Spiritual battle at Dodger Stadium

As a “spiritual battle” they described the demonstration of thousands of Catholics who peacefully protested against the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball organization for having honored last night as “Community Heroes” to the group of men who call themselves “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” and dress as nuns, whom they accused of “blasphemy” and mocking the name of God and the faith of Christians.

“No man is a nun”, “Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing”, “Stop anti-Catholic hatred”, “Blaspheming Dodgers. They mock God and threaten our children with perversion,” were some of the hundreds of messages raised by protesters led by Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland and a coalition of conservative Catholic organizations. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles limited itself exclusively to asking Catholics to pray in reparation during the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Jesus.

Bishop Strickland led the Catholics marching carrying a relic of the blood of Saint John Paul II, together with the Colombian missionary Mauricio Torres, of the Totus Tuus congregation.

“It is a time to pray and honor Jesus Christ, the son of God”, said the religious leader, after praying the “Chaplet of Divine Mercy”. “We must not be shy to defend our faith, and we must be true Christians in the 21st century.”

Several LAPD helicopters and countless police cars and motorcyclists kept the protesters safe, most of whom wore red T-shirts, handed out prayer beads and raised banners with images of Jesus Christ reading “ Live Christ the King!” or “Mocking Jesus will only get you perpetual indulgence in hell. Dodgers… they're out!”

The Dodgers' recognition of the drag queens group “is not only a huge insult to the Christian and Catholic community, but our faith has been sullied because our Latino culture has very deep ties to Christian heritage,” he told La Opinion, Jack M. Guerrero, who introduced himself as “the voice of the people.” Guerrero was mayor in the city of Cudahy, where 98% of its 22,000 residents are Hispanic.

Guerrero said he believes the time has come in history for faith communities across the United States to stand up and demand respect for their rights when groups like the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” and organizations like the Los Angeles Dodgers Angels “come together to promote an ideology contrary to faith and family, disguising themselves with lies.”

In addition to calling on all believers to boycott the Dodgers, Tommy Valentine, representative of CatholicVote.org he called on people not to spend their money on the Los Angeles team.

“They can't afford to lose us,” he said. “We do not hate these men [of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence], but we love them and we can show them love,” he said, while announcing that they will meet shortly with the owners of the Major League Baseball franchise.

The vast majority of Catholics who attended the peaceful protest recalled that, in the book of Galatians, the Bible teaches: “Do not be deceived, no one mocks God”, in reference to the video where a male drag queen from the LGBTQ community waddles on a pole and then “lowers” from the cross another man who appears to be being crucified.

Referring to that video, Richard Zaldivar, executive director of The Wall Las Memorias, a community organization that provides support and welfare services for the LGBTQ population, said that what drag queens do “It is not correct. I do not approve or support it.”

He told La Opinion that he would consult the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” (SPI) to find out what their role was in the event where the video that the bishop recorded was recorded. Robert Barron, of the diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota) considered it “the last acceptable prejudice in the United States”.

Victor Breton, a Mexican who identifies as “Sister Luz Clarita,” told La Opinion that “Everyone has the right to express themselves however they want, and if someone does not like something and expresses it, they have that right.”

“What they have no right to is to take away our right to exist, to live, because we are part of human beings,” he added. “We exist in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Uruguay and France.”

Christopher Vasquez, director of communications for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) said that “The sisters have always shown tolerance with everyone,” he said. “They have worked in the best interest of the community for many years, including every religion and culture.”

Different groups such as Catholics for Catholics, America Needs Fatima, Catholic Vote, Church Militant and several others participated in the protest and prayer procession, “in reparation for the offenses committed against Jesus Christ and against all Christians.

Even non-Catholics like Rabbi Michael Barclay joined the rally.

“I really love baseball. But more than baseball, I love God,” Barclay wrote. “For this reason, it saddens me so much that I will no longer be able to go to baseball games, thanks to the irresponsible management of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball, after the brazen attack on Catholics by deciding to honor one one of the most public anti-Catholic groups in the country, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”

The rabbi was sorry for his little twins, “because they're never going to see a Dodgers game anymore,” he said.

While the prayer procession was taking place, hundreds of motorists were stranded on Stadium Way, and some even lost their cool and walked away from the stadium, looking for access tickets to the Lilac Terrace area..

Former US Marine Jack Posobiec, of Polish origin and who is married to a woman who was born in the former Soviet Union, said they know when hate groups attack families.

“First they come for the church,” he said, and offered a prayer in Latin.

The Dodgers organization did not officially speak out about the protest at last night's game.

The “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” group claims on their website that they are “a vanguard order” of nuns: queer and transgender who “use irreverent wit to expose the forces of intolerance, complacency, and guilt that fetters the human spirit.”

“However, they are blind to their own intolerance,” said the organization Catholics for Catholics.

Catholics around the world and especially locals in Los Angeles should be outraged by the celebration of a group that openly mocks and blasphemes against the Sacred Traditions of the Catholic Church. If you are Catholic or Christian and you take your faith seriously, you cannot allow such an offense against the Sacred Heart of Jesus to occur”.