Authored by Rabbi Michael Barclay
I truly love baseball. But more than baseball, I love God. Given the decision between being a fan of any sports team and supporting my religious beliefs, I know that God is my real captain and I will always choose my faith. And I believe that when push comes to shove, most people feel the same. I also recognize that it is my religious obligation to support other people of faith in their journey.
Which is why I am so sad that I will not be attending baseball games thanks to the irresponsible management of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball, following the team’s blatant attack on Catholics by deciding to honor one of the most public anti-Catholic fringe groups in the country, “The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”
For those unaware of this group, or the circumstances leading up to this decision, here is a brief synopsis of the last few weeks. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is an organized group of transvestites that consciously encourages hate against Catholics, Catholic clergy, and the Catholic Church through demonstrations where their male members dress as nuns and espouse hatred towards Catholicism. They preach “go forth and sin more,” have names like “Sister Broken Hyman” and “Father Fellatio,” and have made “saints” of Harvey Milk, Kathy Griffin, and Gavin Newsom. Catholic League President Bill Donohue has called them “an obscene anti-Catholic group” of “bigots known for simulating sodomy while dressed as nuns”, and they have been decried by Catholic leaders around the world from archbishops to politicians. On May 15, MLB and the Dodgers announced that they would be honoring this group and presenting them with the “Community Hero Award” at the Dodgers LGBT Night on June 16. This created a justifiable backlash of comments from Catholic Vote and other Catholic lay organizations. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted, “If the hate group ‘Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ was anti-Islam instead of anti-Catholic there is zero chance the Dodgers would be honoring them.”
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.” Daniel 8:23
This immediate pressure on the Dodgers forced them to dis-invite this hate group from participating on May 18. But then LGBT groups loudly and aggressively made the Dodgers re-invite them as of May 23, and this hate group is now once again a featured part of the evening’s program.
There is so much repulsive behavior in the actions of the Dodgers that it is difficult to know where to start. They should obviously have not invited this transvestite group of hate mongers to the event in the first place–both because of their blatant hatred for religion and since they are not even a group based on sexual choice, but are based on cross-dressing and denigrating Catholic women of faith. This group is not fighting for the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, or even trans-genders; they are transvestites seeking to draw attention to their fetish and a destruction of religiosity. The fact that the Dodgers both dis-invited and then re-invited this group within days says volumes about the values, or lack thereof, in the Dodgers organization (a far cry from the days of the O’Malleys, who brought the Dodgers to Los Angeles originally, or Branch Rickey, who broke the color barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson).
And Senator Rubio is right in stating that if this group’s hatred was directed towards Islam, it would not be tolerated and they would never be considered for any honor. But because their hate is against Catholics, they are honored by the Dodgers.
This demonstrates exactly how little the Dodgers and the MLB value their Catholic fans.
PJ Media HERE