This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

The least serious thing that happened to the Los Angeles Dodgers over “Pride Night” weekend, June 16-18, was to lose all three games to the San Francisco Giants; the Dodgers scored a total of 8 runs; the Giants scored 29. The worst thing that happened was being trashed by Catholics, tarring their reputation.

In the five weeks prior to the June 16 game, we conducted a relentless campaign against the Dodgers for inviting, disinviting, and reinviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a vile anti-Catholic group of drag queen bigots.

Our campaign began on May 16. That was the day we asked our huge list of email subscribers to contact Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB). They did so in droves, bombarding him with criticism; MLB had given its blessings to the event.

The next day, May 17, the Dodgers disinvited the “Sisters.” We were delighted with the outcome, but Bill Donohue warned the staff that given that the game was about a month away, it was possible the Dodgers might succumb to pressure from the large LGBT community in Los Angeles. Over the weekend they did.

On May 22, the Dodgers reinvited the “Sisters,” apologizing for disinviting them. Donohue immediately got to work preparing a report on the anti-Catholic activities of the drag queens since 1979. On May 23, the report was made available to the public.

On May 24, we started our campaign in earnest. We did a massive mail campaign, sending the report to over 300 parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, asking pastors to pass the word about not attending the June 16 game.

In the weeks that followed, we did not walk away from this issue. We contacted Catholic schools and universities in the archdiocese; residences of priests and brothers; endowments, foundations and trusts; retreat houses; hospitals and healthcare systems; seminaries; convents and residences for women. In every case, we sent the report and our plea to boycott the June 16 game.

We also hit the public airwaves. Two weeks before the game, we ran 25 ads, 30 seconds each, imploring Catholics not to attend the game. We did the same thing the week of the game. Our media blitz on KABC radio caught the eye of the Los Angeles Times, which ran a story on our initiative. Moreover, Donohue did multiple TV, radio, newspaper, and internet interviews on the controversy.

Almost no one showed up for the ceremony honoring the “Sisters,” and our goal of driving down the attendance from last year’s “Pride Night” game was realized (there were 3,500 less this year).

We did our job. The Dodgers lost. Message delivered.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

On June 30, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment rights of a Colorado woman, Lorie Smith, must be respected when it comes to forcing her to express beliefs that are contrary to her conscience. This was a great victory for free speech and freedom of religion. The Catholic League submitted an amicus brief in this case.

Our brief was prepared by Kathleen A. Gallagher and Russell D. Giancola of Gallagher Giancola LLC, a Pittsburgh-based law firm.

They argued that “it is clear that the First Amendment provides dual protections for religious expression (or non-expression) in its guarantees of free speech and free religious exercise. This reality compels the conclusion that religious speech enjoys the highest constitutional protection.”

Colorado tried to compel Smith to design a website that celebrates same-sex marriage. Smith had never refused to service anyone on the basis of sexual orientation. But she drew a line when it came to compelling her to violate her Christian beliefs. That’s a big difference.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the high court, said, “The First Amendment protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy. In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance.”

We are delighted with this outcome, and we are just as delighted to have played a role in it.

William A. Donohue

July 1 marked my 30th year as president and CEO of the Catholic League. Bernadette Brady-Egan, our vice president, celebrated her 28th anniversary on the same day. We’ve had a good run, and we’re not done.

One reason for not retiring is the state of our country. Never have I seen our country more polarized or disfigured. There is an angry and mean-spirited segment of our society that loathes the United States, traffics in lies, and espouses a wide range of pernicious ideas and policies. At root, they are motivated by a hatred of our religious heritage, and they are hell bent on shoving their militant secular agenda down our throat. They must be stopped.

When I began in 1993, coming home to New York after 15 years teaching college in Pittsburgh and a year in residence at The Heritage Foundation, I inherited an organizational and financial mess. Fr. Virgil Blum, the founder, died in 1990, and at that point the headquarters moved from Milwaukee to a suburb of Philadelphia.

The leadership at that time was abysmal, and after going through a half dozen presidents, the headquarters relocated to New York City in November 1992; the new home was in the headquarters of the Archdiocese of New York.

How did they find me? After word got out that I was about to start a counter Catholic civil rights organization in Pittsburgh, with the blessings of Bishop Donald Wuerl, I was courted by a New York search firm.

