In photo left, self-proclaimed homophobe and City Council gadfly Jack Finger in white cowboy hat. In photo right, at center, Edmundo Vargas of the Defenders of the Magisterium, an ultraconservative Catholic group.
Protestors from DANSA unfurled a red banner that read Transphobia Homophoia Kills. Members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property had tall red banners.
Many protestors brought children.
Cesar Franco, leader of American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property lead the protestors in prayer. The woman in the the pink shirt in the photo at right squirted the GLBT people in the crowd with holy water.
QSanAntonio.com, June 18, 2011
About 65 Catholic extremists organized by the Archdiocese of San Antonio descended upon the San Pedro Playhouse on June 17 to protest the opening of Terrence McNally’s play ‘Corpus Christi’ which portrays Jesus and the apostles as gay men.
With rosaries, crucifixes and other religious ephemera in hand, the group prayed several rosaries and sang hymns and shouted “Viva Christo.” Some fell to their knees while praying. In a scene that was reminiscent of protests by the Westboro Baptist Church, there were about a dozen children holding protest placards.
One woman who was with the group told QSanAntonio that the protest had been organized by the Archdiocese which had sent out letters to all the Catholic Churches in San Antonio urging people to attend.
Members of the San Antonio Community of Congregations, representing the largest religious organizations in the city, held a press conference in Main Plaza on May 17 to denounce the production. At that press conference Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio Oscar Cantu called the play “vulgar.”
Among those in the crowd were familiar faces including professed homophobe and City Council gadfly Jack Finger, and Edmundo Vargas of the Defenders of the Magisterium, an ultraconservative Catholic group that has been circulating petitions condemning the play.
In attendance also was a Catholic group from Houston, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property whose leader, Cesar Franco, led to protesters in praying the rosary. Franco’s group, which was composed of men only, had bright red banners and each man wore a dark suit and a bright red stole.
According to their web site, “The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) is an organization of lay Catholic Americans concerned about the moral crisis shaking the remnants of Christian civilization. . . The TFP was born from the idea of a Counterrevolution, a reaction that would embrace every field of of human activity, but especially art, ideas and culture.”
Catholic protestors were in for a surprise when members of the Direct Action Network of San Antonio, a GLBT protest group, infiltrated the prayer group and unfurled a banner which read, “Transphobia and Homophobia Kills,” then began shouting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia’s got to go!”
The Catholic group did not know how to react especially when DANSA members actually joined in the prayers. One woman reacted to the DANSA group by squirting holy water on the gay protestors and at the QSanAntonio reporter.
Some people in the Catholic group tried to initiate arguments with some of the gay people but the scene was by and large peaceful. The protest began around 6:45 p.m. and ended around 8:45. After the prayers ended an announcement was made that protests were being organized for every night of the play’s run.
The press conference consisted of Bishop Cantu reading a statement sent to the San Pedro Playhouse by the Community of Congregations. However, prior to reading the statement, the bishop said that “art must not only imitate life it must elevate it.” “Corpus Christi,” he added, “is just vulgar.”
“It would be easy, but inaccurate, to dispose our concerns as a homophobic response to the depiction of Jesus as a homosexual leading a band of homosexual apostles. While many may find this characterization troubling, we feel that the crude portrayal of the homosexual men is this play is at best, as exaggerated caricature that is insensitive also to our gay and lesbian community,” reads the statement.
Rev. Ziese, pastor of MacArthur Lutheran Church, told QSanAntonio that five members of the Community of Congregations had met with the artistic director and board president of the San Pedro Playhouse. The group decided to make their complaint public only after theater officials said they had no plans to cancel the play.
Auxilliary Bishop Cantu being interviewed by Valerie Fitzgerrald, a reporter from La Prensa. Rabbi Ayreh Scheinberg of Rodefi Shalom Synagogue.
After Bishop Cantu read the statement, reporters were allowed to ask questions. One reporter asked if going to the play was a sin, would he have to confess it? Cantu said it was between God and the sinner.
When asked how many of the religious leaders who signed the statement had actually read the play, only about half of the hands went up.
QSanAntonio asked if religious leaders were concerned that speaking out against a gay play would create a backlash against gays in the city. Rev. Ziese replied that on the contrary, it is the play which will create the backlash
Abe Levy, religion writer for the San Antonio Express-News, Edmundo Vargas of the ultraconservative Defenders of the Magesterium and losing mayoral candidate Rhett H. Smith stand on the sidelines as Bishop Cantu reads a statement sent to the San Pedro Playhouse.
Among those at the press conference were some “fringe element” types like Edmundo Vargas of the Defenders of the Magisterium, an ultraconservative Catholic group that is circulating a petition against the play in local parishes. Vargas was distributing a flyer titled, “Corpus Christi is Hate Speech” on Catholic League stationary.
The flyer read in part: “The basic message of ‘Corpus Christi’ is this: Jesus was no more divine that the rest of us and the reason why he was crucified was because he approved of homosexuality. That is why he is branded King of the Queers.”
Also on hand was losing mayoral candidate Rhett H. Smith who told QSanAntonio that he thought the play was a direct slap to the Catholic Church.
The mood of the press conference was best summed up by Vargas who arrogantly told QSanAntonio, “We have Catholic beliefs and we know that we are right.”