LA Pride has withdrawn from the Dodgers’ annual Pride Night after the team refused to accept a non-profit drag troupe.
The Los Angeles Dodgers canceled an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a well-known San Francisco order of lesbian and trans’nuns that has existed since the 1970s, earlier this week, citing resistance from conservative Catholics.
The organization, which undertakes philanthropic and protest activities in addition to street drag show performances, was due to receive an award before a game against the San Francisco Giants on June 16.
“Given the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion in our evening and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night, we are deciding to remove them from this year’s group of honorees,” the Dodgers announced in a statement on Wednesday.
“As a result, and in solidarity with our community, LA Pride will not be participating in this year’s Dodgers event,” said the organization in a statement. “Pride is a fight for equality and inclusion for the entire LGBTQ community, and we won’t stop now.”
The controversy erupted earlier this week when Senator Marco Rubio, described by the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign as “one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ politicians in America,” wrote to MLB commissioner Bud Selig, criticizing the team’s decision to honor the order, which he claims mocks Christians. Conservative Catholic leaders also contacted the MLB, claiming it was “rewarding anti-Catholicism.”
You can view the official account Fox News Twitter post linked below-
LA Pride backs out of Dodgers’ Pride Night after team pulls trans drag group from event https://t.co/PEIFAsrsUn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 19, 2023
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were “offended and outraged” by the team’s surrender to “hateful and misleading information” from those targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence originally debuted in San Francisco in 1979 the Castro District as three males dressed as nuns.
The group was created in reaction to the Aids crisis and was among the first to gather funds to help care for persons with the disease.
Today, they raise hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly for underfunded grassroots organizations, such as grants to legal aid clinics for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and an alliance empowering deaf queer people.
According to the organization’s mission statement, the non-profit is dedicated “to community service, ministry, and outreach to those on the margins, as well as promoting human rights, respect for diversity, and spiritual enlightenment.”
“We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency, and guilt that chain the human spirit,” according to the organization’s website.
It has evolved into a network of loosely organized chapters participating in protest and philanthropic activity worldwide.
On the other hand, opponents pressured the Dodgers to reverse their decision to honor the organization, arguing that it mocks the Catholic faith.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence claim their organization is not anti-Catholic but “based in love, acceptance, and celebrating human diversity.”
“Do not let those who despise us all decide that some parts of our community are more tolerable than others, that some shall sit at the table while others are barred.”
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