When I came to the interview at La Guardia Airport, the head hunter told me that many people were interested in the job, and that Anna Quindlen had someone in mind. She was a very liberal columnist for the New York Times, and not exactly in line with Catholic teachings on a lot of issues. Without blinking an eye, I said something to the effect that “if you want someone like her, you don’t want me.” He smiled.

He smiled because I obviously said what he was hoping I would say. He then called the three people who were interested in interviewing me at the new headquarters (they would not have wasted their time if the head hunter had given me the thumbs down). The meeting went well. After I underwent back surgery in Pittsburgh, I made the move to New York.

The first thing that the board of directors asked me to do was to stop the bleeding. The Catholic League had been so badly managed that it was losing $10,000-$20,000 a month, with not much in reserve. The board asked me to go around the country, meeting with the heads of the chapters, assessing the situation.

I traveled to Minneapolis, Boston, Washington, Milwaukee, Chicago and Pasadena. When I was asked by the head of the Pasadena chapter—who was not a Catholic—what my five-year plan was, I told him I wasn’t sure we would be around for even half that time.

Then he told me that he had scheduled to fly me to Las Vegas the next day. I was slated to talk about the Catholic League to a large group of Notre Dame guys after they spent hours drinking beer and watching a football game (this was an annual event, I was told). To top things off, all of this was to be done on the Catholic League’s dime. As you might expect, I never boarded the plane.
With few exceptions, what I uncovered was gross incompetence. The board of directors was also to blame: they allowed some chapters to be full-time positions; some were part-time; some were paid; others were volunteers.

I had warned all of the chapter leaders that tough decisions were likely to be made. By the end of the year, all but two chapters were closed (and those two didn’t last long).

When I started half way through 1993, a board member told me the Catholic League was expected to run a deficit of $150,000 by the end of the year. In six months, I cut it in half. The next year we posted a profit, and we have been on good grounds ever since.

Before I left Pittsburgh, a priest friend asked how I was going to jump start the organization. I know how to work the media, I said, and that will generate free publicity, resulting in new members. It worked.

I was already a regular on CNN’s “Larry King Live” and “Crossfire,” as well as NBC’s “Phil Donahue” show. So I just picked up where I left off. In 1996, Fox News was launched, and immediately I became a regular on Bill O’Reilly’s show and “Hannity and Colmes.” Then I became a regular on MSNBC, especially with shows hosted by Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough. It was these opportunities, along with other media exposure, that were responsible for giving the Catholic League the platform to grow.

I had a physical in May and everything is good. I am writing as fast as ever, and my passion for righting wrongs is still strong. There is much work to be done.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

Bill Donohue

1979: This was the beginning of the Sisters. In San Francisco’s Castro District three men dressed in traditional nun’s habit walked the streets. One of them carried a machine gun. Then they went to a nude beach. It was then that they adopted the name the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

1982: A year after AIDS was discovered, the Sisters were upset, but they did not complain about the lethal sex practices that gave rise to AIDS; rather, they complained about the “fear and prejudice” that it was engendering. “Sr. Florence Nightmare” and “Sr. Roz Erection” addressed the issue.

1987: The Sisters were granted a tax-exempt status after trashing Pope John Paul II’s visit to San Francisco. The Sisters held an “exorcism” and a “Condom Savior Mass” in Union Square. At the event, they featured “the Latex Host” and referred to Jesus as “the Condom Savior.” They also burned the Pope in effigy.

1987: They staged a “Hunky Jesus” contest, something they do every year on Easter Sunday.

1989: On their tenth anniversary, they held many events, including one with “Sr. Psychedelia’s” rise from the dead, and “Pope Dementia’s Altered Boys.” They wore “only thongs and smiles.”

1989: At the “Condom Savior Mass,” the Sisters read from a text of the “Condom Savior Consecration.” It said, “The Latex Host is the flesh for the life of the world. Just as the Creator who has life sent us, we have life because of the Condom Savior. Those who feed on this latex will have life because of it. This is the bread that comes down from Heaven, and, unlike those who eat not and therefore die, those who feed on this bread shall live forever!”

1990: A staff writer for the Miami Herald said the Sisters were noted for “carrying a 20-foot replica of a penis” at its street events.

1992: At a rally in Sacramento at the Capital Christian Center, the Sisters held signs of the Cross with a pink inverted triangle in the place of Jesus; the inscription read, “Stop Crucifying Queers.”

