In July, a group of Catholics in Sydney, Australia successfully defended the faith as an LGBT club was told to stop “carrying on offensive trade” or face eviction.
The club put on an event called “Sunday Mess — An Unholy Brunch Party: The Resurrection” in an old Catholic church. The church was deconsecrated in 1932 and has been a theater since, but within the past year re-opened as an “LGBTQ+ inclusive arts space, opening on 8 July with a year-long permit” called the “Unholy Playhouse.” The group at some point changed the name to “Divine Playhouse,” but a series of rosary rallies carried out by local Catholics resulted in the club closing the venue at least temporarily.
Catholics for Catholics spoke with community leader Liam Aquilina who played a significant role in organizing the rallies.
After a member from a neighboring parish contacted him and sent him information about the Unholy Playhouse, Aquilina said he was “naturally disgusted” by the mockery of the Catholic faith. It was not just the fact that the event took place in an old Catholic church that disturbed local Catholics so much as “the use of Catholic statues, themes and imagery.” Aquilina said that the event “clearly targeted” Catholics.
In his research of the club, he discovered that it had received a $100,000 grant from the New South Wales government intended to support artists. “This was a nightclub and contained no art worthy of government funding,” Aquilina said. “I was asked if I could get the word out through my social media presence, as they were already planning to pray outside the venue. I made a video in support and called for people to come and pray outside on the 8th of July. They were expecting 15 people, but we ended up having 200 on the first night.”
During the first rally on the 8th, the group sang Latin hymns and prayed the rosary. There were no counterprotesters, but a group of “fake nuns” filmed them from the other side of the road.
A second rally was planned for July 17. By this point, several other Sydney-based Catholic influencers had caught wind of the story and used their platforms to promote the next prayer rally. Many parishes were involved in this second event, and Aquilina himself received backlash from pro-LGBT advocates online. “Some comments mocked our faith, told us that our God wasn’t real and, naturally, called us homophobic, even though we had never mentioned anything regarding their agenda. The news also portrayed us as homophobic and did not bring attention to any of the mockery directed towards our faith.”
By the time the second rally occurred on July 17, the venue had actually already been shut down. Even still, the event received well over 1,000 attendees. Somewhere in that timeframe, the LGBT club had changed the name from “Unholy Playhouse” to “Divine Playhouse” and its Instagram posts targeting local Catholics had been taken down.
“The Divine Playhouse’s defence was that it was reclaiming religious trauma from the Church,” Aquilina explained. “I, of course, do not support anyone being kicked out of the Church due to their sexuality, but we all have a duty to deny our sinful desires, no matter what they may be.”
“This rally was more of a celebration and an opportunity to pray for the souls involved,” he continued. ”Once again, we sang Latin hymns and prayed the Rosary, along with the Litany of the Saints.”
While there are no further rallies currently planned, Aquilina is hopeful about the Catholic community in and around Sydney. “Not only did we succeed in standing against the mockery of our faith, but many great friendships were formed that night.”
“In Australia, particularly Sydney, I believe we are very fortunate. There are churches everywhere that are thriving with young people,” he said. “Traditional Catholics have access to multiple Latin Masses, while Eastern Catholics form a growing presence within the Sydney Catholic scene. I believe we are witnessing growth within Catholicism in Australia, and the rallies we held were a testament to the power of social media and the power of unity under God.”
“We will continue to stand up for our Lord, just as He hung upon the Cross for us. It is the least we can do,” Aquilina concluded.
Videos of the prayer rallies can be viewed on his Instagram page.
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