While the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is encouraging Catholics to pray in reparation as the Los Angeles Dodgers honor an anti-Catholic group, the archdiocese has clarified that it is not involved with an LA prayer rally set to be headlined by Texas’ Bishop Joseph Strickland, and organized by a coalition of conservative Catholic organizations.
“This year, on June 16—the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — a professional baseball team has shockingly chosen to honor a group whose lewdness and vulgarity in mocking our Lord, His Mother, and consecrated women cannot be overstated. This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy,” the conference said.
The USCCB said its call was made by conference president Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who chairs the USCCB’s religious liberty committee and by LA’s own Archbishop Jose Gomez, himself a former conference president.
The USCCB’s decision to address the Dodgers controversy would appear to mark a more robust engagement with cultural issues for the conference, apparently with the support of Gomez.
The short statement was unusual in its strong language for a conference release— charging the baseball team with outright blasphemy for its decision to honor the anti-Catholic group.
In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, communication has also been sharp — a noted break from Gomez’ often reserved style on public issues.
An announcement on the archdiocesan website lamented that “[t]he forthcoming Dodgers event honoring a group that mocks women religious, and worse, desecrates the Cross, profanes the Eucharist, and disrupts Holy Mass has caused disappointment, dismay, and pain in our Catholic community, as well as among our fellow Christians and people of good will.”
“The Archdiocese calls on Catholics to stand together in prayer,” a recent statement explained.
But despite its calls for prayer and solidarity, the archdiocese clarified June 9 that it was not connected to a prayer procession planned for June 16 — which was originally billed to begin at the archdiocesan cathedral….
The event was announced to be led by Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, and according to LifeSiteNews, was originally scheduled to begin outside Los Angeles’ Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels — but has since been moved to a parking lot near Dodgers’ Stadium.
—The procession organizers “DO NOT recommend bringing children” as both a heavy police presence and “hostility” from counter protestors are expected.
From The Pillar
Such wimpy behavior from Archbishop Gomez, “leader” of the largest diocese in the nation. Donate instead to Bishop Strickland’s fundraising appeals.
Thumbs down. Because the thumbs don’t work again.
Really. you didn’t like this comment?? Wow, you must work for the archdiocese.
Nope. Just don’t like being told to donate to something. Always fishy.
That Gomez is AWOL tells everything, his mass on Friday is not enough, as a shepherd he is called to be an example for the faithful and the world. If he does not show or make a stand , then the criticism and repercussions will be justified , he has lead processions before why is this so difficult for him ?.
He’s smart and he has prayed over it.
Unless the LORD build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the LORD guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
Psalm 127:1
Click the link to read the whole story.
I want to remind everybody that each city has its own independent non-profit group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Part of the issue here is that the group being honored at Dodgers Stadium is not the group that did the Jesus on the Cross pole dance or the exorcism of John Paul II.
This group is being honored for charitable works in the LGBT community. Some Catholic groups are blaming them for things that other groups in other cities and other centuries have done.
I am sorry that people did not take the time to really learn about the organization that they were complaining about.
I am sorry that some bishops have added to it. I have heard them blamed for things that may have been a different gay group did in the “90s in NYC, but I have not been able to verify that the accusation even happened much less who did it.
I have learned a lot through all this about both the Sisters, these “catholic” organizations, including one who was ordered to stop using the word Catholic in its name and is still doing it (like the National Catholic Reporter, unlike RealCatholicTV), and about Catholic news sources.
I have also learned how gullible Catholics can be. And how mean some of them are.
Please pray before doing anything like this again. God is not pleased by any sin.
some sins cry to to heaven 4 vengence
The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are “sins that cry to heaven”: the blood of Abel, the sin of the Sodomites, the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, injustice to the wage earner. CCC 1867
Does not justify sins against them.
Pray.
Romans 12:17-21
Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all.
If possible, on your part, live at peace with all.
Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.”
Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
All of Romans 12 is a good examen.
Transvestite homosexuals pretending to be Catholic nuns never existed before now, take the scales from your eyes, you are deceived.
They are not pretending to be Catholic nuns. No one that saw them would think they were Catholic nuns. Most of them don’t wear habits except for whatever head dress is the signature of their particular organization.
