Harrison Butker, placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs and three-time Super Bowl Champion, delivered a powerful commencement speech at Benedictine College on Saturday.
The college’s President, Stephen D. Minnis, expressed his enthusiasm for having Butker speak to the class of 2024, whose high school graduations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Butker’s address was a fervent call to action for the graduates. He reflected on the challenges posed by COVID-19 but quickly pivoted to broader societal issues influenced by bad policies and poor leadership under the Biden regime.
He took aim at Joe Biden, denouncing his public display of Catholic faith in conjunction with his pro-abortion stance.
The NFL player’s speech was unflinching as he addressed what he considers to be a contradiction between Biden’s actions and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Butker accused Biden of being “delusional” for making the sign of the cross at a pro-abortion rally and suggested that such actions give the false impression that one can be both Catholic and pro-choice.
He extended his critique beyond Biden to other Catholics who support policies he finds problematic, including gender ideologies being promoted among America’s youth. Butker emphasized that merely being Catholic is not enough and warned against complacency within the Church.
Here’s the transcript of Harrison Butker’s speech:
“Throughout the COVID fiasco, you missed out on so many milestones the rest of us, older people, have taken for granted. While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique. Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values in media, all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.
Our own is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith but, at the same time, is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally. He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure, to many people, it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice. He is not alone.
From the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common: they are Catholic. This is an important reminder that being Catholic alone doesn’t cut it. These are the things we are told in polite society not to bring up, the difficult and unpleasant things.
But if we are going to be men and women for this time in history, we need to stop pretending that the Church of Nice is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act in charity, but never mistake charity for cowardice. It is safe to say that over the past few years, I’ve gained quite the reputation for speaking my mind.
I never envisioned myself, nor wanted to have this platform, but God has given it to me, so I have no other choice but to embrace it and preach more hard truths about accepting your lane and staying in it. As members of the church founded by Jesus Christ, it is our duty and ultimately our privilege to be authentically and unapologetically Catholic. Don’t be mistaken, even within the church, people in polite Catholic circles will try to persuade you to remain silent.
There even was an award-winning film called “Silence,” made by a fellow Catholic, wherein one of the main characters, a Jesuit priest, abandoned the church and, as an apostate, when he died, is seen grasping a crucifix, quiet and unknown to anyone but God. As a friend of Benedictine College, His Excellency, Bishop Robert Barron, said in his review of the film, it was exactly what the cultural elite want to see in Christianity: private, hidden away, and harmless.
Our Catholic faith has always been countercultural. Our Lord, along with countless followers, were all put to death for their adherence to His teachings. The world around us says that we should keep our beliefs to ourselves whenever they go against the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We fear speaking truth because now, unfortunately, truth is in the minority.
Congress just passed a bill where stating something as basic as the biblical teaching of who killed Jesus could land you in jail. But make no mistake, before we even attempt to fix any of the issues plaguing society, we must first get our own house in order, and it starts with our leaders.”
WATCH:
NEW: Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker blasts President Joe Biden and D.E.I. during his commencement address to Benedictine College.
“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith but at the same time is delusional enough to… pic.twitter.com/DvNRWCjrhf
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 13, 2024
You can watch the full speech here.
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