Well, that didn't take long.
When Salvatore Cordileone took over as the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, academics I interviewed said he might pressure churches that welcome lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. They noted that he has campaigned actively against same-sex marriage.
That was July 27. Now, reports are surfacing that Most Holy Redeemer, a Catholic church in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, is falling in line with Cordileone's views -- reports that the archdiocese denies.
According to a report on Thursday by The Bay Area Reporter, the church has told the Castro Country Club it can't hold fundraisers on the premises if it continues inviting drag queens as entertainment. The newspaper interviewed Reverend Brian Costello:
"I am the new pastor," Costello added. "There is a new archbishop. The archdiocese told me straight out, 'No drag queens.'"
Also on Thursday, the church told the San Francisco Gay Softball League it can't hold its annual SwitchHitter's Ball fundraiser there, according to KTVU TV. From the report:
The church's business manager Mike Poma told KTVU some events held there have gotten out of hand, which include simulated sex acts and nudity.
"A review of drag queens and boys in their underwear … This is a church first and foremost. This is sacred to a lot of people," Poma said. "To have that type of stuff going on, this (bothers) a lot of people."
Update at 2:41 p.m: Returning my call, archdiocese spokesperson George Wesolek told me the church did not ban cross-dressing, it simply closed its facilities to groups not affiliated with the church. The change took place about two months ago and it had nothing to do with the appointment of the new archbishop, who doesn't take office until Oct. 4, Wesolek said. He added that many parishes have similar policies for many reasons.