Dodgers drama can't stop this sister act

L.A.'s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence share their mission and their reaction to a week of outrage. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Los Angeles Times] [Essential California Newsletter] PRESENTED BY ADU Newsletter* May 26, 2023 [View in browser]( [Click to view images]( Vida Vegana, left, Sister Loose Clarita, Sister Unity, Sister Kumonawanna Leya, Sister Tootie Toot, Sister June Cleavage, Sister Suga N Spikes, Sister Candy Cide, Sister Bearonce Knows, Sister Harlot D Lite and Sister Perkie Dot of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. (Erik Carter / For The Times) By Ryan Fonseca Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California [newsletter](. It’s Friday, May 26. There’s no crying in baseball, as the saying goes. But there’s been plenty of emotions swirling over the Dodgers’ upcoming Pride Night game in the last week. By now you’ve probably seen the many headlines, but just to recap: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — an LGBTQ+ charity group whose members don habits and other nun attire as part of their drag outfits — were set to be honored with the Community Heroes Award at the Dodgers’ 10th annual Pride Night on June 16. Some conservative Catholic groups began to voice outrage, arguing the Sisters’ attire was anti-Catholic and the group was mocking their religion. The outcry ramped up with a call-in campaign led by [CatholicVote]( a group that [describes itself]( as “a community of patriotic Americans who believe that the timeless truths of the Catholic faith are good for America.” Their vibe is less “turn the other cheek” and more “[set the world on fire]( Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also chimed in, [writing to MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred]( to blast the Dodgers and the Sisters, saying the group “mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith” and that “baseball has always been tied to our nation’s values, at the heart of which is faith in God.” Last Wednesday, the Dodgers announced the Sisters had been disinvited from the Pride Night game, citing “the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the Sisters’ inclusion in our evening.” The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups [called out the Dodgers]( saying they’d pull out of the Pride Night game. The Los Angeles LGBT Center told the team to either invite the Sisters or cancel Pride Night entirely. Within a week, [the Dodgers reversed course]( apologizing to the Sisters and inviting them back to Pride Night to accept the award, which they agreed to do. Lost in the swirl of outrage was an understanding of the Sisters and their decades of work. Times reporter Deborah Netburn writes about faith, spirituality and joy for The Times and [spent an evening with the Sisters]( to get their stories and reaction to the big-league backlash. “The Sisters are used to attracting attention, but many acknowledge that the recent whiplash has taken an emotional toll,” Deborah wrote. Sister Tootie Toot said the Dodgers’ initial snub brought up painful person memories. “My initial reaction was here we go again — same old, same old,” she said. “As mostly queer and gay people, we’re used to disappointment and things being taken from us. A lot of us have experienced that with our families and friends and communities.” [Sister Tootie Toot of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Elysian Park in Los Angeles.] Sister Tootie Toot of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Elysian Park in Los Angeles. (Erik Carter / For The Times) The order was founded in San Francisco in 1979 as an irreverent joke by three gay men, but the group quickly pivoted to help their community when the AIDS crisis struck, holding [the first fundraisers for AIDS]( organizations and distributing the first safer-sex pamphlet. The Sisters’ mission, as explained on their website: “We make people happy, stamp out guilt brought on by a judgmental society and help various organizations and charities.” For the Sisters, their volunteer work (the group gives any money they raise to charity) is a calling. They take issue with being labeled anti-Catholic. “We appreciate nuns, and we’re doing it our own way, for our community,” Sister Harlot D Lite told Deborah. Sister Candy Cide of the Immaculate Misconception described the way the group’s power resonated when she first saw them at an L.A. Pride event. “I was still feeling the guilt that I was going to let my parents down because of who I was,” she said. “When I found out the message of the Sisters was about removing stigmatic guilt and repairing people’s joy, I was like, ‘I need to do that for myself, and I need to do it for other people too.’ ” Becoming a Sister is a process that can take 18 months or more, with multiple stages of initiation. “To graduate to full-fledged Sister, each novice must complete a project, such as producing an event or organizing a safe-sex campaign,” Deborah explained. “One sSster wrote a cookbook and gave the proceeds to an AIDS organization. Another organized a Sister story time at an LGBTQ+ space in Torrance, where Sisters read to kids in English and Spanish.” Before the Dodgers’ re-invitation, the Sisters [were invited]( to join Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken at the Angels’ Pride Night game, which they accepted. As for the Dodgers, the Sisters heard their confession and opted for forgiveness. “We believe the apology is sincere because the Dodgers have worked for 10 years with our community and as well they have asked us to continue an ongoing relationship with them,” the group [wrote in a statement](. They also bestowed their own blessing on the ball club and its devotees: May the games be blessed! May the players be blessed! May the fans be blessed! May the beer and hot dogs flow forth in tasty abundance! And now, here’s what’s happening across California: Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. ADVERTISEMENT BY ADU Newsletter [ADU Newsletter]( To ADU, or not to ADU? Make the right decision for you and your property with You Do ADU, a six-week newsletter series from the L.A. Times. Sign up for free today at latimes.com/ADU. End of advertisement L.A. STORIES When city officials’ grand unveiling of a “First-of-its-Kind Bus Stop Shade Structure” last week turned out to be a porous sheet of metal fastened to a sidewalk pole, social media denizens were quick to [create some shade of their own](. But as Times columnist Carolina A. Miranda writes, the dunking on L.A. obscures the underlying issue: “How we can make public transportation more friendly to women.” [Los Angeles Times]( [A perforated green metal screen shaped like a skateboard is attached to bus stop pole on a sunny L.A. street] A view of a “Sombrita” sun shade and lighting system on Gage Avenue in East Los Angeles. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times) A beloved South L.A. plant shop is being forced to move to make way for new development in West Adams. Plant Chica’s owners are looking for a new plot to put down roots, but the fate of the business — which some view as a “safe space” for Black and brown queer people — is in limbo. [Los Angeles Times]( POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT What does a mysterious company want with a desert ghost town? The once bustling iron mine in Riverside County was sold in April for $22.6 million, but the Cerritos-based LLC that purchased it isn’t talking. [Los Angeles Times]( California regulators are setting their sights on cash app companies, which offer payday advances and are disproportionately used by women. But reporters with [the Fuller Project]( write that the businesses “operate in a legal gray area that allows them to function much like a payday lender but without the consumer-protection rules that govern those businesses.” [Los Angeles Times]( ADVERTISEMENT CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING San Bernardino County’s child services department is being sued in federal court, five months after a grand jury deemed the agency “too broken to fix.” The lawsuit, filed on behalf of more than 5,800 kids, claims the agency failed to protect kids and sometimes put them in danger. [Los Angeles Times]( Support our journalism [Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.]( HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT Beware: this litter of mountain lion kittens found in Thousand Oaks are so ferociously cute, you might not survive an encounter. The three females, now dubbed P-113, P-114 and P-115 by National Park Service biologists, were discovered in the Simi Hills. They’re the latest felines to be part of the NPS’ 20-year study of cougars in the region. [Los Angeles Times]( [The mountain lion P-77 gave birth to female kittens P-113, P-114 and P-115 in May 2023.] Warning: side effects of viewing this photo include involuntary “awwws” and a warm heart. (National Park Service) California has become the first state to ban hexavalent chromium, a toxic substance used by chrome plating companies to give those shiny parts on classic cars, aerospace components and plumbing fixtures their shine. Known better as chromium 6, the substance is 500 times more more carcinogenic than diesel exhaust. The California Air Resources Board voted to phase out its use, giving smaller businesses until 2030 and larger plants until 2039. [Los Angeles Times]( Free online games Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at [latimes.com/games](. AND FINALLY Today’s California landmark is from Megan Parker of Los Angeles: Palos Verdes cliffs. [A view from Palos Verdes cliffs.] A view from Palos Verdes cliffs. (Megan Parker) Megan writes: Palos Verdes cliffs are a dream! The neighborhoods and views of the coast are one of a kind. California is one of the most beautiful places in the world once you actually explore this great state. What are California’s essential landmarks? [Fill out this form to send us your photos of a special spot in California]( — natural or human-made. Tell us why it’s interesting and what makes it a symbol of life in the Golden State. Please be sure to include only photos taken directly by you. 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