How about Harrison Butker for the extra point? I have meant to weigh in on this one for a few days, and I will not let some hysterical voices on the fringes keep me from speaking the truth about what an epic graduation speech this three-time Super Bowl winner gave to a Catholic college.
When Pope Francis says we are all good, save some rogues and sinners, forgive him, for he knows not what he says—he seems to have lost his divine provenance, at least to me.
And when he takes shots at regular Americans and followers of the Catholic Faith—his flock—I am truly lost on the message the Holy Father is trying to deliver—and, more importantly, why.
When what he says is sinful, he goes against the facts and the tenets of the Catholic Church, his church. All Catholics deserve forgiveness according to the doctrine, for Francis knows nothing. He knows a lot less than, say, Harrison Butker, whose commencement address at Benedictine College speaks to the necessity of faith, family, and community.
What we know is that the head of the Holy See has no vision; that he has no right to undermine the beliefs and rites of the Catholic Church or any other Christians for that matter; that he is wrong in what he says, is wrong, as he speaks more like the ruler of the world’s smallest city-state than a believer in the glory of the heavenly city and Jesus of Nazareth.
Start in New York City, home to the United Nations.
Leave it to the UN to hold a moment of silence in memory of Ebrahim Raisi, aka the “Butcher of Tehran.”
Leave it to our deputy ambassador to join the ceremony at the request of Russia, China, and Algeria.
Leave it to the State Department to offer “official condolences” regarding the death of a theocrat and the supporter of a death cult.
Forgive me if I refuse to send a sympathy card to Tehran, for I will not stand, I will not rise, and I will not honor a murderer.
I will not reserve judgment.
We must not withhold judgment because we owe it to history, ourselves, and our posterity to speak the truth and secure it.
Evil is real. Raisi was evil, and that is beyond dispute. If you doubt me, look at the mass graves that he left littered behind him.
The pope’s words are off the mark—we are not fundamentally good.
We pray for a good heart and ask God to renew the spirit in us and America—this nation needs a spiritual revival now more than ever before.
We do need salvation.
When Harrison Butker talks about the role of the Church, he does so as both a Catholic and a citizen of the United States—and I praise him for having the conviction to do so.
He is not wrong if he finds the Church in America wanting and derelict in its duties.
He cannot be wrong if he says the state has no sovereignty over the sacraments, temporal power does not trump spiritual power, and the Church must not surrender its authority.
If he also says COVID is a catchall for what plagues the Church, that it is a symptom of a larger condition for which there is no vaccine, that there shall never be a vaccine, he is right.
The heart requires the love of the Church, not the wonders of science.
Here again, Butker preaches the Gospel, especially regarding fathers.
As he is a father, he’s also a husband.
He rightfully stands up for and defends the family, and he does so in defiance of the cancel culture and the wickedness that pervades so much of the world today.
He knows a truth so great—a law so good—that only intellectuals can deny it: there are two genders.
He wants young people, particularly the graduates of Benedictine College, to be upstanding men and women.
He wants them to be husbands and wives and mothers and fathers and to embrace the blessings of those wonderful things.
In this way, independent of politics, regardless of party, Butker is a conservative—and a proud one at that.
Pray that the pope does not find out because he says one who is conservative has a “suicidal attitude.”
Is Catholicism not a conservative institution?
Is the Church not an institution worth keeping?
Is the life of Christ, not a truth to know, with the Word as our eternal keepsake?
If it is suicidal to conserve what is true, if it is sinful to be true to the traditions of the Christian Church, if conservatism is our lot, praise God and honestly, rejoice in it.
Butker closes with this point, imploring graduates to order their lives by putting God first.
He explains how spiritual life informs the quality of life and that graduates should work where they can live their richest and most rewarding lives as Catholics and Christians.
Cynics may scoff at Butker’s words.
No doubt, cynics scoff at his words, dismissing his advice and denouncing his actions because of their own failings.
But cynics do not speak for us—the truth is not always popular.
Appearances notwithstanding, because Harrison Butker is young, rich, handsome, and blessed with the greatest of all blessings, a beautiful and healthy family, it is easy for his critics to write him off or to say it is easy for him to speak about the importance of faith, know this: appearances reveal little.
Butker is happy because he is a man of faith, not because he is a man of football.
His Christian faith is the source of his happiness.
All Christians should take comfort in his words and follow his example.
People of all faiths can bring comfort to their respective communities by raising good families.
Butker’s commencement address will inspire generations to come.
Schools will share it.
Professors will teach it, and students will read it.
Our duty is to live it as believers, as men, as Americans.
Congratulations to the graduates of Benedictine College.
Many thanks to Harrison Butker, too.
Let us be true to faith in God, with love for our families and loyalty to our country.