Diocese threatens legal action against theater for use of its own building over event disapproval
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - The exterior of the Kelsey Theater in Sept. 2023.
SAINT CLAIR – The Diocese of Allentown tried to exert control this week over a building it sold, and had otherwise abandoned, over its disapproval of an event to be held there, leading to its cancellation.
The Actors Guild of Schuylkill County moved into the Kelsey Theater, the former St. Peter and Paul Church in Saint Clair, a few years ago.
That church had closed in 2008 and, like several other Roman Catholic churches across northern Schuylkill County, had been abandoned and neglected by the Diocese in the years following.
The Actors Guild has been hard at work to renovate the space and bring it back to a positive community use since 2019 and those efforts were dealt a last-minute setback Thursday.
They were set to host a drag show, themed A Night At Disney on Saturday night.
“This would have been a wonderful fundraising event for us as a nonprofit group who is desperately in need of funding for a new roof, among other things,” the Actors Guild wrote in a Facebook post. “We are so very disheartened with this turn of events.”
“Please know that we will continue to support equality in the arts,” they continued.
They added that the Diocese had threatened legal action should the show be held.
While the Diocese no longer owns the property, they imposed deed restrictions on the property upon its sale which, they say, support Catholic values.
They claim in a statement to the media that “Drag shows, particularly those including minors, contradict the teachings of the Church and our understanding of the dignity the human person.”
“The Diocese of Allentown relied on the good will of the Actors Guild of Schuylkill County and the promises they undertook when taking ownership of the church property,” they wrote in a statement. “We are saddened and would have preferred a dialogue to discuss this understanding.”
“We agreed to the sale of the former church to the Actors Guild with the intention of supporting the arts and enhancing cultural enrichment in Schuylkill County,” they continued. “A nearby parish also offered the use of their own parking lot to support their events.”
Tickets would have been $10 at the door for adults, free for children 12 and under.
It was described as an “all-age drag show” in a Facebook event post created in January. Though, the Diocesan action only came Wednesday.
“Whether you’re a long-time fan or a first-timer, join us for a spectacular celebration of self-expression and talent, woven together with a little bit of Disney magic,” the actor’s guild wrote. “From fabulous costumes inspired by beloved characters to jaw-dropping performances set to your favorite Disney tunes, this show promises an unforgettable evening for all ages.”
The event was hosted by, but not organized by, the guild and the show did not include nudity.
Following the cancellation, the guild said they were “saddened by the intolerance of others in the community and the slander that we have been enduring.”
While the Diocese threatened legal action citing Catholic values, it does not have a track record in using its inactive structures or land holdings in a community-oriented manner.
In Shenandoah, St. Stanislaus Church has sat vacant and largely abandoned since the Diocese forced the consolidation of Shenandoah’s Roman Catholic parishes in 2014. St. Stephen’s suffered the same fate until it was sold within the past few years, but it appears to remain vacant. Stained glass from those churches was taken and sold out of the area.
Several years prior, the Diocese demolished the first Lithuanian Catholic church in the United States, St. George’s, a focal point of the Shenandoah skyline, years after it had become aware of structural issues and failed to take action. That action came in defiance of overwhelming local and national outcries and a legal battle to save the historic structure.
Diocese-owned playgrounds in Shenandoah and Mahanoy City are also largely abandoned and in disrepair.
In Girardville, an entire Catholic cemetery, left behind by the Diocese, had been overtaken by woodlands when a community effort unrelated to the church began to clean it up.
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