A leading national Catholic advocacy group has responded further to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ announcement that the organization will move ahead with honoring an anti-Catholic hate group of self-described “queer and trans nuns” during its “pride night” game event in June.
Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote told Fox & Friends Weekend Sunday the Dodgers “have decided to honor and celebrate a detestable, vile, and perverse anti-Catholic organization.”
In addition to urging a boycott of the Dodgers – beyond the 2023 season – Burch said his organization is raising money “to launch a $1 million campaign, starting this week, on all LA Dodgers-related media, billboards, Spanish radio, any place that we can alert, Catholics, Christians, anyone who finds this organization vile and detestable and wants to tell the Dodgers to please respect Christians.”
“There’s no need to engage in anti-Catholic mockery as a part of some pride event,” Burch emphasized.
Catholic Vote president explains why the group is calling for the boycott of the Los Angeles Dodgers: "There's no need to engage in anti-Catholic mockery." pic.twitter.com/J3kn1X7yWP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 28, 2023
CatholicVote, which has kept a “violence tracker” of the more than 300 attacks on Catholic churches in the United States since May 2020, has also detailed some of the events the Sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence have staged, including “’blessing’ each other with sex toys;” holding “condom savior masses;” and “men pole-dancing on a cross – some posing as Jesus Christ, others pretending to sexually molest our Lord.”
“And they do all this and more in full view of children,” CatholicVote states.
Catholic advocacy group calls for LA Dodgers boycott after franchise supports anti-Christian LGBTQ+ group | Fox News Video https://t.co/1gt9Id9RFW
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) May 28, 2023
The Dodgers had initially invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to be honored at their “pride” game night event on June 16.
Following on uproar from Catholic groups, however, the Dodgers rescinded the invitation.
Nevertheless, when LGBTQ activists and their political allies became enraged at the move to pull the “sisters’” invitation, the Dodgers’ organization not only reversed its decision, and reinvited the anti-Catholic group, but also apologized for pulling the invitation in the first place.
Catholic groups, including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and some bishops, expressed outrage at the Dodgers for apologizing to, reinviting, and committing to honor the radical group whose motto is “Go and sin some more.”
The Catholic leaders condemned as well the mockery of religious sisters who dedicate their lives to serve the poor and sick.
Bishop Robert Barron of the Winona-Rochester Diocese in Minnesota, and founder of Catholic media organization Word on Fire, said the “sisters’” group “can only be described as an anti-Catholic hate group,” and urged Catholics in Los Angeles to “boycott the Dodgers.”
Friends, it’s hard to imagine anything more offensive than some of the behavior of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” which I think can only be described as an anti-Catholic hate group. pic.twitter.com/VLZP28Soab
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) May 25, 2023
As the firestorm continued, the Dodgers then announced the team will host a “Christian Faith and Family Night” on July 30, an event the team last held in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Excited to announce the relaunch of Christian Faith and Family Day at Dodger Stadium on July 30th. More details to come— but we are grateful for the opportunity to talk about Jesus and determined to make it bigger and better than it was before COVID. Hope to see you on July 30th! pic.twitter.com/yNu7HyEgR9
— Clayton Kershaw (@ClaytonKersh22) May 26, 2023
“The Dodgers’ announcement today is the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound and in no way diminishes the harm and hurt caused by their plan to honor a vile anti-Catholic organization,” CatholicVote’s Burch responded in a statement on Friday. “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.”
Burch explained that, “in many ways,” the Dodgers’ move to host the “faith and family” event “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 Catholic leader stated. “The Dodgers have one path forward: apologize and stop honoring hateful anti-Catholic organizations.”
Burch sent a letter to Dodgers’ principal owner Mark Walter, and president and CEO Stan Kasten, regarding the launch of the $1 million multi-channel ad campaign this week, the goal of which is to “urge all people of goodwill to express their opposition to your celebration of anti-Catholic bigotry and mockery.”
The letter further observed the campaign “will continue throughout the 2023 season, postseason, and beyond. You have left us with no choice.”
Burch concluded his letter stating CatholicVote was requesting another meeting with a Dodgers’ representative “so that you can better understand the extraordinary harm and hurt your decision has engendered.”
“The voices of Catholics – including clergy and religious sisters, which we would include – need to be heard,” Burch wrote. “We are hopeful you will match your rhetoric of ‘listening to everyone’ with action.”
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Susan Berry, PhD is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Dodger Stadium” by John Liu. CC BY 2.0.
