Published: May. 17, 2024 at 6:34 PM CDT
ATCHISON, Kan. (KCTV) - The Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica responded to the 2024 Benedictine College Commencement Address given by Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
The nuns spoke with KCTV5 on Friday, but asked that their views continue to be from that statement, which you can find at the bottom of this article.
A graduating senior at the college, Joshua Newton said there was a lot of looks between students while the commencement speech was being delivered.
Newton reserved his opinion of the commencement address until he read the transcript and allowed time for it to settle on his conscience. He said while that was happening he watched the online dialogue turn negative and then take a more positive light.
“It was a warring, battle cry, it was a rallying speech,” Newton said. “This is the last stop before you enter the world, and we’re a world at war, both theologically, philosophically, culturally, sociologically – this is a world of war and a lot of strive, and so this was; let me equip you with knowledge, no fluff.”
READ MORE: Harrison Butker’s Priest shares takeaways from commencement speech
Still the sisters of the Mount believe that division is cause for concern. In the statement they issued, they mainly spoke to the “diabolical lie” that Butker said has been told to women by modern society.
“How many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career. Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” Butker said in that speech on May 11.
Newton defended what Butker said in that moment.
“He was empowering women to say, ‘Hey, if you want to do this, go for it. And you have all the support in the world, because you have every right and you have every opportunity, you should have every opportunity to do it,” Newton said. “But do not believe that you are lesser if you want to be a mother, which many, many people in that crowd that day, wanted it to be.”
A petition circulating online calling for Butker to be dismissed from the Chiefs has gained more than 190,000 signatures.
Below is the statement from the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in response:
The sisters of Mount St. Scholastica do not believe that Harrison Butker’s comments in his 2024 Benedictine College commencement address represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested.
Instead of promoting unity in our church, our nation, and the world, his comments seem to have fostered division. One of our concerns was the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman. We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God’s people, including the many women whom we have taught and influenced during the past 160 years. These women have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given gifts in leadership, scholarship, and their careers.
Our community has taught young women and men not just how to be “homemakers” in a limited sense, but rather how to make a Gospel-centered, compassionate home within themselves where they can welcome others as Christ, empowering them to be the best versions of themselves. We reject a narrow definition of what it means to be Catholic. We are faithful members of the Catholic Church who embrace and promote the values of the Gospel, St. Benedict, and Vatican II and the teachings of Pope Francis.
We want to be known as an inclusive, welcoming community, embracing Benedictine values that have endured for more than 1500 years and have spread through every continent and nation. We believe those values are the core of Benedictine College.
We thank all who are supportive of our Mount community and the values we hold. With St. Benedict, we pray, “Let us prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he lead us all together to life everlasting.
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