On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers reversed course on a previous revocation of an invite to the anti-Catholic hate group that mocks Catholic nuns, dubbed the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.” The team has now reinvited the extremist group.
The “LGBTQQ+” group decried the Dodgers’ initial reneging by claiming, “The Sisters are not anti-Catholic, but an organization based on love, acceptance, and celebrating human diversity.… Yet, the LGBTQQ++ communities are consistently targeted by the right, because it is easier to foment fear of the unfamiliar than to take a hard look at very real threats ranging from gun violence to global warming.”
The Dodgers, in their latest statement, wrote, “After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and generous discussions with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families.”
The hate group wrote in response, “A full apology and explanation was given to us by the Dodgers staff which we accept. We believe the apology is sincere because the Dodgers have worked for 10 years with our community and as well they have asked us to continue an ongoing relationship with them. In the future, if similar pressures from outside our community arise, our two organizations will consult and assist each other in responding, alongside our colleagues at the Los Angeles LGBT Center and others from the LGBTQIA2S community, now more closely tied with the LA Dodgers than ever before.”
Once the baseball team reversed course, Catholics and other people of faith responded with fury.
The group Catholic Vote wrote on Twitter, “The @Dodgers have reversed their decision and will now celebrate “go and sin some more” anti-Catholic bigotry. This is a slap in the face of every Catholic.”
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange wrote regarding the Anaheim, California mayor inviting the hate group to Angels Stadium, “The decision to openly embrace a group whose demeaning behavior is anti-Catholic and anti-Christian is misguided and disrespectful to the sisters of the Catholic Church who minister in Orange County and selflessly dedicate their lives to God’s underserved people. We cannot condone any actions that have historically shown such high levels of disregard for the sincerely held beliefs of the faithful.”
Former Trump White House senior advisor Stephen Miller wrote, “This would be a great time for the many Catholic players on the @Dodgers and across the @MLB to make their voices heard about your public embrace of anti-Catholic bigotry.”
When asked by Catholic Vote about the mockery of religious life, Sr. Louis Marie, O.P., the current novice mistress of The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, responded, “Any denigration of the religious life is an attack on the Church, whom religious represent as brides of Christ. Any time we denigrate religious life we denigrate the church, and her beauty.”
I very much appreciate that the “Sisters” are called out as a hate group. Such mockery can only be fueled by hate for the church.