A priest with a strong connection to legendary baseball broadcaster Vin Scully said he believes the late Los Angeles Dodgers announcer would not “approve” of their beloved team warming up to a drag troupe of self-described “queer and trans nuns.”
Father Steve Davoren, who presided over the Mass and burial service for Scully last year, spoke with The Daily Wire on Wednesday about the Dodgers re-inviting the controversial Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to its annual Pride Night celebration in a move that has outraged Catholics due to certain antics, such as pole dancing on a cross, that they say is a mockery of their faith and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
“I’ve got to keep that personal because he was a very personal guy,” Daveron said when asked what Scully might think of the situation. “But I think that, just, he is a deep man of faith, I mean on that I do know personally, and I know he loved the Dodgers, he loved the family, but he loved his faith.”
“And devout in his beautiful, amazing family that he has, just you could tell they radiate in Christ’s love because he and Sandra brought that to their family,” Daveron continued, referring to Scully’s late wife. “So I know — I just, my own personal, totally me, from my experience — that he would not approve because it is mocking it — a faith that was dear to him.” He added: “So I know he would not approve, I just have that feeling.”
Scully died at the age of 94 in August. He is remembered not just for being the “voice of the Dodgers” over the course of a 67-year career but as also a devout Catholic. “Faith is the one thing that makes it work, makes me keep going,” he once told Angelus News.
During Scully’s funeral, Daveron shared that he spoke about the acronym “FAMILY,” which stands for “Forget About Me, I Love You.” Himself a Dodgers fan since childhood, Daveron explained that he sees himself as part of the Dodgers family, and Scully as being like the “grandpa” of that family.
Daveron, who is a pastor at St. Mel’s Church in Woodland Hills, California, stressed that Pride Night in general is “fine,” but the Dodgers re-extending an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which the team did on Monday under pressure from LGBT groups, is what makes him feel an “intense sadness” and “pain” in his heart. “To mock in such a way that hits the core of what we believe is just so sad,” he added.
Daveron said his message to Dodgers is to “emphasize the Dodger family” without “alienating” any particular group. “You can be inclusive but you have to be unifying too,” he said before urging the team to focus on playing the game of baseball and creating a fun escape for all fans.