Catholic bishops in the United States are calling for prayers and acts of reparation ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ “Pride Night” featuring an anti-Catholic group of drag performers posing as religious sisters.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who is the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services; New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan; and Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles called on Catholics to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart in honor of the June 16 Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
That feast day will take place the same night as the Dodgers’ Pride Night this year. Last year, the Feast of the Sacred Heart occurred on June 24, the same historic day that Roe v. Wade was overturned.
The bishops also called on Catholics to make an act of reparation, which is an act that an individual would “offer to the Lord with the intention of repairing the spiritual damage inflicted by sin.”
The Dodgers had initially backed out of their invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to attend the team’s “Pride Night” after strong backlash from religious groups. But the baseball team then apologized to the “sisters” and asked them to “take their place on the field at our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night.”
The leftist group of performers said in a statement on its website that the Dodgers gave it a “full apology and explanation,” concluding its statement with yet another poke at the Catholic Church: “May the games be blessed!”
“Catholic Christians traditionally recognize June as the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” the bishops said in a statement. “During this time, we call to mind Christ’s love for us, which is visible in a special way in the image of His pierced heart, and we pray that our own hearts might be conformed to His, calling us to love and respect all His people.”
“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,” the statement continued. “This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy.”
The bishops expressed gratitude that “so many faithful Catholics and others of good will” have stood up to say that it is wrong to honor the faux “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”
“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,” the bishops said.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence describe their group as “a leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns,” and though the group claims that it is not anti-Catholic, the tagline on its website states: “Go forth and sin some more,” apparently mocking Jesus Christ’s words to a woman caught in adultery.
Catholic sisters or nuns are women who pledge their lives to God, making vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These women devote their time to prayer and service and are highly revered in many communities.
Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams became the first Major League Baseball player to publicly condemn the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence when he spoke out against the Dodgers’ invitation to the group in May. Catholics and Christians have widely applauded and celebrated his remarks.
“As a devout Catholic, I am deeply troubled by the Dodgers’ decision to re-invite and honor the group ‘The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ at their Pride Night this year,” Williams said.
“A Major League Baseball game is a place where people from all walks of life should feel welcomed, something I greatly respect and support,” he said. “This is the purpose of different themed nights hosted by the organization, including Pride Night.”
“To invite and honor a group that makes a blatant and deeply offensive mockery of my religion, and the religion of over 4 million people in Los Angeles County alone, undermines the values of respect and inclusivity that should be upheld by any organization,” Williams added.
Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen also reportedly asked Christian singer Sean Feucht to post a statement he wrote expressing disappointment in the Dodgers as well and slamming the performances of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as “blasphemous.”
“I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I believe the word of God is true, and in Galatians 6:7 it says, ‘Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked; a man reaps what he sows.’ This group openly mocks Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of my faith, and I want to make it clear that I do not agree with nor support the decision of the Dodger’s [sic] to ‘honor’ the Sister’s [sic] of Perpetual Indulgence,” Treinen wrote.
The Dodgers have not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Signal.
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