Drag Is Out At Most Holy Redeemer

For the past few years, the Castro Country Club, a San Francisco gay recovery group, has been holding its annual fall fund raiser in the social hall of the Castro's Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Entertainment was provided by local drag queens. This year, however, that will not be happening because the church has a new, No Drag Queens policy.

The Castro Country Club directors released a statement: "[We] had planned to hold our third annual Harvest Feast on October 20, 2012, at Most Holy Redeemer Church, where we have held this and other events in the past....In previous years, we have had Ivy Drip and Heklina, both well-known entertainers and community fundraisers, serve as emcees of the event, and we felt we could not in good conscience abide by the church's new policy. It is our organization's policy to be inclusive and welcoming to all. Drag queens are no exception. We are currently seeking an alternative venue for the Harvest Feast, which provides an important source of revenue for our annual budget."

Most Holy Redeemer's new pastor, the Reverend Brian Costello, confirmed that drag queen performers and emcees are no longer permitted to participate in events at the church. He says he told the CCC, "That is not going to work under the present circumstances....I said work with me. You can still have the dinner. You can have a regular emcee, but not drag queens on church property."

And this new rule, while enforced by the new pastor at Most Holy Redeemer, actually comes straight from the archdiocese. The new policy was greeted with charges of discrimination, homophobia, and calls for compromise, even reconciliation.

"It's really ridiculous and discriminatory. I mean it's like, who's next?" says Zachary Davenport, for whom the ban is personal. In his drag persona as Laybelline, he has served as emcee for many sobriety-related events held at the church. "What constitutes drag? If we want to get funny, let's talk about the priests. Hello."

Dignity San Francisco offered its take on the new policy at Most Holy Redeemer, and, as Ernest Camisa, treasurer for the Dignity/SF chapter, says, "It looks like the Archdiocese of San Francisco wants to protect its image by not condoning cross-dressers. By doing so they show that they care more for their image than they do for gay people trying to overcome alcohol addiction. Here the church looks like it values its own image more than it does human life. This is not Christian, but callous."

But, callous is what the Catholic Church does best, even in The Castro.

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