In his May 15 letter, Rubio said that the group “has mocked and degraded Christians, and especially Catholics, since its founding on Easter Sunday in 1979.”
“Do you believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers are being ‘inclusive and welcoming to everyone’ by giving an award to a group of gay and transgender drag performers that intentionally mocks and degrades Christians — and not only Christians, but nuns, who devote their lives to serving others?” the senator asked.
The gay and transgender activist group has staged performances since 1979, when the AIDS epidemic began, and has since been a fixture of protests and Republican and conservative gatherings.
Former Biden administration official Sam Brinton, who was placed on leave from the Department of Energy after being charged with stealing luggage, is a member of the drag organization taking the name “Sister Ray Dee O’Active,” according to The Telegraph.
Many of the members of the group, which also raises money for AIDS and LGBTQ causes, use names mocking the Catholic faith such as “Sister Selma Soul,” “Sister Guard N. O’Pansies,” or “Sister Lourdes Mae Shepherd.”
The announcement that the group would receive an award struck a nerve on social media, sparking a backlash directed at the MLB and Dodgers’ organization.
“The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) are an anti-Catholic hate group which exists to desecrate and degrade the Catholic faith,” said Brian Burch, the president of CatholicVote.
“It’s bad enough to drag down baseball — which ought to be synonymous with the best of America,” said Joshua Mercer, CatholicVote’s vice president. “But the L.A. Dodgers — with the blessing of Major League Baseball — are doing more than pollute our national pastime with woke intolerance and far-Left propaganda: They’re directly attacking religious Americans.”
“Why is @MLB honoring an anti-Catholic hate group?” asked Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
“Bravo to Senator @MarcoRubio for holding the @MLB Dodgers to account for its disgusting political embrace of anti-Catholic bigotry,” Catholic University professor Chad Pecknold tweeted.
CatholicVote’s Burch issued a statement on Twitter following the Dodgers’ announcement on Wednesday.
(Story continues below)
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“We are pleased that the @Dodgers reconsidered their decision to honor an anti-Catholic hate group known for their gross mockery of Catholic nuns. While we continue to wonder how such a group was selected in the first place, this incident should serve as a wake-up call for all religious believers: Unchecked woke corporations have no qualms about exploiting people of faith,” he said.
Joseph Bukuras is a journalist at the Catholic News Agency. Joe has prior experience working in state and federal government, in non-profits, and Catholic education. He has contributed to an array of publications and his reporting has been cited by leading news sources, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Catholic University of America. He is based out of the Boston area.