1992: “On Parade,” a publication of the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration Committee, published an article by “Sister Dana Van Iquity” which said the motto of the Sisters is “Encroach not on my crotch!” and “Leave my loins alone.” He described the day’s events, including “Dykes on Bikes” and “Dykes with Tikes on Trikes.”

1993: At another rally at the Capital Christian Center, protesters held a sign, “Queer Alert: Fighting for Freedom From Religion.”

1993: Twelve years after AIDS hit, they demonstrated in Washington, “reeling in anger and despair” over five of their members who died of the sexually transmitted disease.

1993: The Sisters were banned from the March on Washington’s stage for being “too controversial and not the appropriate image” for C-Span and “the movement.”

1993: The Sisters are seen as so offensive that they incur the wrath of Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, the authors of a landmark book on gays, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s. They say of the Sisters, “‘Fringe’ gay groups ought to have the tact to withdraw voluntarily from public appearance at gay parades, marches, and rallies, but they don’t care whether they fatally compromise the rest of us.”

1994: They served “holy communion wafers and tequila” to the congregation at a mock Mass.

1999: On the cover of the April 1, 1999 edition of the San Francisco Bay Times there was a full-page picture of a Sister superimposed on a cross-like photo with his hands stretched out, imitating Jesus on the Cross.

2000: In San Francisco, they held a Good Friday event where they sponsored a fetish fashion show that provided “a chance to get spanked” and free “Sticky Buns.” Dr. Carol Queen held her “Good Vibrations Dildo Fashion Show.”

2001: I petitioned the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Sisters, citing multiple examples of “vulgar, obscene and bigoted material against the Catholic Church and its members.”

2002: They celebrated Easter with an “Indulgence in the Park” event that featured a “clown-drag-nun” fundraiser, along with the annual “Hunky Jesus” contest.

2004: They spent the entire month of December bashing Christmas in Los Angeles.

2008: San Diego House of the Sisters—The Asylum of the Tortured Heart, which was founded in 2005, held a “Midnight Confessional Contest” that gave prizes to those with the “hottest confessions.” It was held in a gay bar.

2009: They held a block party in San Francisco where some of the men danced naked in the street.

2010: At the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts winter gala, the Sisters were asked to perform six musical acts in a “Nunway Noir” drag fashion show where attendees could “bask in the bloody gore of occult film screenings.”

2011: In a Daily Beast column, gay writer Andrew Sullivan called the Sisters’ “Hunky Jesus” event a form of “blasphemy.” He was so angry at them that he said, “This makes me feel like Bill Donohue.”

2018: The Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon hosted “Drag Queen Storytime with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” despite their history of anti-Catholicism. The event explicitly targeted kids 2-6.

2022: The Sisters gave an award for featuring Lil Hot Mess, “a man who dresses as a woman for children and one of the leading activists behind Drag Queen Story Hour.”

2023: A Sister won the “Free Choice Mary” pro-abortion award. The man, dressed with a nun’s veil, wearing a bra and panties, was featured holding a baby doll with a sign, “I Had A Choice.”

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

The following entries are a brief summary of the actions we took against the Dodgers. As you can see, we were relentless, issuing one news release after another, contacting Catholic and non-Catholic notables in Los Angeles, taking out radio ads, calling out those who were duplicitous, publishing background material concerning previous battles with the “Sisters,” etc.

May 16—Catholic League president Bill Donohue writes to Manfred calling on him to intervene to stop the Dodgers from honoring the “Sisters.” Additionally, at approximately 10:40 A.M. ET, we issue a statement asking Catholic League members to contact Manfred to express their outrage.

May 17—At approximately 3:00 P.M. ET, the Dodgers tweet that they will no longer honor the “Sisters.”

May 17—Within moments of the Dodgers’ announcement, we issue a statement thanking Catholic League members for their efforts.

May 23—Donohue again writes Manfred expressing his disappointment with the change of course and asks for a meeting. We request Catholic League members to contact Manfred once more. Further, we call for a boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” that honors the “Sisters.”

May 23—We additionally publish a comprehensive report chronicling the anti-Catholic antics of the “Sisters.”

May 24—We write every parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles asking them to join in the boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night.” In his letter, Donohue includes the report on the “Sisters” to galvanize support for the boycott.

May 25—We unveil that efforts to garner support for the boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” will be a multifaceted approach and will include outreach to many prominent Catholic leaders in Los Angeles.

