St. Andrew’s Church was originally meant to be announced soon as Dublin’s newest Cathedral. Instead, it will be upgraded as a basilica and it has hit the news for other, perhaps related, reasons.
A performance was due to be performed there entitled ‘Pride in the Name of Love’ by Dublin Gay Men’s Chorus.
In a statement, the church said:
St Andrew’s Parish is happy to welcome groups from all backgrounds to perform concerts in the church. However, the parish is disappointed that the nature of this event was not made clear at the time of booking. We have learned that in form and content it is being presented not as a simple choral recital but as a Pride Festival event in a context which is not compatible with our mission as a Roman Catholic Parish Church. In the circumstances the parish is unable to facilitate the performance on June 23
The spokesperson for the choir has said that this is unfair and has also criticised the pope’s enthusiastic use of the word ‘fa**ot’ in recent audiences.
The interesting thing is that Saint Andrew’s has allowed the Gloria LGBT choir to perform a concert in the church for a number of years.
They have now said that they will no longer use the venue, which no doubt makes the job of Saint Andrew’s a lot easier going forward.
Pride has become a flashpoint for targeting of churches and Catholic sites in Dublin City in recent years. Perhaps those organising the festival should be wary of that before feeling too sorry for themselves.
The 3rd Ecumenical Pride Prayer Service is set to take place at Donore Avenue Parish on June 27th. In recent years, at least one political party has been involved in its organisation. It will be interesting to see if it goes ahead as normal, though it is worth mentioning that it use the term LGBT rather than Pride. Although a number of individuals, including members of a ruling political party, took to the altar and blocked the tabernacle with a Pride flag.
In another instance, a book of the Bible was called ‘literal garbage’.
