Speaking on Thursday, May 16, the co-hosts of “The View” attacked Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butcker over the speech he gave when speaking at a Christian College’s commencement ceremony, arguing that the speech and the Catholic faith expressed in it were “cult-like” and similar to “extremist religions in the Middle East.”
During the speech, Butker said, in part, that Catholics should not keep their faith hidden. He said, “As members of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, it is our duty and ultimately 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.”
He also encouraged the women present to see the importance of being a homemaker, saying, “For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are 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. I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that 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.”
During the speech, Butker also criticized President Biden, spoke strongly in support of the Traditional Latin Mass, spoke out against “dangerous gender ideologies,” and urged the men in the audience to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men.”
Predictably, the ladies of “The View” hated that. Sara Haines, attacking Butker for the speech, alleged that it was un-Christian, saying, “If you’re using this to oppress people or hold them down, you’re not walking with Jesus.”
Whoopi Goldberg, however, defended his right to free speech, saying, “Listen, I like when people say what they need to say. He’s at a Catholic college. He’s a staunch Catholic. These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to ’em. I don’t have to believe ’em. I don’t have to accept them… The same way we want respect when [former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist] Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours.”
Haines then alleged that the speech was more cult-like than Catholic, saying, “What this man is doing is not just a devout Catholic. This is someone who is practicing something called the Traditional Latin Mass, which is divergent from the majority of Catholics. It’s compared to being cult-like and extremist like some religions in the Middle East and Asia.” She added, “So this is a very extreme religion.”
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Haines also accused him of abusing Christianity, saying, “When people abuse Christianity, they often not only cherry-pick from the Bible, they misinterpret and lie by omission, by taking out parts that would have explained something a little better. So, what I can say to him as a Christian is, if you’re using this to oppress people or hold them down, you’re not walking with Jesus.” She added, “I would really encourage, really encourage him to find the best parts of faith and not diverge into extremist beliefs.”
Watch them here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video