May 30—We write every Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles asking them to join in the boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night.” In his letter, Donohue includes the report on the “Sisters” to galvanize support for the boycott.

June 5—We publish the correspondence between Donohue and Peter A. Magowan, owner of the San Francisco Giants, from 1995 showing how the team at the time handled a similar controversy involving the “Sisters.” The stark contrast between these two incidents reflects the state of our culture.

June 5—We call on our members to contact California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins about her invitation to honor the “Sisters” on the floor of the Capitol in Sacramento.

June 6—We announce the launch of our radio ad calling on Catholics to boycott the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” on June 16. The ad runs 25 times on KABC from June 6 to 9.

June 7—We contact 126 additional Catholic entities in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles asking them to join in the boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night.” In his letter, Donohue includes the report on the “Sisters” to galvanize support for the boycott.

June 7—Several media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, take note of the Catholic League’s radio ad urging Catholics to boycott the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” on June 16. The robust media response is indicative of the ad’s effectiveness.

June 8—We contact 236 of the most prominent Hispanic leaders in the Los Angeles area asking them to join in the boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night.” In his letter, Donohue includes the report on the “Sisters” to galvanize support for the boycott.

June 12—Based on the success of our KABC radio ads the previous week, we launch a second round of ads urging fans not to attend the June 16 Dodgers’ “Pride Night” game. They run on KABC 25 times from June 12-15.

June 13—We issue a statement on MLB’s double standards in allowing the Dodgers to honor the “Sisters” while tacitly condoning the Blue Jays cutting Anthony Bass for expressing Christian beliefs. Additionally, we encourage our members to contact Manfred again for allowing the team to punish Bass for exercising his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

June 13—We contact 114 of the most prominent non-Catholic religious leaders in the Los Angeles area asking them to join in the boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night.” In his letter, Donohue includes the report on the “Sisters” to galvanize support for the boycott.

June 14—We announce that the Catholic Daughters of America joined our boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” honoring the “Sisters.”

June 15—We reach out one last time to everyone we have contacted since this fight with the Dodgers began. Once again we ask these important leaders in LA to support our boycott of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” honoring the “Sisters” on June 16.

June 16—We post the Dodger “Code of Conduct” which states no religion can be disrespected at their games. Thus did they make a mockery of their own rule.

June 17—Our successful outreach campaign achieved victory as we drove down attendance at the Dodgers’ “Pride Night.” The stadium was practically empty when the “Sisters” were honored, and the few people in the stands booed.

June 19—Following our victory, we reach out to Commissioner Manfred and every MLB owner asking them to heed this as a warning. If they just play baseball, stay out of politics, and never again honor an anti-Catholic group, they can avoid the PR nightmare and the blowback it engenders.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

MASS MAILING TO L.A. PARISHES ON “SISTERS”

Today we are sending our report on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to over 300 parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In the cover letter, I am asking pastors to let their parishioners know about our response to the Dodgers giving an award to the “Sisters” at Dodger Stadium on “Pride Night”, June 16. We are asking Catholics not to attend the game.

We are grateful for the support of Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez and San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

The release of the report online yesterday was our first salvo against the Dodgers and Major League Baseball (it could have stopped the event). Today’s mass mailing represents our second response.

This will be an ongoing campaign over the next few weeks.

L.A. SCHOOLS CONTACTED ON “SISTERS”

Today we are sending our report on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to 53 schools—elementary, high school, colleges and universities—in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In the cover letter, I am asking educators to let their constituents know about our response to the Dodgers giving an award to the “Sisters” at Dodger Stadium on “Pride Night”, June 16. We are asking Catholics not to attend the game.

This will be an ongoing campaign over the next few weeks.

L.A. RADIO AD BLITZ v. DODGERS BEGINS

Starting today, for five consecutive days, we are running 25 radio ads (30 seconds each) on KABC asking listeners not to attend the June 16 “Pride Night” Dodgers game that features the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.” KABC is the ABC affiliate that covers Los Angeles and the Southern California area.

Due to copyright laws, we are prohibited from mentioning the Dodgers, or Dodger Stadium, per se. Everyone in the huge listening area will understand what the selected euphemisms mean (the stadium is also known as Chavez Ravine).

Here is the text of the ad that is being read by a woman chosen by KABC.

