CV NEWS FEED // Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva spoke out about the LA Dodgers’ “nice gesture” of announcing a Christian Faith and Family Day as the team faces intense backlash for inviting an anti-Catholic hate group to their upcoming “Pride Night.”
Villanueva commented on the “unacceptable” decision of the Dodgers and went as far as calling the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) “the religious version of blackface.”
The Dodgers retweeted Clayton Kershaw’s tweet announcing that the Dodgers would be hosting a Christian Faith and Family Day.
However, many fans claim that the move did not make amends for the team’s initial decision to honor SPI.
“The Dodgers’ announcement today is the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound and in no way diminishes the harm and hurt caused by their plan to honor a vile anti-Catholic organization,” said CatholicVote President Brian Burch in response:
Creating a “faith and family” event does not balance the decision to honor a perverted, fake “nun” group that exists to mock the Catholic religion. In many ways, it emphasizes the contrast, and makes our case even stronger. It’s hard to interpret this announcement as anything other than a public relations stunt intended to blunt the widespread national backlash that is only growing stronger. The Dodgers have one path forward: apologize and stop honoring hateful anti-Catholic organizations.
This controversy began when the Dodgers decided to honor a group that dresses up as “nuns” and publicly performs sacrilegious acts in a mockery of the Catholic faith.
Many people spoke up about this decision, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, causing the Dodgers to disinvite the group from their ‘Pride Night.’
Less than a week after the Dodgers rescinded the decision to honor SPI, they re-invited the organization to their ‘Pride Night,’ apologizing for their previous decision.
“This is a slap in the face of every Catholic,” said Burch at the time.
A growing number of Catholic leaders have denounced the Dodgers’ decision to honor the hate group, including Bishop Robert Barron and the LA Archdiocese.
Major League Baseball pitcher Trevor Williams of the Washington Nationals, a devout Catholic, decried the move. The Dodgers’ own pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, also spoke against SPI for “making fun of other people’s religions.”
The Dodgers claim they want to “support all of [their] fans who make up the diversity of the Dodgers family.”
