The Los Angeles Dodgers have done themselves no favors when it comes to appealing to their Christian fans, at least which ones they may have left. As Mia has covered, the MLB team had invited the local chapter of an anti-Catholic trans group known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to be honored. Due to appropriate backlash, they disinvited the group, only to then cave to the radical left and invite them once more, putting out a pitiful statement and apology, to the anti-Catholic group that is. Not long after, the team announced through a retweet of pitcher Clayton Kershaw that they would be holding a "Christian Faith and Family Day" on July 30, about a month and a half after the pre-game 10th annual Pride Night ceremony will take place on June 16.
Join us at Dodger Stadium on 7/30 for Christian Faith and Family Day. Stay after the game to celebrate and be part of a day of worship. Stay tuned for more details. https://t.co/g9QWEYl5FE
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 26, 2023
Both Kershaw's original tweet and the team's retweet were hit with an onslaught of replies and quoted tweets calling them out for what certainly seems to be insincerity after announcing they were going to be honoring such a vulgar, anti-Catholic group mere days before.
Among those speaking out against the stunt include CatholicVote and Bishop Robert Barron, who have called for a boycott of the team.
Not enough, @Dodgers. If you really want to reach out to Christians, don’t celebrate anti-Christian hate groups. https://t.co/Ne7RNWr2DF
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) May 26, 2023
Thanks to our brave Catholic shepherds, especially:
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) May 27, 2023
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone
Bishop Robert Barron
Bishop Donald Hying
Bishop Joseph Strickland and
Archbishop Jose Gomez
for calling out the Dodgers over the Major League baseball team’s decision to invite the… pic.twitter.com/GU96iN79hH
Catholic Vote president explains why the group is calling for the boycott of the Los Angeles Dodgers: "There's no need to engage in anti-Catholic mockery." pic.twitter.com/J3kn1X7yWP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 28, 2023
As of Monday night, Kershaw's tweet has close to 2,500 replies with over 500 quoted retweets, having been viewed 4 million times. The retweet from the Dodgers has over 4,000 replies and over 1,000 quoted retweets, having been viewed 3 million times.
How dare you try to pander to Christians because you need us as consumers while at the same time you HONOR an anti-Christian hate group that blasphemes Jesus with “Jesus and Mary striptease” and “dildo dipped in drugs blessings” & “semen” filled chalices? You are grotesque.
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) May 26, 2023
This is why you’re a queen.
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) May 26, 2023
How incredibly disingenuous. You have already made it clear which side you are taking when it comes to morality versus immorality. No amount of damage control can clean up the mess you have made at this point.
— David Wohl (@DavidWohl) May 26, 2023
Let's give an award to an anti Catholic anti Christian group and then try to make up for it by hosting a Christian family fun day... Hard pass. You made your choice. Deal with the consequences.
— Theo in KS 🇻🇦 (@CatholicKansas) May 26, 2023
Others expressed their displeasure by sharing just a glimpse of the vulgarity that this group is all about.
That’s great Clayton but if you don’t speak out about your team honoring a group who did this as "community heroes" then you’ve put your job above Jesus. You’re wealthy as can be. If you don’t speak out now, do you think you would’ve stood up for Jesus when he was here? Stand up! https://t.co/2RgfVydWOW pic.twitter.com/YkCNDkxFTz
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 27, 2023
I truly appreciate you spearheading this event. But I think you need take a hard look at these photos and ask yourself if you can play in a game where the people who did this are being honored. That’s your savior they’re supposed to be depicting right there. pic.twitter.com/M6KhtCUIZ7
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) May 27, 2023
You can check out more details of such vulgarities from Mia's coverage. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has also highlighted the group's antics, addresses the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as his pinned tweet.
This is the anti-Christian pervert hate group the media defended and the @Dodgers will be honoring at their @MLB game on June 16th pic.twitter.com/TI1bXuyxbs
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 25, 2023
It's particularly insulting that the Dodgers would award such a group with the "Community Hero Award," given that Los Angeles is home to over 4 million Catholics. The most recent data from the U.S. Religion Census, from 2020, shows that a plurality of California residents, at 44.8 percent, belong to a Catholic congregation.
Coverage from the media has predictably sought to downplay the offensive nature of the group, though perhaps the worst comes from NBC News' particularly one-sided write-up of "How major brands were forced into the conservative plan to target LGBTQ people," which our friends at Twitchy aptly highlighted to call out.
Here's how NBC News claimed that conservatives wanted to "target LGBTQ people," though if anyone was "target[ed]," it's been Catholics:
Yet another recent uproar centered on the Dodgers, which faced pressure from conservatives such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to disinvite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a decades-old LGBTQ nonprofit, from the team’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night. The team later reversed course, re-inviting the group, and drew more criticism from conservatives.
This will be the first time that the event will hold the Christian event since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Pride events were still held in 2021 and 2022, though.
Kershaw spoke at previous Christian events the team hosted. The bio of his Twitter account merely reads "Colossians 3:23." The verse in question reads "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
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