The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a long-standing group consisting of drag nuns who satirize things like sex, gender, and morality while focusing on raising money for charitable causes.
The fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers are honoring them as part of their Pride Night festivities is not sitting well with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). That group issued a statement on Monday taking the Major League Baseball team to task for honoring the group, referring to their decision as “blasphemy.”
The Dodgers initially disinvited the nuns from Pride Night following pushback from Florida Senator Marco Rubio and the Catholic League. However, after receiving strong pushback in the other direction, the organization that once stood against similar forces to bring Jackie Robinson into the league made a similar decision and reinstated them.
The Dodgers apologized to the Sisters, saying they would “better educate ourselves” and welcomed them back to receive the “Community Hero Award.”
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 22, 2023
The Bishops’ group released a statement that, as with many other critics, seemed to miss the bigger picture, calling out the decision and urging Catholics to say a special prayer on the day of the game.
Catholics Invited to Pray an Act of Reparation on Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. Read the full press release at: https://t.co/bEbS6uQhFQ pic.twitter.com/IRCx3FFFiT
— U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (@USCCB) June 12, 2023
“This year, on June 16—the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a professional baseball team has shockingly chosen to honor a group whose lewdness and vulgarity in mocking our Lord, His Mother, and consecrated women cannot be overstated,” their statement read. “This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy.”
“It has been heartening to see so many faithful Catholics and others of good will stand up to say that what this group does is wrong, and it is wrong to honor them,” it added. “We call on Catholics to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart on June 16, offering this prayer as an act of reparation for the blasphemies against our Lord we see in our culture today.”
