The Los Angeles Dodgers announced the return of “Christian Faith and Family Day” — following uproar over an upcoming Pride Night event featuring a radical group of “queer and trans nuns.”
Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw publicized the faith-themed July 30 event on Twitter Friday, 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+ causes — to its Pride Night on June 16.
The Dodgers had initially intended to recognize the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a “Community Hero Award,” but rescinded the invite on May 17 after Catholic organizations called out the troupe as a “blatantly perverted, sexual and disgusting anti-Catholic hate group.”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 now 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 on May 22.
“We have asked the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to take their place on the field at our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night on June 16th. We are pleased to share that they have agreed to receive the gratitude of our collective communities for the lifesaving work that they have done tirelessly for decades,” it said in a statement.
“In the weeks ahead, we will continue to work with our LGBTQ+ partners to better educate ourselves, find ways to strengthen the ties that bind and use our platform to support all of our fans who make up the diversity of the Dodgers family.”
Sister Unity, founding member of the Sisters of Indulgence, told the Los Angeles Times that they were “happy to receive” the invitation again.
“Our community is concerned with performative allyship, but we believe this is very sincere,” Sister Unity said.
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 another PR stunt.
CatholicVote President Brian Burch alleged the Sisters of Indulgence was “engaged in some of the most detestable and vile behavior.”
“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 said in a statement. “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.”
Kershaw, in his announcement, said more information would be forthcoming about the Christian event, which is set to take place during a game between the Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.
“Excited to announce the relaunch of Christian Faith and Family Day at Dodger Stadium on July 30th,” he wrote on Twitter. “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!”
