The Catholic chaplaincy in the Diocese of St. Gallen sponsored a drag show earlier this month, according to a report in the Catholic Herald.
On Sept. 18, drag queens Lupa Nova and Amelie Putain (below) performed at St. Gallen’s Grabenhalle concert in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Titled ‘Deep Drag,’ the event was organized by Ann-Katrin Gässlein, a theologian and scholar who is part of the city pastoral care team and head of Culture and Formation at St. Gallen Catholic church.
The since-deleted promo material reveals that the event combines “drag art with social, spiritual, and cultural issues” and seeks to create “an open space for performance, conversation, and shared reflection on what moves people, without distinction of age, origin, or lifestyle.”
According to InfoVaticana:
A diocesan worker will interview the two artists and relay questions previously sent by the public. The performances include cross-dressing, suggestive dances, and revealing costumes, as the Herald describes.
Admission is free, but donations will be collected during the evening for HAVEN99, an organization that provides housing for transgender youth in “a shared queer and supportive apartment” when “they feel uncomfortable or unsafe in their private lives.” The pastoral’s website expressly invites donations, and the promotional poster includes a QR code to facilitate them.
Both performers have publicly stated that their goal is to change the public’s perspective in favor of LGBT claims.
In response to criticism of the event, Gässlein said Bishop Beat Grögli had been “informed about the event in the spirit of transparent communication” and that it wasn’t spontaneous but had been in planning for months.
