The national drag group uses Catholic religious imagery and themes in protests and sexualized performances to raise awareness and money for LGBTQ+ causes. The performers call themselves nuns and regularly use the images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and women religious.
The Dodgers will be honoring the L.A. chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a “Community Hero Award” before the June 16 game against the San Francisco Giants.
The archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, condemned the Dodgers’ decision to give the group an award, saying: “Our Catholic sisters devote themselves to serving others selflessly. Decent people would not mock & blaspheme them. So we now know what gods the Dodger admin worships. Open desecration & anti-Catholicism is not disqualifying. Disappointing but not surprising.”
After initially receiving backlash over the announcement, the Dodgers disinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, only to reinvite them — this time with an apology — days later.
In response, Bishop Robert Barron of the Winona-Rochester Diocese called for a boycott against the Dodgers.
“Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice in America, and we shouldn’t tolerate it,” Barron said in a tweet. “I’m a big baseball fan. I’ve even thrown out the first pitch at a Dodgers game. But I’d encourage my friends in L.A. to boycott the Dodgers. Let’s not just pray, but make our voices heard in defense of our Catholic faith.”
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In an official statement released May 24, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles condemned the Dodgers’ decision “to honor a group that clearly mocks the Catholic faith and makes light of the sincere and holy vocations of our women religious who are an integral part of our Church is what has caused disappointment, concern, anger, and dismay from our Catholic community.”
Adrian Alarcon, director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, told CNA that Dodgers’ faith and family day announcement has not changed their position.
In the archdiocese’s statement last week, they called on “all Catholics and people of goodwill to stand against bigotry and hate in any form and to stand for respect for one another and for the religious beliefs of our communities of faith.”
As of today, Alarcon said: “Our position is the same.”
Liz Wheeler, a conservative political commentator and Catholic, responded to the Dodgers’ faith and family announcement tweet, saying: “How dare you try to pander to Christians because you need us as consumers while at the same time you HONOR an anti-Christian hate group that blasphemes Jesus with ‘Jesus and Mary striptease’ and ‘dildo dipped in drugs blessings’ & ‘semen’ filled chalices? You are grotesque.”
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CatholicVote announced on Friday that it would spend $1 million on a television, digital, and billboard ad campaign to encourage Los Angeles residents to boycott the Dodgers.
“Creating a ‘faith and family’ event does not balance the decision to honor a perverted, fake ‘nun’ group that exists to mock the Catholic religion,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch said in a press release. “The Dodgers have one path forward: apologize and stop honoring hateful anti-Catholic organizations.”