In news that may surprise absolutely no one, Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher is once again calling on the NSW Government to pull public funding from Divine Playhouse, arguing the queer arts project is using Catholic imagery to mock and denigrate his faith.
The response from the Order of Perpetual Indulgence?
“Dearie me, are we still complaining about this?
“Though we all know Sydneysiders love a whinge, the Order of Perpetual Indulgence roll our eyes at the tiresome old gripe about funding for queer ventures.”
Fisher has launched a petition calling on NSW Arts Minister John Graham to withdraw government funding associated with Divine Playhouse and its upcoming UNHOLY / DIVINE program at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
This intervention comes after Divine Playhouse was forced out of its original home in a deconsecrated former church on Kent Street following protests from Christian groups.
But since we’re talking about taxpayer money, the Order of Perpetual Indulgence think that maybe it’s a good time to start talking about taxpayer money being funnelled into Catholic schools too.
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The Archbishop wants Divine Playhouse’s funding pulled
In July, Divine Playhouse, formerly Unholy Playhouse, was forced to close its Sydney venue after Christian groups protested its opening night.
The LGBTQIA+ arts and nightlife project had been operating from a 158-year-old former church building on Kent Street, which had been deconsecrated before becoming its home.
Following the protests, its lease was terminated and Divine Playhouse was given days to vacate the building.
Now the project is returning, with a new series of events at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
The upcoming UNHOLY / DIVINE program has prompted Fisher to launch a petition calling on NSW Arts Minister John Graham to withdraw public funding associated with Divine Playhouse.
Fisher has argued that while the Catholic Church recognises freedom of artistic expression (yep, sure), that freedom does not mean governments should financially support every form of expression.
“No believer should be expected to accept the use of their sacred beliefs as material for ridicule simply because it is presented as artistic expression,” Fisher wrote in an open letter to Graham.
The Archbishop says he takes particular issue with the project’s use of Catholic imagery, terminology and rituals, arguing that its upcoming program denigrates the Catholic faith.
The original Divine Playhouse project received a $100,000 Create NSW grant, which has become a major point of contention for its critics.
The NSW Government has said the original grant has been fully expended and is not being used for the upcoming MCA events (how interesting, it’s almost as if… it’s not about the funding at all).
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The queer nuns have a few questions
In a statement to QNews, Sr Rosacea of the Immaculate Complexion, speaking on behalf of the Order of Perpetual Indulgence, described the renewed complaints about Divine Playhouse funding as a “tiresome old gripe”.
The Order argues that if government funding should be withdrawn because a community believes it has been mocked, degraded or harmed by an artistic project, the same principle should apply to other publicly funded institutions. Including Catholic schools.
“If $100,000 for four months of queer creativity is such an outrageous use of taxpayer money, perhaps we should have a little chat about the 749 million NSW taxpayers’ dollars going into Catholic Schools,” Sr Rosacea said.
“Institutions which have taught plenty of people that their sexuality and relationships are sinful or wrong.”
“So if the new rule is that NSW government money shouldn’t fund something because a community feels mocked, degraded or harmed by it, that’s fine? Please likewise return to the coffers our $749 million.
“Think of all the fun the community could be having with that much coin…”
The Order also pushed back against the idea that Catholic imagery is exclusively the property of the Catholic Church, arguing that religious imagery can be used, reinterpreted and satirised as part of artistic expression.
“Let’s not forget the imagery used in Divine Playhouse belongs to us all, as much as the church and fellow Christians,” Sr Rosacea said.
And, naturally, the Order had one final message for the Archbishop and other critics of Divine Playhouse.
“The Catholic Church and some Evangelicals’ persecution complex is becoming quite the production and frankly, the costumes are starting to look expensive.
“As RuPaul says – get off the cross, we could use the wood!”
Some quick facts about Catholic school funding alone
The Catholic Church gets quite a bit of funding from the government. Looking at education alone, the funding each year is in the billions.
About 80% of funding distributed by Catholic Schools NSW comes from the state and federal governments. Government funding totalled about $3.8bn in 2024.
From Catholic Schools own website, $2.9 billion of that funding came from the Australian Government and $749 million from NSW Government.
Despite this, in Catholic schools, it is still legal for LGBTQIA+ staff and students to be discriminated against.
That has included cases where teachers have lost their jobs for being in a queer relationship.
But, are we surprised that the church gets away with this? Our parliament starts each sitting day with a Lord’s prayer, showing just how intertwined religion is with our government.
For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, and community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
