Thousands of people gathered outside Dodgers Stadium to protest the inclusion of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in a Pride Event celebration before Friday night’s game.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a self-described “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns” known for satirizing Christian communities. The announcement drew the condemnation of numerous Catholic groups, including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, in late May.
Organized by Catholics for Catholics, the demonstrators on Friday were seen carrying placards with messages, including “Stop Anti-Catholic Hate,” “Save Our Children,” and “Bud Light the Dodgers.”
“We’re hoping that the Dodgers will see the amount of Catholics and Christians showing up here today peacefully,” one participant, Anthony Rodriguez, told a local news outlet during the rally. “We’re showing that we’re not budging. We’ve drawn a line in the sand, and we’re putting our faith first.”
Later on, during the game against rival San Francisco Giants, the group was introduced to a mostly empty stadium as many onlookers booed and jeered.
According to Savanah Hernandez, a Turning Point USA reporter who was present during the game, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will not likely receive an invitation next year. “I spoke to a member of guest services and asked if the ‘sisters’ would be getting anymore recognition or receive the Community Hero Award from the Dodgers on field. He shared that far as he knows this announcement is all they would be receiving and we’ll see no more of the ‘sisters’ tonight.”
Star Dodgers pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, was an outspoken critic of the team’s decision to include the group in its annual Pride celebrations.
“I don’t agree with making fun of other people’s religions,” the Cy Young winner told the Los Angeles Times in an interview in late May. “It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I just don’t think that, no matter what religion you are, you should make fun of somebody else’s religion. So that’s something that I definitely don’t agree with.”
“As a team between my wife and I and different people that I respect, we talked a lot about the right response to this,” Kershaw added. “It’s never an easy thing, because it felt like it elicited a response.”
Partly as a result of Kershaw’s activism, the Dodgers announced a Christian Faith and Family Day on July 30.
“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!” he tweeted at the time.