Former Vice President Mike Pence is weighing in on the controversy surrounding the Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision to honor a group of self-described queer and transgender “nuns” at the team’s Pride Night event on June 16.
“Having been raised in a Catholic family, the Dodgers decision to invite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a hateful group that blatantly mocks Catholicism, to their event next month is deeply offensive,” Pence tweeted on Wednesday. “Last summer the MLB moved their All-Star Game out of Georgia over a lie about voter ID and now they are apologizing and welcoming anti-Catholic bigots back to Dodger Stadium with open arms.”
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a registered nonprofit whose work in the community earned them an invitation to receive the Dodgers’ Community Hero Award.
That invitation, however, rankled conservatives and Catholics who objected to the group’s use of Christian imagery and the term “nun.”
“Do you believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers are being ‘inclusive and welcoming to everyone’ by giving an award to a group of gay and transgender drag performers that intentionally mocks and degrades Christians?” Florida’s Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio wrote in a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred in mid-May.
Under pressure, the Dodgers rescinded their invitation but later apologized and re-invited the Sisters after receiving even greater backlash from politicians and the LGBTQ community.
“The MLB should not be apologizing to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, they should be apologizing to Catholics across America. America’s pastime should respect the faith of every American no matter what,” Pence wrote.
Not coincidentally, the Dodgers and star pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced last week that the ball club was bringing back Christian Faith and Family Day later this season.
“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times. “Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (by the Dodgers).”