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Catholic Church unhappy with Heaps Gay concert
The Catholic Bishop of Sydney says the City of Sydney council showed “little sensitivity” to people of faith by promoting and hosting a Live N’ Queer concert by Heaps Gay on the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral but the council says they consulted the church and no objections were made.
The “chaotic queer variety show” featuring some of the “loudest and queerest acts to come out of 2020” is set to be staged this weekend as part of the pop-up outdoor concert series Sunset Piazza running from January 28 to March 21.
Heaps Gay Loud N’ Queer TV are due to perform on the weekend despite objections from some Catholics.
The Summer in the City program, funded by the NSW Government in association with the City of Sydney, promotes and helps stage live performances spanning pop, cabaret, comedy, hip-hop, indie rock and opera at Cathedral Square, which is in front of St Mary’s Cathedral and opposite Hyde Park.
The Heaps Gay show was promoted using the distinctive Cathedral spires which Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP objected to on Facebook.
“It is frustrating and upsetting that St Mary’s Cathedral, the mother church of Australia, has been used so provocatively to promote this event and such little sensitivity shown to people of faith.”
Church followers quickly launched a petition against it.
But late on Wednesday night, the council requested all performance groups use the official Sunset Piazza logo “to avoid any confusion”.
“The image of the cathedral to promote this Sunset Piazza event has been removed,” a council spokeswoman said.
“Senior members of the church have recently told the City they had no objection to the Heaps Gay event going ahead.”
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore with Australian jazz legend James Morrison at the launch of Sunset Piazza, Cathedral Square. Credit: Louise Kennerley
Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore said Sydney was an inclusive place that celebrated and welcomed diversity.
“There is no place for hate, intolerance or the sowing of division,” Cr Moore said. “As we seek to revitalise the city centre and recover from the impact of the pandemic, we will continue to host inclusive, accessible and safe events.”
On Friday, the rainbow flag will be raised over Town Hall to mark the beginning of this year’s Mardi Gras festival.
The Sunset Piazza space is on public land with “inclusive and accessible events providing equitable opportunities for people who live, work and visit the City of Sydney,” she said.
The office of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said it was “upset that St Mary’s Cathedral, the mother church of Australia, had been used so provocatively to promote this event and such little sensitivity had been shown to people of faith”.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated the cathedral image appeared on a City of Sydney website, this was not the case.