US Vice President JD Vance has falsely described the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as a “devil-worshipping” group while campaigning in Kansas, also misnaming the long-running LGBTQ+ charity and misrepresenting its appearance at a Los Angeles Dodgers Pride event.
Vance made the remarks on Monday, 14 September, during a MAGA Inc. campaign event in Olathe, Kansas, supporting Republican Senator Roger Marshall.
Marshall is facing Democratic challenger Reverend Adam Hamilton in November’s Senate election.
Vance used part of his speech to attack Hamilton over the involvement of his United Methodist congregation, Resurrection, in Kansas City PrideFest.
Resurrection was a sponsor of the 2026 event and describes its participation as part of its work supporting dignity, belonging and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Vance Misnames The Sisters
During the speech, Vance claimed Hamilton had supported a drag group he called “Our Ladies of Perpetual Indulgence”.
No organisation by that name exists.
He appeared to be referring to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the queer and trans charitable order founded in San Francisco in 1979.
Vance then described the Sisters as “the devil-worshipping group that was saying special blessings before LA Dodgers games” and called them an “anti-Christian hate group”.
The “devil-worshipping” characterisation is not supported by the group’s stated mission or activities.
The Sisters describe themselves as an all-volunteer order of queer and trans nuns focused on community service, human rights, fundraising, ministry and combating stigma through humour and irreverence.
Their use of Catholic-inspired imagery has long attracted criticism from some Christian groups, who consider the performances offensive or blasphemous.
That is different from evidence that the organisation worships the devil.
What Actually Happened At The Dodgers Game
Vance’s description of the Los Angeles Dodgers episode was also inaccurate.
In June 2023, the Dodgers honoured the Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a Community Hero Award during the team’s annual Pride Night.
The award recognised the group’s community service, outreach, human-rights advocacy and decades of charitable work.
The Sisters did not perform blessings before Dodgers games.
The ceremony took place before one Pride Night game against the San Francisco Giants.
The event itself became politically contentious after the Dodgers initially withdrew the invitation following objections from conservative Catholic organisations.
After criticism from LGBTQ+ and civil-rights groups, the team apologised and restored the Sisters as honourees.
Sister Roma Pushes Back
Prominent Sisters member Sister Roma rejected Vance’s description of the organisation.
“If he was talking about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, our name isn’t the only thing the vice president got wrong,” Roma said.
She described Vance’s comments as an inflammatory misrepresentation of the organisation and said the Sisters are a global human-rights and fundraising movement.
“We do not mock nuns, we are nuns,” she said.
The group’s own mission states that it uses humour and “irreverent wit” to challenge bigotry, guilt and stigma while supporting queer and trans communities.
Pride Sponsorship Becomes Campaign Issue
Vance’s comments came as he sought to connect Hamilton directly with activities at Kansas City PrideFest.
Hamilton founded Resurrection, a large United Methodist church in the Kansas City area.
The church publicly confirms it sponsored PrideFest in 2026 and says volunteers participated to affirm the dignity and belonging of LGBTQ+ people.
Vance argued that Hamilton should be held politically responsible for events and organisations appearing at the festival.
Hamilton’s campaign and church supporters have pushed back on efforts to portray Pride sponsorship as evidence of hostility towards Christianity.
The dispute has become part of a wider battle over LGBTQ+ issues in the Kansas Senate race.
A Familiar Target In US Culture-War Politics
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have increasingly become a target in conservative political messaging in the United States.
Supporters point to their decades of HIV/AIDS fundraising, safer-sex education, charitable work and LGBTQ+ advocacy.
Critics, particularly some Catholic and conservative Christian organisations, object to their use of nun imagery, religious symbolism and satire.
Those disagreements are real.
But describing the organisation as “devil-worshipping” or claiming it performed blessings before Dodgers games goes beyond those documented disputes.
Whatever voters think of the Sisters’ style or politics, the factual record is much simpler: they are a queer charitable and activist organisation, and the Dodgers honoured them for community work — not religious worship.
