Criticism and Opposition
Mardi Gras has consistently attracted opposition from a variety of religious and political groups. Some argue Mardi Gras is inherently subversive to traditional Christian values. Each year the event is held, Fred Nile, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a former minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, leads a prayer for rain on the event.
Criticism of the Sydney Mardi Gras was perhaps at its strongest during the early years of the AIDS crisis, and flared again when in 1994 the national broadcaster, ABC, telecast the parade for the first time. Triple J radio has broadcast the event live across the nation a number of times as well.
In January 2008, Robert Forsyth, Anglican bishop of South Sydney condemned Corpus Christi, which opened for Mardi Gras, because it depicted Judas seducing a gay Jesus as well as Jesus' administration of gay marriage between two apostles. Director Leigh Rowney accepted that it would generate discussion on Homosexuality and Christianity stating: "I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system." Playwright Terrence McNally, a gay man, received death threats when it was played in the United States.
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