The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to undo the damage caused by honoring an anti-Christian group by announcing the return of Christian Faith and Family Day. Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw publicized the faith-themed July 30 event on Twitter, saying it would be “bigger and better than it was before COVID.”
The announcement came after controversy over the team’s decision to invite, then uninvite and then re-invite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag group that raises money for LGBTQ+ activist efforts, to its Pride Night on June 16. The Dodgers initially had intended to recognize the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a “Community Hero Award” but rescinded the invitation after Catholic organizations called out the troupe as a “blatantly perverted, sexual and disgusting anti-Catholic hate group.”
Religious groups urged followers to flood the team’s phone lines with messages of outrage, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was among those who sent a formal complaint to Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred over the inclusion of the “nuns.” The Dodgers then announced its change of heart — saying it was uninviting the group — only to flip-flop again after that decision sparked backlash from LGBTQ+ organizations, including LA Pride, which said it would not be participating in the 10th annual Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. The team caved, apologized and re-invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
CatholicVote, one of the country’s largest Catholic advocacy organizations, called the Dodgers’ latest announcement to relaunch “Christian Faith and Family Day” a “Band-Aid” and a PR stunt.
“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,” President Brian Burch said. “In many ways, it emphasizes the contrast and makes our case even stronger. It’s hard to interpret this announcement as anything other than a public relations stunt intended to blunt the widespread national backlash that is only growing stronger. The Dodgers have one path forward: apologize and stop honoring hateful anti-Catholic organizations.”
–Alan Goforth
