The Sodom And Gomorrah Mass
"Presided" over by the Archbishop of San Francisco himself

From the California Catholic Daily;

"Queer nuns” get Communion
Men in drag dressed as nuns receive Blessed Sacrament from the archbishop himself at San Francisco parish

Archbishop George Niederauer gave Holy Communion to two men dressed in drag as nuns during an Oct. 7 visit to Most Holy Redeemer parish in San Francisco, witnesses who attended the Mass told California Catholic Daily.

Photos of the archbishop’s visit were taken by a member of the St. Joseph’s Men Society, and have been disseminated across the Internet. (California Catholic Daily publishes today with this story three of the photos, and hopes in the next few days to have links to video and audio tapes of the Mass.)

The men dressed in drag as nuns were apparently members of a group that calls itself the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who say they are “the leading-edge order of queer nuns,” and whose official slogan is “go forth and sin some more.”

Until late October 2006, the group had leased Most Holy Redeemer church’s Ellard Hall for a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS programs, but the San Francisco archdiocese abruptly cancelled the group’s lease two days before a scheduled November event.

Archbishop Niederauer also gave the homily at the Oct. 7 Mass, a homily one witness called “generic and non-descript.” Said the witness, “He could have used the occasion to preach to them, but he didn’t.”

Most Holy Redeemer and its pastor, Father Stephen Meriwether, have long been known for their friendliness to the homosexual population of the Castro district, where the church is located. The parish, says its website, “prides itself in being an inclusive Catholic community -- embracing all people of good faith... regardless of their background, gender, race, social status or sexual orientation.”

Parish members, wearing Most Holy Redeemer T-shirts and bearing a parish sign, have over the years participated in San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade; the parish website features pictures of the 2006 parade, one showing two men about to kiss. On the day of the archbishop’s visit, the parish had a booth at the Castro Street Fair, a major homosexual event in San Francisco.

The web site of Holy Redeemer parish published more than 140 photos of Archbishop Niederauer’s visit to the parish, but none of them shows the “queer nuns.”

“Thank you, Archbishop Niederauer, for your visit to MHR Parish! We appreciate your kind words and pastoral concern,” says the parish web site.