California lawmakers plan to honor a member of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” despite backlash over the Los Angeles Dodgers also honoring the anti-Catholic drag group.
The “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” is an organization of men who dress in drag queen versions of Catholic religious habits and claim to have a “ministry,” according to its website.
The California State Legislature’s LGBTQ Caucus will honor Michael Williams, a member of the “Sisters” who goes by “Sister Roma” and uses “she/her” pronouns.
“For more than three decades, Sister Roma has been one of the most outspoken and globally recognized members of San Francisco’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” the caucus said in an announcement about its 2023 “Pride Honorees.”
The caucus said that every year, it invites honorees from around the state to attend a daylong celebration in the state capitol.
“The LGBTQ Caucus recognizes these incredible people for their efforts in helping to advance representation, as well as for being an inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the caucus said.
The legislative caucus said Williams has fought “on the front lines” of the war against HIV/AIDS and “dedicated more than half her life to community service, activism and fundraising.”
“As an event producer and tireless volunteer, Roma has helped raise well over $1 million dollars for countless charities and LGBTQ organizations,” the lawmakers said.
The Dodgers plan to present a “Community Hero Award” to the Los Angeles chapter of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”
After backlash from Catholic organizations, the Dodgers said they had pulled the group from the list of award recipients for the team’s “Pride Night” celebration before their June 16 home game.
However, when LA Pride backed out of “Pride Night,” the Dodgers re-invited the anti-Catholic drag group and apologized to them.
Members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence go by names like Sister T’aint A Virgin, Sister Risqué of the Sissytine Chapel, and Sister Edith Myflesh. The group also mocks the process of becoming a Catholic nun by having members become a postulant, then a novice, and finally a fully professed “sister” with a black veil. One of the group’s founders originally used old habits used by real Catholic nuns.
“Go forth and sin some more!” is the group’s motto.
Back in 2007, members of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” trickedthe archbishop of San Francisco into giving them the Eucharist so they could defile it.
On Easter this year, the group put on a “Jesus and Mary-themed striptease” that involved a performer “writhing upside down on a large wooden cross,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. They also had shirtless men compete to be crowned the “hunkiest” Jesus.
“These are just a few examples of the SPI’s vile and diabolical actions which go far beyond parody or satire – they are blasphemous and deeply offensive to Christians everywhere,” CatholicVote, a Catholic nonprofit, wrote in a letter to the Dodgers protesting the drag group’s award.
Last month during the Dodgers controversy, the California LGBTQ Caucus released a statement slamming the team.
“It is truly disappointing the Los Angeles Dodgers have caved to pressure from mostly out-of-state conservative organizations and Florida Senator Marco Rubio to remove the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from its upcoming LGBTQ+ Pride Night,” the caucus said.
“They are not an anti-Catholic group,” the lawmakers said. “Pride Month is about supporting and uplifting every member of the LGBTQ+ community, not just when it’s easy and not when it’s not controversial. If you can’t support all queer people, don’t pretend to support any of them.”
The caucus added that it stands in solidarity with LA Pride, which had backed out of the Dodgers’ “Pride Night” when the team disinvited the “Sisters.”