The College Fix

‘Pervasiveness of disorder’ to blame for societal breakdown, bad leadership

Super Bowl winning kicker Harrison Butker ripped into COVID lockdowns and pro-abortion Catholics, like President Joe Biden, during his graduation speech at Benedictine College.

But he also encouraged students to be open to marriage and having kids, particularly directing his comments towards female students.

To male students, he told them to “be unapologetic in your masculinity,” and not listen to voices telling them they do not matter.

“As men we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in,” he said.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicker addressed the class of 2024 at the conservative Catholic college in Kansas on Saturday, noting they had missed out on opportunities due to the “COVID fiasco.”

“Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues,” Butker said, pointing to problems that continue in society.

“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,” he said.

“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 make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally,” Butker said, in reference to President Biden.

The president made the sign of the cross during a Florida rally several weeks ago when one speaker criticized Governor Ron DeSantis for signing legislation that bans most abortions.

“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,” Butker said.

He also appeared to criticize Dr. Anthony Fauci and people pushing gender ideology, noting they were Catholic.

Fauci went to a Jesuit high school and was raised Catholic. However, during a December 2023 interview with BBC he said “personal ethics in life are I think enough to keep me going on the right path,” explaining why he does not attend Mass or in any meaningful way live out his faith.

He also criticized the “tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Butker also criticized bishops who shut down churches and deprived people of the sacraments, saying they were “motivated by fear.”

He called on the graduates to embrace traditional values, referencing a recent Associated Press story.

The article covered the rise in traditional Catholic values within the Catholic Church in America, saying some parishes were in “turmoil” due to “traditionalism.”

‘I am certain the reporters at the AP could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine, wouldn’t be met with anger but instead met with excitement and pride. Not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire… https://t.co/0kFntf4C2G pic.twitter.com/ejTrV4onqL

— The College Fix (@CollegeFix) May 13, 2024

The story highlighted how “at Benedictine, Catholic teaching on contraception can slip into lessons on Plato, and no one is surprised if you volunteer for 3 a.m. prayers. Pornography, pre-marital sex and sunbathing in swimsuits are forbidden.”

“If these rules seem like precepts of a bygone age, that hasn’t stopped students from flocking to Benedictine and other conservative Catholic colleges,” the story reported, noting the growth of the school.
Butker said Benedictine’s growth is a “reminder to us all that when you embrace tradition, success, worldly and spiritual, will follow.”

“I am certain the reporters at the AP could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine, wouldn’t be met with anger but instead met with excitement and pride. Not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him.”

“…we see that in the complete surrender to self and in turning towards Christ, you will find happiness,” Butker said.

He urged female graduates to embrace marriage and motherhood and not be career focused. Last year at Georgia Institute of Technology, Butker told graduates to embrace marriage and family.

This year, he told the female graduates they had been told “diabolical lies,” and began talking about his wife Isabel and her “vocation as a wife and mother.”

https://t.co/rpfhdBLUW6 pic.twitter.com/p2Wj6nxQR8

— The College Fix (@CollegeFix) May 13, 2024

Choking up, Butker said “all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school, would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

He told female students to “disregard the outside noise and move closer and closer to God’s will in their life.”

Butker also told the graduates to not try to control the number of kids they have but be open to life.

He then pivoted to addressing the men and their importance.

“This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation,” he said.

“Be unapologetic in your masculinity, fighting against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy.”

MORE: ‘Babies are, in fact, good,’ columnist tells Notre Dame students

IMAGES: Benedictine College/YouTube; College Fix edits

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