After nixing the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” (SPI) from their list of honorees at a “Pride Night” game in mid-June, the Los Angeles Dodgers are offering a second invitation to the drag queen group.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who describe themselves as a “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns,” are a drag group whose members dress up in sexualized nun habits and sexualized depictions of Jesus Christ. The group was set to receive a Community Hero award June 16, but considerable backlash from Catholic groups and Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio caused the team to disinvite the group. Now, the Dodgers are extending their invite to “the Sisters” for a second time.
“After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and generous discussions with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” the MLB team wrote in a statement Monday.
“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.”
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 22, 2023
The Catholic advocacy group Catholic Vote previously blasted the Dodgers for their decision to honor the drag queen group in a letter May 16. “We are extremely disturbed at the announcement that the Los Angeles Dodgers plan to honor an anti-Catholic hate group during a ‘Pride Night’ ceremony next month,” they wrote.
“The SPI mock Catholics by taking on vulgar names such as ‘Sister GladAss of the Joyous Reserectum’. They dress in sexualized perversions of religious garb, taunting the women religious who serve the poor in Southern California and throughout the world,” the group continued. (RELATED: All Ages Drag Show Hosted At Air Force Base Despite Defense Secretary’s Assurances)
Catholic Vote later blasted the team for their decision to reinvite the group, writing the team “will now celebrate ‘go and sin some more’ anti-Catholic bigotry. This is a slap in the face of every Catholic.”
The MLB team apologized to the drag group, vowing to “continue to work with out 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.”
Sen. Rubio also sent a letter to the team May 15, saying the group “mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith.”
“Shamefully, (but not surprisingly) [the Dodgers] have been bullied into apologizing to & ‘re-inviting’ a group of anti-catholic bigots,” Rubio wrote Monday in response to the team’s decision to reinvite the group. “Today our great country is controlled by socio-political ruling elites who don’t just tolerate anti-Christian bigotry, they encourage & celebrate it.”