Your post and others here form a strange defense of the Sisters and of Abp. Gomez’ inaction. It really doesn’t matter which group of Sisters is coming to Dodger Stadium. What they represent is a repugnant rejection of Christian morality and all the charitable works they do for the LGBTQ+ community stands in continuity with this rejection of Christian ethics. The Dodgers are to be blamed for thus honoring sin, and rubbing Catholics’ noses in their filth. It is right to oppose them, pious quoting of Romans 12 notwithstanding. This opposition is not evil, nor is it doing evil. It is not revenge — the idea itself is ludicrous. The Sisters are not hungry for food, but are famished for lack of truth and wisdom. To offer prayer and reparation is a true act of love toward these lost souls, and if they deny Christ’s lordship over their lives, they are lost.
Everyone is lost.
Good Shepherd, help us.
God cares if we say things about people that are not true or that harm their reputation.. He had it done to Him.
Birds of a feather…
If an Islamic group had been targeted, a Cleric well might have declared a fatwa and probably praised in the media.
Within each of us is a sinner and a saint. If you spend time with sinners, the sinner in you gets stronger. If you spend time with Jesus, Mary and the saints and angels, the saint gets stronger.
Then the sin in Jesus must have been quite strong, since he spent time with sinners. And so for those brave souls who minister at length to inveterate sinners, the same applies. Forgive me for finding fault with your dictum.
Haven’t you heard how the saints prayed all night long?
Dan, you argue just to argue.
God is everywhere and He never sins.
That is God.
People, not evangelists, who hang out with sinners, will become worse.
People who hang out with God and Mary will get better.
We are all sinners.
Certainly you can see the difference between watching porn and watching some of Ascension Press’ series?
Not my best moment…
And we wonder why Catholics are leaving the church?
I was listening to two podcasters talk about how they viewed everything including Catholicism through the lens of conservative culture war issues (like abortion and LGBTQ issues) and even equated Christianity with it. They judged other Catholics’ faith by these few things. One person said they had been that way because of being raised in a traditionalist family and church. The other seems to have gotten it from pro-life and conservative Catholic groups.
So is this where you all are getting it?
They talked about how they viewed themselves as Augustine’s City of God and as the faithful remnant.
I first noticed the errors in those kinds of organizations about 15 years ago. I started to realize how much money they took in and with the fall of Corapi and him admitting he was pocketing all the money, I started to look at everything with less naivete.
Don’t forget. In addition to praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart in reparation for blasphemy, there is another devotion for the Feast of the sacred Heart.
This prayer has a plenary indulgence on this feast day:
https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=235
And don’t forget the Golden Arrow.
3:00 PST Live Stream of Catholic Prayer Rally at Dodger Stadium! https://cforc.com/2023/06/watch-live-dodger-stadium-prayer-procession-in-los-angeles/
Also https://www.youtube.com/@catholicsforcatholics
Did not work.
My condolences to all those sexually, physically, psychologically and emotionally abused by Catholic nuns and sisters, members of Catholic religious orders and diocesan priests and bishops.
My condolences to them as well…weird, though…invoking one type of atrocity in order to take attention away from another atrocity…kind of makes it look like the ‘condolences are not really sincere, just a way to deflect from an atrocity that doesn’t bother us at all…now let’s get back to the atrocity that is the topic of discussion here…
It was sincere. There are many of us who will never tell our stories but every time somebody holds the clergy or nuns up as some paragon of virtue, it causes us to remember.
I am a devout Catholic but I know full well that God, Mary and the angels (through obedience to God) are the only holy ones in the Church. That is how God wills it.
i consider myself a polygon of virtue
looks like the Dodger stadium protest was a big nothing burger
I saw Bishop Strickland on one news report. He was walking alongside the Blessed Sacrament.
Hey, the Dodgers lost the game that night, and that’s good enough for me.
You notice something kind of suspicious and you wonder…?
And then a tweet confirms it.
CM
I can’t tell you because it would be gossip.
Strickland: muy huevon
Gomez: not so much
At least Gomez does not slander the Holy Father, as Strickland did, for which he is to undergo (or has already undergone) an apostolic visitation.
jon is wrong. The apostolic visitation was not about Bishop Scrickland’s tweets or statements concerning the Holy Father’s fidelity to the apostolic tradition. The visitation was prompted by and investigated Bishop Strickland’s management of the diocese: replacing finance officers and general administration. The story and the facts which contradict jon and disprove his claim are available at The Pillar Catholic news website.
In that case, it is good that I am mistaken. Even though the slander against the Holy Father by itself merits an apostolic visitation, if not dismissal, the fact that the visitation is for issues just as serious proves that Pope Francis is not this vindictive persona many people here describe him as. For once, I am happy to be wrong. God Bless Pope Francis; and may Bishop Strickland accept the Holy Sees findings.