Kansas City Chiefs place kicker and three-time Super Bowl champion Harrison Butker delivered a powerful commencement speech at Benedictine College on Saturday.
Stephen D. Minnis, the college’s president, expressed his enthusiasm for Bartke to address the Class of 2024, students whose high school graduation ceremonies were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Butker’s speech was a passionate call to action for graduates. He reflected on the challenges posed by COVID-19 but quickly turned to broader social issues affected by the Biden regime’s poor policies and poor leadership.
He took aim at Joe Biden, denouncing his public displays of Catholic faith and pro-life stance.
The NFL player didn’t hesitate in his speech, addressing what he sees as contradictions between Biden’s actions and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Butker accused Biden of being “paranoid” for making the sign of the cross at a pro-life rally and said the behavior gave the false impression that one could be Catholic and support abortion.
His criticism extends beyond Biden to include other Catholics who support policies he considers problematic, including gender ideology promoted among young Americans. Bartek stressed that simply being Catholic is not enough and warned against complacency within the Church.
The following is a transcript of Harrison Butker’s speech:
“In the COVID-19 fiasco, you’ve missed out on many milestones that the rest of us, the elderly, take for granted. While COVID-19 may have played a significant role in your upbringing, it’s not unique. Bad policies and Bad leadership has a negative impact on major life issues Abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, and the media’s growing support for degenerate cultural values all stem from widespread confusion.
Our own leader is a man who openly and proudly professes his Catholic faith, but who is also delusional enough to cross himself at a pro-life rally. He is so outspoken in his support of the murder of innocent babies that, I am sure, to many people it appears that you are both Catholic and pro-life. He is not alone.
From the people behind the coronavirus lockdowns to those pushing dangerous gender ideologies on America’s young people, they all have one clear thing in common: They’re all Catholic. This is an important reminder: simply being Catholic does not solve the problem. These are the things we are told not to mention in polite society, things that are difficult and unpleasant.
But if we are to be the men and women of this time in history, we need to stop pretending that Nice Church is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act with kindness, but kindness must never be mistaken for cowardice. It’s safe to say that over the past few years I’ve developed a reputation for speaking my mind.
I never imagined myself and never wanted to have this platform, but God has given it to me so I have no choice but to embrace it and preach more of the hard truth about accepting your path and staying in it. As members of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, it is our responsibility and our privilege to be truly, unapologetically Catholic. Don’t get me wrong, even within the church, people in polite Catholic circles will try to convince you to remain silent.
There was even an award-winning film made by Catholics called “Silence” in which one of the main characters, a Jesuit priest, abandoned the church as an apostate and when he died he was seen Clutching a cross, quietly unknown to anyone but God. As His Excellency Bishop Robert Barron, a friend of Benedictine College, said when commenting on the film, this is exactly what the cultural elite want to see in Christianity: private, private, and harmless.
Our Catholic faith has always been counter-cultural. Our Lord and countless followers were put to death for obeying His teachings. The world around us tells us that we should keep our beliefs to ourselves whenever they go against the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are afraid to tell the truth because, unfortunately, the truth is now in the minority.
Congress just passed a bill stating something as basic as the Bible’s teaching on who killed Jesus could land you in jail. But make no mistake, before we can try to solve any of the problems plaguing society, we must first get our own house in order, and that starts with our leaders.
watch:
NEW: Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker blasted President Joe Biden and DEI during commencement speech at Benedictine College.
“Our country’s leaders openly and proudly profess their Catholic faith, but at the same time are full of delusions… pic.twitter.com/DvNRWCjrhf
— Colin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 13, 2024
You can watch the full speech here.
