Thousands of Catholics gathered outside Dodger Stadium on Friday to protest the team’s “Pride Night” celebration, where they plan to honor the anti-Catholic group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
And it wasn’t long before the crowd of protesters grew so large that they blocked one of the major entrances to the stadium.
The Dodgers’ tenth annual “Pride Night” celebration will honor the anti-Catholic drag queen group with its “Community Hero Award” Friday night during a game against the visiting San Francisco Giants.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns,” according to the organization’s website.
After receiving backlash from religious groups, the Dodgers rescinded an invitation to the radical anti-Christian organization. However, the Dodgers walked back its decision and announced that the drag queen group would be re-invited to the team’s Pride Night.
The Dodgers offered its “sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and their friends and families” in a statement issued after the announcement.
“A full apology and explanation was given to us by the Dodgers staff which we accept,” the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence said in a statement. “We believe the apology is sincere because the Dodgers have worked for 10 years with our community and as well they have asked us to continue an ongoing relationship with them.”
A crowd of reportedly more than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the stadium hours before the game started to protest the team’s decision to honor the anti-Catholic group.
The crowd could be heard praying, “Jesus, I trust in you,” according to a video uploaded to Twitter by Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez.
Jack Posobiec led the crowd in a Latin prayer as the demonstrators gathered.
At one point, a Jewish rabbi took the stage to stand in solitary with the Catholic protesters.
“If you are anti-Catholic, you’re anti-religion, you’re anti-God, I got a problem with that,” the rabbi said.
Other videos showed the Catholic demonstrators singing and praying in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium.
The crowd reportedly cheered after one speaker declared that Catholics are in “a spiritual battle.”
The Dodgers’ celebration of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence comes one week after the California state legislature also honored the group.
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard criticized the Dodgers and the California legislature for honoring the anti-Catholic drag queen group.
“So tonight is the night that the obscene Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are going to be honored and celebrated by the L.A. Dodgers,” Gabbard said in a video uploaded to Twitter on Friday. “So my question is this. Why should the L.A. Dodgers and state legislators be proud to honor and celebrate this group whose literal claim to fame is their offensive, anti-Catholic and anti-Christian religious bigotry?”
Gabbard’s video showed footage of a dancer using a crucifix with an individual depicting Jesus Christ attached to it as a stripper pole.
“Now is the time that we all need to denounce this hate to denounce this bigotry no matter what your religion may be, or if you follow no religion at all,” Gabbard concluded.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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