother of God being insulted a short distance away inside the theater.
As patrons of the play emerged, an older woman approached the protesters and asked, “How do you know it’s bad if you haven’t seen the play?” One of the men holding up a banner quickly responded, “I don’t have to drink poison to know that it’s harmful.” Others passing by across the street attempted to mock the public act of prayer, saying, “Why don’t you all go pray in church?” The faithful Catholics only responded by praying with greater fervor, drowning out these fruitless efforts to impede them.
The act of reparation came to a close as the evening came on and the sun fell behind the buildings of the City by the Bay. Participants in the protest commented on the indifference of the majority who walked by, annoyed at the presence of the demonstration but unconcerned about its purpose. However, all departed with the assurance that though the majority of men in this city, like so many others, care little to defend the honor of Our Lady, those gathered that Sunday afternoon were able to stand firm against blasphemy and console the Queen of Angels. May she send cohorts of the heavenly host to lead her faithful sons and daughters to victory against her enemies and the triumph of her Immaculate Heart.