Who are The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?
A satirical LGBTQ+ drag group has been catapulted to the national spotlight after a whirlwind of a back-and-forth with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence described themselves on their website as a "leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns."
They have often been scrutinized by Catholic groups for their parodied performances, while dressed like nuns, that "use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit," according to their website.
The Sisters said that their first appearance happened on Easter Sunday, 1979. Ever since, the group has devoted itself to "community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment."
The nonprofit was initially selected to participate in the Dodgers' annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night and was set to receive a Community Hero Award at the game scheduled on June 16 for their efforts to promote human rights, diversity and spiritual enlightenment.
But, in a statement released last Wednesday, the Dodgers announced that they were revoking the already extended invite to the nonprofit organization, saying, "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 Dodgers' initial decision to rescind their invitation came on the heels of outrage from Florida state Senator Marco Rubio and various Catholic groups, including the Catholic League. Both penned letters to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to berate the Dodgers' choice in inviting the group to their celebration, mainly in part because the group "mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith."
After the Dodgers announced that the invitation was withdrawn, the Catholic League issued a statement, which read in part: "Justice was done in the end. There is no room for anti-Catholic bigotry in any gay or trans celebratory event."
However, after an uproar of backlash from LGBTQ+ groups, the team decided to re-invite The Sisters to Pride Night. They also issued an apology to the group.
"I think it's fair to say, 'It's time for Dodger baseball!' This time with nuns," said Sister Bearonce Knows shortly after the group was re-invited to Pride Night.
Sister Knows says that the Dodgers opened up to them and offered an apology for acting rashly and making a rushed decision. Since they felt that the organization's apology was sincere, they decided to accept the invite and hit the field for the celebration on June 16.
"One of the things we wanted to communicate to them was that a simple apology and re-invitation would not be enough," Sister Knows said. "We, as well as the rest of our community, want to ensure that this is genuine and that they are taking the right steps to reconfirm their allyship with us."