The Los Angeles Dodgers have nixed plans to honor a radical group of “queer and trans nuns” at their upcoming Pride Night — following uproar over the allegedly “blatantly perverted, sexual and disgusting anti-Catholic hate group.”
The baseball team announced earlier this month that it was honoring the local chapter of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with its annual Community Hero Award next month.
The “nuns” — who have names like Sister T’aint A Virgin, Sister Porn Again and Sister Holly Lewya — were being awarded for supposedly “promoting human rights and respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment.”
On Wednesday, the Dodgers announced they had had a change of heart.
“We are now aware that our inclusion of one group in particular — The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — in this year’s Pride Night has been the source of some controversy,” the squad said in a tweet. “Given the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night, we are deciding to remove them from this year’s group of honorees.”
The team’s initial plans quickly sparked official complaints from Catholics — including calls to flood the Dodgers’ phone lines with messages of outrage.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was among those who sent formal complaints to the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Robert Manfred.
“I write to ask … why you are allowing an MLB team to honor a group that mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith,” the Republican wrote.
“The ‘sisters’ are men who dress in lewd imitation of Roman Catholic nuns. The group’s motto, ‘go and sin some more,’ is a perversion of Jesus’s command to ‘go, and sin no more,'” he noted.
Rubio said that “baseball has always been tied to our nation’s values” — calling it “an outrage and a tragedy if the MLB, in pursuit of modern, secular, and indeed anti-religious ‘values,’ rebuked that faith and the millions of believing fans who cherish the sport.”
After the Wednesday’s change of plans, Rubio tweeted, “For once, common sense prevailed in California.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue also wrote to Manfred “about this unprovoked assault on Catholics.”
“Don’t believe the lie that the ‘Sisters’ mean no harm,” he said, accusing the Dodgers of “rewarding hate speech.”
Donohue later issued a statement cheering Manfred and the Dodgers for “doing the right thing” in canceling the sisters’ portion of the events.
“Justice was done in the end,” he said. “There is no room for anti-Catholic bigotry in any gay or trans celebratory event.”
Brian Burch, president of the advocacy group CatholicVote, also wrote to the head of MLB, saying that the “vile and diabolical actions” of the group being honored “go far beyond parody or satire – they are blasphemous and deeply offensive to Christians everywhere.”
“Make no mistake: the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a hate group.
“If the Dodgers are truly committed to fighting bigotry and promoting inclusivity, as you have often claimed, you must cancel this award,” he wrote.
CatholicVote also shared the Dodgers’ main admin number, asking “every baseball fan in America” to call and demand the award be scrapped.
“The Dodgers’ choice to honor a blatantly perverted, sexual and disgusting anti-Catholic hate group signals an alarming and dangerous normalization of anti-Catholic bigotry that should not be tolerated,” Burch told Fox News.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday. The group started in 1979 and describes itself as “a leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns.”
“We believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty,” the group says on its website.
“We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”
In the initial release about the award on Pride Night on June 16, senior VP of marketing Erik Braverman said the team was “thrilled … for an unforgettable celebration that shines a spotlight on the strength and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community.”
“The Dodgers have always championed diversity and inclusion as core values, and we’re honored to showcase our dedication to fostering an inclusive environment both on and off the field,” he said.
