Sister Shalita Corndog Has a Message for Critics of LGBTQ+ Nuns

In June, they made headlines once more when the Los Angeles Dodgers invited them to obtain a group award, uninvited them after conservative backlash, and reinvited them after backlash from the LGBTQ+ group.

Whereas the Sisters acquired an award at a June 16 Dodgers sport, protests led by varied Catholic group teams passed off exterior the stadium. The actions have been seemingly attended by members of the Proud Boys and well-known far-right figures, in addition to ex-LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. At its peak, the protest grew to almost 2,000 folks, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Regardless of the incident, Sister Shalita Corndog, a member of the group’s board of administrators — identified out of behavior as Juliano Innocenti, a psychiatric nurse practitioner — stated in an interview with Enterprise Insider she wished to maneuver away from dichotomies of “us and them.”

Corndog stated the Sisters weren’t upset in regards to the scenario with the Dodgers from the outset.

“We do not do issues for public accolade,” she stated. “We by no means have, we by no means will. It is not who we’re.”

Exterior of the incident, the Sisters have acquired ample criticism from individuals who assume they’re an anti-Catholic group. In accordance with Corndog, that is not the case in any respect — they usually do not think about themselves an order of Catholic nuns.

“The Sisters convey mild and satire and humor, to not make enjoyable of any faith or non secular religion, fairly the other. We respect them,” Corndog stated. “What we make mild of is the hate-filled rhetoric that spouts from a few of these, and I believe that will get misinterpreted usually by the general public.”

She stated a part of their mission is to “promulgate common pleasure” and “expiate stigmatic guilt,” or the guilt rooted within the human situation on the whole.

This a part of the mission is tougher since some folks carry “painful wounds” from the rhetoric they’ve heard or skilled in religion communities, Corndog stated.

“You are taught that God loves you, that you simply’re surrounded by guardian angels that shield you, that watch over you within the evening, very lovely comforting messages — however then they sneak in on the finish of that, ‘so long as you are heterosexual,'” she stated. “What the sisters do is we make it okay to separate that hate-filled rhetoric from the core religion and perception that that individual was linked to.”

She additionally stated that whereas some actions of the Sisters are well-publicized, like their “Hunky Jesus” or “Cunning Mary” costume competitions, different actions, just like the Sisters’ work with the unhoused and people with substance abuse issues, or their efforts to attach with lonely or struggling folks of their communities, are sometimes neglected.

Regardless of their charitable work, the Sisters obtain hate mail every day from throughout the nation, Corndog stated, which regularly contains violent and homophobic threats.

“I believe the way in which to confront this sort of hate and divide is in a most loving, divine method. To not worry them, to not hate them, however to actually put into the universe, whether or not you name it prayer or in any other case, a hope for them to seek out peace of their coronary heart,” Corndog stated. “To discover a pathway, to appropriate the error of their methods, and for them to one way or the other discover enlightenment from all the horrific hatred that they carry of their coronary heart. That have to be exhausting.”

However this sort of hate would not come from a particular hate or faith, Corndog added. As an alternative, she feels folks in energy have incorrectly interpreted non secular dogma.

“You’ll by no means hear a sister say, ‘you are flawed to consider that,'” Corndog advised Enterprise Insider. “We’d by no means, ever need anybody to really feel judged or belittled for having religion or believing in one thing.”

Corndog additionally stated she feels many non secular folks, in the event that they realized extra in regards to the Sisters, would help the group and their work.

She identified that Jesus Christ, within the Catholic Bible, usually used sarcasm and satire to attract consideration to injustice and strengthen their relationships with God.

“Love each other was on the core of his instructing, in addition to do not decide your self and do not decide others. These are actually the one two divine legal guidelines,” she stated. “I am undecided the people who find themselves spreading this hatred and this worry are conscious of how far off monitor they’ve gotten from their core perception.”

Regardless, Corndog stated, she doesn’t want any sick on individuals who disagree with the Sisters or ship them hate mail and sees lots of their beliefs as motivated by worry — particularly, a worry of going towards teachings they’ve been studying since they have been younger.

Relating to responding to such hateful rhetoric, Corndog first advises folks to keep away from engagement and hold themselves protected. Moreover, she stated, folks can become involved in organizations that “fight” hate in an organized, educated method. She talked about that, for instance, folks within the San Francisco Bay space may be part of actions just like the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Membership or a chapter of the Younger Democrats.

“You do not have to exit of your religion to fight this,” Corndog stated. “There are Catholic parishes and monks and organizations who’ve publicly come out in help of the Sisters.”

She summed up her recommendation by saying: “Keep alert, keep concerned, and know your limitations of what you possibly can and may’t deal with.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t reply to requests for remark from Enterprise Insider.