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, is asking Catholics not to attend the game at the Ravine on June 16. That is when an anti-Catholic group, the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” will be given an award.

We are not asking Catholics to boycott all games. Just this one. By doing so, we will send an unmistakable message that bigotry against Catholics should not be tolerated.

If attendance dips on June 16, the entire league will take note. Please boycott this game.

AD BLITZ AGAINST DODGERS WORKING

KABC radio in Los Angeles started June 6 airing the first of 25 ads paid for by the Catholic League asking listeners not to attend the June 16 “Pride Night” Dodgers game honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an anti-Catholic hate group; it runs through June 9. The initial reaction has been very positive.

The Los Angeles Times just published a story, “Catholic League Launches Radio Ad Campaign Urging Boycott of Dodgers’ Pride Night.” While the story is not critical of the “Sisters,” it accurately conveys our stand.

Now we have been contacted by other media outlets asking permission to disseminate the ad. We are encouraged by this robust response.

It should be noted that while there are several lay Catholic groups that have weighed in against the Dodgers, the Catholic League is the only organization in the nation to launch an ad campaign. Coupled with our mass mailings to prominent Catholics in the Los Angeles area, we are proud to lead the way. Even critics of the overall Catholic response are citing our leading role.

We will have more to say tomorrow about the next stage in our campaign.

MORE L.A. CATHOLICS CONTACTED

Today we are contacting 126 Catholic entities asking them to spread the word about our boycott of the June 16 “Pride Night” Dodgers game that will honor the anti-Catholic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. To that end, we are sending them a copy of our report that details the bigoted acts of this hate group.

We previously mailed our report to over 300 parishes in the Los Angeles archdiocese. We also contacted 53 Catholic schools, including colleges and universities. In each case, we asked pastors and educators to ask their constituents not to attend the June 16 game.

Now we are asking the Catholic leaders of the following archdiocesan entities to do the same: Residences of priests and brothers; endowments, foundations and trusts; retreat houses; hospitals and health systems; seminaries; and convents and residences for women.

Also ongoing is our radio ad blitz on KABC in Los Angeles asking area Catholics to boycott the June 16 game. Stay tuned for more announcements about our campaign.

L.A. LATINOS: SAY NO TO DODGERS “SISTERS” GAME

Today, the Catholic League will contact 236 of the most prominent Hispanic leaders in the Los Angeles area, asking them to spread the word about our request for area Catholics not to attend the June 16 Dodgers game that will honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an anti-Catholic group of drag queens.

Our appeal is being made to the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders, the LA Latino Chamber of Commerce, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Los Angeles. All 236 leaders will receive a letter that details our request, and a copy of the report that I wrote about the history of anti-Catholic acts committed by the “Sisters.”

This brings to over 700 Catholic leaders we have contacted in Los Angeles asking them to tell their constituents not to attend the June 16 game.

ROUND 2 OF KABC RADIO AD v. DODGERS

We are so happy with the strong response to our KABC Los Angeles radio ad against the Dodgers that we have decided to do it again.

Last week, we ran 25 ads, 30 seconds each, imploring listeners not to attend the June 16 “Pride Night” game featuring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence; the ads ran June 6-9. Our next round runs from June 12-15.

We will have more to say about the June 16 game throughout the week. It is important that attendance at this game drop below the attendance for last year’s “Pride Night” game. Major League Baseball needs to get the message—not just the Dodgers: Anti-Catholic bigotry should no more be tolerated than any other expression of hate.

NON-CATHOLIC VIPS CONTACTED

Our campaign against the Dodgers continues today with an appeal to non-Catholic leaders in the Los Angeles area. We are asking 114 of the most prominent members of the following religious communities to join our campaign: Evangelical Protestants, Mormons, Muslims and Orthodox Jews. We are sending them a copy of our report on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Our campaign has a defined goal: We want to drive down the attendance at the June 16 game that is honoring the “Sisters.” If we succeed in doing so, it will make it unlikely that other baseball teams will follow the lead of the Dodgers.

CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS JOINS OUR CAMPAIGN

We are proud to announce that the Catholic Daughters of America has joined our campaign against the Dodgers for honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on June 16. “We applaud the work that you do,” is how Kelly Carter of the organization put it.

The Catholic Daughters of America is comprised of over 60,000 Catholic women in the continental United States and its territories. On June 7, they passed a resolution condemning the Dodgers for their invitation to the “Sisters.”

