In the spring of 1981, a concert at St. Ignatius Church became one of the chorus’s first public fights.
A signed contract, then a cancellation
The chorus had contracted with the Jesuits of the University of San Francisco the previous October to perform at St. Ignatius, the 2,500-seat church on the hill, on April 25, 1981. The program was to include the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. In March, Archbishop John Quinn objected. An archdiocese spokesman, the Rev. Miles Riley, told the Sunday paper the archbishop feared the concert might suggest the Catholic Church approved of homosexual activity.
The Rev. Lois Powell of First Congregational Church wrote to the archbishop in protest, and the chorus sang at her church on Good Friday. She called the chorus an outstanding musical organization.
In court
On April 16, Superior Court Judge Ira Brown denied the chorus’s request to force the Jesuits to hold the concert, the Chronicle reported on its front page. Chorus attorney Don Knutson argued the cancellation broke a contract and said the chorus would sue for damages, estimating losses of at least $4,000. The Jesuits’ lawyer conceded that the priest in charge had signed a contract, calling it an error in judgment.
A new venue, and pickets on Easter
The concert moved to Trinity Episcopal Church on Bush Street, where the chorus had already booked April 24. Both nights featured Brahms, Bruckner, Liszt and Randall Thompson. On Easter Sunday, about 70 demonstrators quietly picketed St. Mary’s Cathedral while Quinn celebrated Mass.
“Gosh, we just want to sing, you guys!”
— picket sign at St. Mary’s Cathedral, as reported by the Chronicle
The chorus later won a $5,000 settlement. But in 1983 the Chronicle noted that Quinn still barred the chorus from performing inside Catholic churches. It took until 2018 for St. Ignatius to invite the chorus back.
Read about our 2018 return to St. Ignatius
From the archives: this post retells reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner and the Bay Area Reporter. The original articles survive only in newspaper archives, so we have told the story here in our own words. Details attributed to those outlets are their reporting; see the sources below.
Sources
- San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle, “Minister deplores dropping of gay men’s concert”, April 12, 1981. sfchronicle.com
- San Francisco Chronicle, “S.F. Gay Chorus Loses Court Plea for Concert” by William Carlsen, April 17, 1981. sfchronicle.com
- San Francisco Chronicle, “Gay Chorus Finds Another Church”, April 18, 1981. sfchronicle.com
- San Francisco Chronicle, “Gay Pickets at St. Mary’s: Protest of Canceled Concert” by Erica Goode, April 20, 1981. sfchronicle.com
- San Francisco Chronicle, “S.F. Gay Group Opposes Church Policy on Celibacy” by Katy Butler, June 29, 1983. sfchronicle.com
- Bay Area Reporter, “1981 in review” by Wendell Ricketts, April 4, 1996. ebar.com
