This story was supposed to be over.
I mean, it was never really supposed to be a story, but now that it is one, it was supposed to be over. The Dodgers invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to their Pride Night, then rescinded the invitation after intense pressure from some of the shitheaddiest Catholics in the country, then un-rescinded the invitation after intense pressure from non-shitheads, then the shithead wing of the Catholics complained again, and everyone could safely ignore them.
And then there was more story. There were more shitheaddery.
The first and most prominent example came courtesy of Clayton Kershaw, who I no longer feel obligated to begrudgingly respect. Kershaw, it turns out, is offended by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Deeply offended. You see, they are mocking Catholics by ministering to the poor, needy, and neglected while dressing like nuns. Who does that??? Kershaw pushed for the Dodgers to bring back Christian Faith and Family Night, which they will be holding at the end of July.
Seems like kind of a tell to have the response to a pro-LGBTQ event be an explicitly Christian one, but what do I know? I would need some sort of other tweet to agree with me before I really thought about that one.
Then Trevor Williams, who is so uninvolved in this that he is on the Washington Nationals, put out a statement that as a Catholic, he was offended by the Sisters. Then Blake Treinen, who is at least a current Dodger though he’s not on the active roster due to injury, put out a statement through his friend, Turning Point USA contributor Sean Feucht, saying he was disappointed the Dodgers were hosting the “Sister’s” (sic) because “Many of their performances are blasphemous, and their work only displays hate and mockery of Catholics and the Christian faith.”
Anthony Bass of the Blue Jays also made an anti-gay Instagram video, but that wasn’t specifically about this topic. Just a fun side note!
The first thing to consider here is how the Sisters (not sic) were formed. Back in 1980, preachers were coming to the Castro to tell the locals that they were immoral and going to hell, so a group of men dressed up as nuns and chased them off. They chased them off because it’s rude as hell for a guy to stand outside your door and tell you that you suck; they dressed up as nuns because it made getting rid of those assholes funnier.
Is that anti-Catholic? Not if you listen to the Sisters: “We are not mocking nuns. We are nuns. We feed the hungry, tend to the sick, care for the unhoused, support LGBTQ+ youth, and provide ministry to our community.” When Catholics turned their back on the gay community, the Sisters didn’t. When Catholics called gay men evil for being themselves, or ardently opposed condom use which would save the lives of people who would otherwise get AIDS, the Sisters fought them, and the Sisters were right. Also, actual Catholic nuns don’t seem too offended by them either, in case that’s a big deal.
Is being offended by clothing a big deal compared to that? Does their dressing up like nuns really outweigh the good work that they’re doing? Or are Christians just looking for a reason to hate men in drag? Not all of the Sisters are in drag — some are trans, or nonbinary, or otherwise gender non-conforming — but that’s not a problem because those same Christians are also looking for an excuse to hate them too. If you’re going to call every trans person a groomer in one breath and then act aghast that someone would disrespect the literal Catholic Church in the next, then this isn’t some crusade save the children; it’s a grown-up version of Smear The Queer.
By the way, the 2019 version of Dodgers Christian Faith Night included a musical performance by Hillsong California. Other than the celebrities who used to attend, here’s what Hillsong is known for:
[Carl Lentz] joins a list of Hillsong pastors that have resigned or been fired following accusations of sexually abusing young boys, concealing said abuse, breaching the church’s moral code, engaging in extramarital affairs, sexually abusing or raping women, bullying, evading taxes, and using church donations to fund lavish personal lifestyles. The FX documentary also includes allegations of racial discrimination within the church from several Black women, as well as reporting about allegedly exploitative treatment of volunteers.
But tell us more about those sinful Sisters!
I don’t want to make it seem like the Catholic Church does nothing good, but they are absolutely an organization that can and should be mocked for both its failings and its excesses. This entire situation is just the extreme right wing in America seeing how far they can push back against things that are Woke like not hating gay people, and not hating trans people, and not letting gay men die of AIDS. The Bud Light boycott was similar bullshit. The Target boycott is similar bullshit. This continues because it works; the way to stop it is to prevent it from working.
The Dodgers kowtowing to Marco Rubio and Bill Donahue gave them the power in this situation, and after they reversed their decision, the shithead wing of the Catholics had to double down. This is their chance to make a mark in the culture war. This is how they cancel a group that helps the downtrodden. This is how they enforce their vision of America on people who don’t want anything to do with it. It’s nothing more than oppressors demanding the oppressed stop fighting back. And the correct answer to that is no.
If that no comes while dressed as a nun, so much the better.
Well said, over and over, Maestro!
- fallen catolico