Well, shucks. Under pressure from the archdiocese, the new pastor at gay-friendly but nevertheless Catholic Most Holy Redeemer Church in the Castro has banned all forms of drag on the premises. The church already had a ban, dating back to 2006, on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who used to host their bingo nights there until it caught some flack from conservative Catholics and parishioners. But now, as the BAR reports, pastor Rev. Brian Costello has stated that there will be no drag queens on the premises, even in non-nun drag, which has prompted the Castro Country Club, a substance-abuse-recovery organization, to cancel their drag-hosted fall fundraiser at the church.

Costello replaces former pastor, Rev. Steve Meriwether, and he says he was told in no uncertain terms by the archdiocese 'No drag queens' on church property.

Meriwether had a history of being more liberal about the drag thing, and the church got into some hot water and grabbed national headlines in 2007 when former Archbishop George Niederauer gave communion during Sunday mass to two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The incident enraged conservative Catholics.

Then, just this past December, three gay-friendly clergy who were invited to speak during a series of pre-Christmas evening services had to be disinvited at the insistence of the archdiocese, after a conservative Catholic newspaper from San Diego called them to task.

[BAR]