The key to our protest is to persuade people in the Los Angeles area, especially Catholics, not to attend the June 16 game. If the attendance is down from last year’s “Pride Night,” that will be a very important cultural marker.

“LAST CALL” TO L.A. CATHOLICS

It all began May 16. That was the day we launched a massive email campaign asking our followers to contact Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, protesting the decision by the Los Angeles Dodgers to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on “Pride Night” June 16. The very next day, the Dodgers pivoted and disinvited the bigots. Then they pivoted again, reinviting them.

Over the past five weeks we have been relentless in our quest for a boycott of the June 16 game. We disseminated a report I wrote on the anti-Catholic antics of the “Sisters” wide and far, including a mailing to over 300 parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Our boycott will not extend beyond Friday night. We chose one game for one reason: Prudence dictates that we can’t get fans to boycott all Dodgers games. But we may be able to persuade them not to attend the June 16 game.

This is our “Last Call” to all of those key players in the Los Angeles area that we have contacted over the past several weeks. We are contacting all of them again.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

Major League Baseball (MLB) was okay with one of its teams honoring a vile anti-Catholic group of drag queen bigots, but it was not okay with a pitcher who objects to the radical LGBT agenda. That was the principal takeaway in light of MLB’s response to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence being honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass’ rejection of LGBT extremists.

Everyone knows how Bud Light used a twisted cross-dressing activist to market its beer, triggering a backlash from normal men. Similarly, Target’s decision to market “tuck-friendly” women’s swimsuits that conceal male genitalia (the outfits are made for men who claim to be a woman yet refuse to have their sex organs cut off) inspired normal men and women to object. In late May, Bass posted an Instagram video that criticized the two companies.

The video included a plea by its creator, Ryan Miller, asking Christians to boycott Bud Light and Target. Although Bass did not personally comment on the post, he came under fire by LGBT activists and the front office of the Blue Jays. After the blowback, he apologized, but it was too late. His team dumped him, saying he was a “distraction.”

We have not heard a word from Rob Manfred about this perversion of justice.

We forced his hand on May 16 to nix the Dodgers decision to honor the “Sisters” (he was so bombarded with emails protesting this stunt that the next day the bigots were disinvited). But a few days later, he and the Dodgers succumbed to pressure from the LGBT crowd and reinvited them. So we know which side they’re on.

Manfred’s silence with regard to the Bass matter suggests he is okay with the player effectively being fired for exercising his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Nothing in the video was obscene or insulting, but everything the “Sisters” do is both.

What kind of moral compass Manfred, the Dodgers and the Blue Jays are working with is a mystery. They have managed to sanction a vicious assault on Catholic sensibilities while simultaneously punishing those who reject LGBT mania. They are twice wrong.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out
reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

The Dodgers and the Giants are not only longtime baseball rivals, they handle similar controversial issues in an entirely different matter. Over the past few decades, both teams have reached out to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, but after the Catholic League criticized each for doing so, their responses were quite different.

The Dodgers controversy was the most recent one.

The decision by the Dodgers to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on “Pride Night”, June 16, triggered a robust response from us: our email subscribers unloaded on Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Major League Baseball. The next day, the “Sisters” were disinvited. But then the Dodgers succumbed to pressure from the other side and reinvited them.

This is in stark contrast to how the San Francisco Giants handled a similar matter almost three decades ago.

In 1995, the Giants held a fundraising event to combat AIDS (which we applauded), but at the event were the “Sisters.” Bill Donohue objected and about a week later he got a letter of apology from Peter A. Magowan, president of the Giants; he pledged to never allow something like this to happen again.

So there we have it. There are two models: the responsible one, as exhibited by the Giants; and the irresponsible one, as exercised by the Dodgers.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out
reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

It’s hard to believe, but on June 5 California Democrats honored one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Michael Williams (he goes by “Sister Roma”). The invitation was extended by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins. Williams is one of a larger group of queers and trans persons that was honored on the floor of the Capitol in Sacramento.

Throughout much of the last century, the Democrats were the Catholic-friendly Party. That changed in the 1970s, and in recent years it has become increasingly inhospitable to Catholics. While there are still great Catholic Democrats, too many are now openly anti-Catholic. This event proves it.

Faithful Catholics held an ecumenical prayer vigil on the west steps of the Capitol.

