The mayor of Anaheim has invited a group of self-described queer and trans “nuns” to the Los Angeles Angels’ Pride Night after they were abruptly uninvited from the pride event being hosted by the crosstown Dodgers.
“I’m inviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to join me for @Angels Pride Night at Anaheim Stadium on June 7,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken tweeted on Saturday. “Pride should be inclusive and like many, I was disappointed in the Dodgers decision.”
A representative for the Sisters replied, saying the group would take it under consideration.
“We are humbly grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity in inviting us,” said a member who goes by the handle Sister Unity. “When we have been able to deliberate and come to a consensus decision, we will definitely let you know our availability.”
“Thank you again, and we wish you many blessings. May your fouls be few & your walks be pleasant!,” Sister Unity added, weaving in two baseball terms.
The group told KTLA that members would vote on the issue at a meeting Monday night.
Based on their philanthropic work, the Sisters were slated to be honored with the Dodgers’ Community Hero Award at the ballclub’s Pride Night on June 16. The Dodgers rescinded the invitation after backlash from conservatives and Catholics who oppose their use of Catholic imagery.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida wrote a letter of complaint to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.
“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?” Rubio wrote.
In announcing their decision, the Dodgers said the Sisters had become a distraction.
“Given the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night, we are deciding to remove them from this year’s group of honorees,” the team said in a statement.
The L.A. LGBT Center, which withdrew its support of Pride Night in solidarity with the Sisters, called on the Dodgers to reconsider their decision or cancel the event.
“Any organization that turns its back on LGBTQ+ people at this damning and dangerous inflection point in our nation’s history should not be hoisting a rainbow flag or hosting a ‘Pride Night,'” the Center said.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a self-described “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns” who use “humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the name of an organization that withdrew its support for the Dodgers Pride Night.
