Bishop Joseph Strickland and prominent evangelist Jesse Romero told Newsmax on Thursday they will be among the many Christians in Los Angeles on Friday rallying against the Dodgers' honoring a performance drag group that mocks many Christian and Catholic practices as part of its Pride Night festivities.
Strickland, who heads the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, is scheduled to lead a Eucharistic procession at one of the parking lots at Dodger Stadium as part of a prayerful protest sponsored by Virgin Most Powerful Radio. Romero will lead a prayerful procession at Dodger Stadium in reparations for offenses committed against Jesus Christ and all Christians.
"I would characterize it more as speaking up the beautiful truth of Jesus Christ," Strickland told "The Chris Salcedo Show" of his rally. "Our world needs [it] more desperately than ever. The situation with the Dodgers and this event that they're sponsoring just really reminds me that people need to know who Jesus Christ is, the power of his love, his savior of all. That really was my motivation.
"Certainly, any denigration of Christ is terrible. But the main thing is his message is always positive, full of love, joy, and life."
The Dodgers are giving Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence its Community Hero Award on Friday night. In early May, the team disinvited the group after facing pressure from Christian organizations and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. But it did an about-face after backlash from LGBTQ+ groups and elected leaders, apologized to the group on May 22, and reinvited it to the game.
Although Romero said what the Dodgers are doing is anti-Catholic bigotry and anti-Catholic hatred, the motive for him to attend th rally is "out of love for Jesus Christ. There's no hatred here."
"As lay Catholics, we're called to bring Christ into the public square," Romero said. "It's a missionary mandate that every lay baptized Catholic has been given by the church. ... Our lord Jesus Christ has been blasphemed; he has been profaned. This is a sacrilege against the person of Christ, against our holy nuns, against the Holy Catholic faith.
"As Catholics, we're also Americans. We're going to use our freedom of speech, our freedom of religion. We're going to peaceably assemble. Jesus says pray for those who curse you. We're going to be praying for them, as well. We're going to be asking God to bring down the graces of conversion upon these people that are disoriented and are walking down a dark path."
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