“Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners”

― Laurence Sterne

Last night, was LGBTQ+ night at the LA Dodgers baseball game and, this year, the MLB organization honored the charity organization Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for their work within the “community”. Mazel tov. Before you scoff, it’s true. The Sisters (too long to say the whole name all the time) have been around for more than forty years and DO charity work within the community, when they are not mocking Christians and mostly Catholics:

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), also called Order of Perpetual Indulgence (OPI), is a charity, protest, and street performance organization that uses drag and religious imagery to satirize issues of sex, gender, and morality (particularly Christian perspectives on these topics) and fund raise for charity. Upon their move to San Francisco from Iowa City in 1979, a small group of gay men in San Francisco began wearing the attire of Catholic nuns in visible situations using camp to promote various social and political causes in the Castro District.
The Sisters have grown throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and South America, and are currently organized as an international network of orders, which are mostly registered as non-profit charity organizations that raise money for AIDS, LGBT-related causes, and mainstream community service organizations, while promoting safer sex and educating others about the harmful effects of drug use and other high risk behaviors. They have also protested many Christian, and specifically Catholic, events including the visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States.
Throughout the organization’s history there have been a number of conflicts with Christian communities. The group has been characterized by some Catholics (including the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights) as anti-Catholic and a hate-group for impersonating and mocking Catholic practices and beliefs, including religious sisters.

This tells us two things about the Sisters and the LA Dodgers. Referencing the above quote, they have neither morals or manners. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence mock nuns or sisters. The women takes vows of obedience, charity and poverty and often work with the most unloved and those who are perceived as dangerous by the outside world. Think Mother Teresa. Others find their vocation in teaching, wiping out ignorance and fighting racism. The MLB organization has joined the Social Justice band wagon the last few years. Our Deanna is a baseball lover and wrote about the lectures three years ago. Read it here.

The only answer I get when I ask myself why the LA Dodgers Organization would pick the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to honor on Pride Night is they have NO RESPECT for those who are fans of baseball or Christians or your average Gay or Lesbian who wants to live life and not be mocked. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have no self-respect or respect for others. Protest Mohammed. Dance holding a Koran. Right. Can you imagine this with Muslim symbols?

It’s not just the blasphemy. Watching the Holiest symbol in Christianity be mocked hurts my heart. The people of Los Angeles showed the way. They met us in a parking area hours before the game and protested and prayed:

Protesters gathered for a “prayerful procession” at Parking Lot 13 outside Dodger Stadium before the team’s 10th annual Pride Night, where the organization will receive an award for its decades of community ministry ahead of the game against the San Francisco Giants.
Helicopters hovered above as hundreds of demonstrators, most of them wearing red, began to gather in the parking lot. The demonstrators passed out rosaries and held up flags with religious imagery, images of Jesus Christ and homemade signs — including ones reading, “Long Live Christ the King!” and “Shame on the Dodger’s organization.”
The demonstration came hours after Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez spent part of Friday’s afternoon Mass criticizing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
“Religious freedom and respect for the beliefs of others are hallmarks of the nation,” he said. “When God is insulted, when the beliefs of many of our neighbors are ridiculed, it diminishes all of us.”

The Sisters diminish others to make themselves feel good. Well done, Archbishop. And the crowd outside was quite large:

BREAKING: Thousands of Catholics have shut down the main entrance to Dodger Stadium on Vin Scully avenue in protest of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence being honored tonight.

They are now lining the sidewalks and have taken over the entire block: pic.twitter.com/F5CSDvuap8

— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) June 17, 2023

Ah, but it was the Christians who went off the deep end:

I had never heard of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, but by going off the deep end, religious nut reactionaries getting mad about them being included in a baseball game pride night, the nuts given visibility to an otherwise cool group we knew nothing about. Long live SPI! pic.twitter.com/yWa1wTV9g5

— Dr. Acula ‍♀️ (@Off2BeTheWizard) June 16, 2023

The Sisters are just a cool charity group. What’s the matter with you Christians? The Dodgers did the honors early enough the stadium was nearly empty:

The anti-Christian drag nuns are honored by the LA Dodgers.

Literally no one showed up for the ceremony. pic.twitter.com/VR9h8qnfK0

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 17, 2023

Just pray, my friends, for Sister Unity and Sister Chlamydia. And I dare the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to mock Mohammad.

Featured Image: Brett Davis/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons