By Judie Brown
Unless you live under a rock, you have probably noted the two diametrically opposed events that occurred within the past couple weeks. The first is our hero, Harrison Butker, a Catholic and the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. In 102 words, excerpted below, Butker created a controversy merely because he told the truth. In his speech, he said:
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 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. 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.
But those who detest truth and the heroic figures who proclaim it were up in arms. According to one report, a group that did not approve of Butker’s words collected more than 220 thousand signatures from irate Americans who want the football team to get rid of Butker. These are some of the same people who claim to be tolerant, yet their rancor tells the real story.
Further, given the fact that there are an estimated 260 million Americans over the age of 18, it seems that the mad dogs of rhetorical arrogance are in a minority—and a huge one at that.
Bravo, Mr. Butker.
And shame on Bishop John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. While Butker is touching lives with Catholic truth, Stowe is tearing them down.
In the wake of “Brother” Christian Mason, a hermit in the Lexington diocese, announcing that she had transitioned from female into male and is now living in a private hermitage as a monk, Bishop John Stowe weighed in.
Previously Stowe disagreed with the Catholic Catechism definition of homosexual tendencies being “objectively disordered,” suggesting that the Church should change its position. Now a statement from the diocese says of Mason, “He does not seek ordination, but has professed a rule of life that allows him to support himself financially by continuing his work in the arts and to live a life of contemplation in a private hermitage.”
If we take a moment to compare Stowe’s ill-informed opinion with the Vatican document Dignitas Infinita, we can clarify Catholic teaching among those who are confused by Stowe’s actions. The document states (#59):
All attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected: “We cannot separate the masculine and the feminine from God’s work of creation, which is prior to all our decisions and experiences, and where biological elements exist which are impossible to ignore.”Only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity.
The example of these two men and their renditions of Catholic teaching reminds me of the statement in Revelations (3:16): “Since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Harrison Butker is a man of honor. Bishop John Stowe is a man hellbent on spreading confusion.
One man is proud of his faith while the other stands in contradiction to it. Let us pray for both.
