The Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to reinvite LGBTQ group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to its Pride Night celebration is "deeply offensive," said former Vice President Mike Pence.
"Having been raised in a Catholic family, the Dodgers decision to invite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a hateful group that blatantly mocks Catholicism, to their event next month is deeply offensive," Pence tweeted Tuesday.
"The MLB should not be apologizing to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, they should be apologizing to Catholics across America," he added. "America's pastime should respect the faith of every American no matter what."
The Dodgers initially rescinded an invitation to the group after it received backlash for the decision from several conservative voices, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Catholic League President and CEO Bill Donohue.
But the team publicly apologized a few days later and invited the group back on June 16 after several LGBTQ+ groups said they would not participate.
Dodgers' pitcher Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, was not on board with the decision.
"I don't agree with making fun of other people's religions," Kershaw said. "It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I just don't think that, no matter what religion you are, you should make fun of somebody else's religion. So that's something that I definitely don't agree with.
"This has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community or pride or anything like that," he said. "This is simply a group that was making fun of a religion; that I don't agree with."