Baseball: America’s favorite pastime. Every year, millions of people crowd into ballparks to watch their beloved players hit the ball, round the bases, and maybe even hit a home run.
Along with my sons, I have been to games at several ballparks around the country. And on nearly all of the occasions, the teams have taken the time to honor the brave men and women who serve our country. It never fails that people stand and cheer loudly when a military service member is featured on the jumbotron. This is a part of America that does and should engender pride.
But as with nearly everything these days, wokeness has seeped in, blanketing even the game of baseball, which should be neither political nor woke. I speak mainly of the recent debacle with the LA Dodgers.
On June 16, the Dodgers will host a Pride Night to honor members of the LGBTQ community. Among the “honorees” is a group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Don’t let the name fool you. These aren’t real nuns. This is a group of women and men who call themselves sisters in order to openly mock Catholic nuns.
According to the website, “The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns. We believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty. . . . We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”
Further, the site proudly states, “Go forth and sin some more!”
The fact that this group mocks people of faith—the Catholic Church in particular—should have immediately disqualified them from being honored for anything. For where is the honor in a group who holds a billion individuals in contempt?
When people found out about the honor that would be bestowed on this group, they courageously spoke out. In fact, the Dodgers received such backlash about honoring this group that they rescinded the invitation. In a statement in mid-May, the league wrote, “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.”
However, just a handful of days later, the Dodgers caved and reversed its decision. In yet another statement, the organization said, “After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and generous discussions with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families.”
And thus, the group will be honored.
The Dodgers chose to offer its “sincerest apologies” to a group of people who mock the religion founded by Jesus Christ, but they do not choose to offer apologies to the Church. I have to wonder if a group that openly mocked Muslims would be honored.
It’s time to send a loud and clear message to the LA Dodgers that their actions—and the mockery from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence—are not acceptable, will not be tolerated, and have no place in our society. Caving to a group that holds over a billion people in disdain—and openly encourages sin—is a disgusting action that we as faithful people should take very seriously.
Scenarios like this will continue to occur unless we all speak up. Not one of us can be silent. Complacency has gotten our society to where we are today, but it doesn’t have to continue to drive us. We can make changes. Our voices and our actions can and will make a difference. Just look at what has happened to Anhueser Busch.
I encourage everyone reading this to contact the Los Angeles Dodgers and respectfully make your voice heard. Express your own pride—for faith and for morality. Tell them that you will not support the Dodgers until they distance themselves from groups that mock our faith. Let them know that this will not blow over and that we will not tolerate their allegiance with groups like the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
Speaking up is our responsibility as children of God. And we must take to heart Jesus’ words to His followers when He said,
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
Let our words and actions glorify our Lord. Let us tell the world that it is wrong to mock our faith and that those who do so deserve no honors. Let us refuse to glorify indulgence in sin. And let us never hide the light we have been entrusted with.
This article first appeared on Catholic 365 at catholic365.com/article/29817/countering-woke-baseball-teams-with-the-love-of-christ.html.
Facebook Comments