On the day of the award ceremony, June 16, L.A. County Supervisor, Lindsay Horvath, said, “Congratulations to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on your honor tonight at Dodger’s Pride Night. Your commitment to service and our Catholic values inspires me.”

The only difference between these California Democrats and the Ku Klux Klan is that the latter promotes violence. But non-violent bigotry is not only intolerable, it abets its violent manifestations.

This is the article that appeared in the July/August 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out
reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.

We live in a postmodern world where people make up their own idea of truth. It’s delusional. People are entitled to their own opinion, but there is only one truth. And in Bill Donohue’s book, The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse: Clarifying the Facts and the Causes, he amassed over 800 footnote citations telling the truth about how the scandal unfolded. The role of homosexuals was central.

But living in a state of denial about this verity is commonplace, and not simply among secularists. High-ranking officials in the Catholic Church are just as guilty.

The National Catholic Reporter, which contributed to the scandal by giving succor to dissident and twisted seminarians and priests, published an article on this subject, trotting out all the old canards. It begins by quoting Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Parolin, who is not a social scientist, said to link homosexuality to clergy sexual abuse is a “serious and scientifically untenable association.” He said, “Homosexual orientation cannot be considered as either cause or aspect of the person.” He’s wrong.

There is a reason why the Catholic Catechism teaches that homosexual inclinations are “intrinsically disordered.” It does not say that about heterosexual inclinations, and that’s because men and women are naturally ordered toward each other. It is this attraction of people of the opposite sex that allows for procreation.

Does a homosexual inclination, or orientation, cause the sexual abuse of minors? Not directly. But then again mono-causality is an anomaly. Is there a link between a homosexual orientation and the sexual abuse of minors? Of course. How else to explain why homosexuals are more likely to abuse minors than heterosexuals, in and out of the priesthood?

We know that 81 percent of the molestation of minors has been the result of priests hitting on adolescent boys (pedophilia is rare). The John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which did two big studies on this issue, provided the data. The Reporter says that the researchers “found no correlation between homosexual identity and the sexual abuse of minors.” That’s correct. But that finding is next to meaningless.

Notice the key word “identity.” Now ask yourself, “If an adult man has sex with a postpubescent male—that is defined as homosexuality—why would it matter if he does not consider himself to be a homosexual?” His perception does not change objective reality.

To put it differently, if most of the priests who had sex with a male adolescent considered themselves to be straight, would that mean that the clergy sexual abuse scandal was driven by heterosexual priests? Only a fool would conclude as such.

Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who is also living in denial, is quoted as saying, “We don’t have categories of people. I would never dare to indicate a category as a category that has a tendency to sin.” This is nonsense.

Most street crime is committed by young men from fatherless homes. Fatherless homes are a category of people; not to discuss their role in accounting for violent crimes would be delinquent. Similarly, since homosexual priests commit most of the sexual abuse of minors, it would be delinquent not to discuss their role.

It was not very helpful of the Reporter to cite Pope Francis as being in their corner. Not quite.

If Pope Francis did not believe there was a link between a homosexual orientation and sexual molestation, why did he second the position of Pope Benedict XVI in barring men with “deeply-seated homosexual tendencies” from the priesthood? It’s because they are the problem, that’s why.

The pope has also spoken about the “gay mentality.” He doesn’t talk about the “heterosexual mentality.” He has repeatedly warned about the “gay movement” and the “gay lobby.” Every honest person knows why.

Similarly, when a bishop told the Holy Father that it was no big deal that several priests in his diocese were homosexuals—it was just an “expression of affection”—he strongly disagreed. “In the consecrated life and in the priestly life, there is no place for that kind of affection.” Well said.

If there is no direct cause between being a homosexual and molesting minors, why are homosexuals overrepresented in committing these crimes? Between the independent variable, being a homosexual, and the dependent variable, the molestation, there is an intermediate variable that explains the relationship: emotional and sexual immaturity.

We’ve known, at least since Freud, that many homosexual men are psychosexually stunted—they tap out in their adolescence—and it is this immaturity that attracts them to adolescents. Some, though not most, homosexual men express their immaturity by molesting minors. It is this that accounts for their role in the sexual abuse of minors.

We will never cure this curse in the Catholic Church unless we come to grips with the disastrous role that immature homosexual priests have played in generating the scandal. As Catholics, we are called to pursue the truth. It’s time more did so.