"It's not pride, it's bigotry": Christians rally against Dodgers' 'blasphemous' tribute to anti-Catholic group
They censured an ad by Senator Marco Rubio while the Bishops' Conference asks the faithful for prayers and an act of reparation for the spiritual damage.
The new official religion of the United States does not admit dissenting voices. So it has been proven by Senator Marco Rubio, whose ad with which he wanted to denounce the intolerance of the LGBT movement during the Dodgers' tribute to an anti-Catholic trans group was rejected by Spectrum SportsNet LA, the television network that broadcasts the team's games. The Angelino ensemble celebrates its Pride Night on Sacred Heart of Jesus Day, so the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked the faithful for prayers and "an act of reparation to repair the spiritual damage" produced by this "blasphemy."
"A celebration of hate"
Rubio shared a video on his social networks last June 7 lamenting this fact and stressing that "Dodgers are not celebrating pride, they are promoting intolerance." After showing some of the desecrations of members of this group to the Christian faith, and especially to the Catholic faith, the senator for Florida concluded his message with a forceful: "It is a celebration of hate."
Spectrum SportNets refused to air Rubio video without explanation
But the legislator and his team wanted to go a step further and prepared a shortened 30-second version of the ad to be aired live on television during the final moments of the Dodgers' game later that night. Through Rubio's PAC, Reclaim America, they sent it to Spectrum SportsNet LA last Tuesday, however, officials refused to air it, without further explanation.
Dodgers "promote intolerance and hatred of Christianity"
Speaking to Fox News, Rubio was very critical of what is happening. The Floridian denounced the hypocrisy of the team, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the network for refusing to broadcast the actions for which they are awarding the trans group, accusing them of promoting "intolerance and hatred of Christianity."
"It's blasphemy"
The tribute will take place on an important date for Catholics: the Day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement condeming the "blasphemy" and urged the faithful to "pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart, and make an act of reparation—an act offered to the Lord with the intention of repairing the spiritual damage inflicted by sin."
In the missive, signed by the Archbishop for Military Services and President of the Episcopal Conference, Timothy P. Broglio; Cardinal of New York and chairman of the USCCB's Religious Liberty Committee, Timothy M. Dolan and the Archbishop of Los Angeles, José H. Gómez, thanked "faithful Catholics and others of good will" who "stand up to say that what this group does is wrong, and it is wrong to honor them".
Christian figures call for boycott of Dodgers
Numerous Christian, Catholic and conservative personalities have harshly criticized the Dodgers' celebration, and have insisted that they change their decision again. Among the professional players, there has also been a reaction criticizing the decision of the Los Angeles team. The first, and most active, was Trevor Williams, pitcher for the Washington Nationals, who issued a statement calling for a boycott of the Dodgers. In an interview with the Catholic network EWTN, Williams reaffirmed his position because "We cannot stand idly by while Our Lord gets mocked."
Dodgers star criticizes team, but will play in game
With this situation, all the spotlight was focused on Clayton Kershaw. The young Dodgers player, a Cy Young Award winner and well-known Christian, harshly criticized his team's decision, making it clear that it is nothing against the LGBT community. "This has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community or Pride or anything like that. It was simply a group making fun of a religion, which I don't agree with." To make their star happy, the Dodgers announced that they would again celebrate "Christian Faith and Family Day" on July 30. Kershaw finally announced that he will play in the game.
A controversial back-and-forth decision
Although the Dodgers initially agreed to withdraw their invitation and the recognition of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence -an "order of queer and trans nuns," according to their own definition-, the pressure from LGBT groups changed their minds and asked again for their presence as guests of honor, in addition to granting them an award in recognition of its work for the community. In a statement, the Los Angeles team expresses its "sincerest apologies" to the anti-Catholic group, as well as to "members of the LGBT community, their friends and families."