The Scoop: Nuns hit back at Harrison Butker’s controversial speech at Benedictine College

An order of nuns associated with Benedictine College has distanced itself with a recent commencement speech that has drawn national attention to the tiny Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas.

Last week, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker addressed graduates by discussing a number of hot-button topics, including “the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion,” COVID-lockdowns and LGBTQ+ Pride. But the comments that drew the most attention were those addressed to women in the audience, whom he said had been told “diabolical lies” and that, on the day they received their degree, were “most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

Many took exception to those comments, including the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Scholastica, who helped found the college and maintain an active role in campus life today.

In a Facebook post, the sisters wrote that Butker’s comments do not “represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested.”

It notes that its own sisters, who are not wives and mothers in a traditional sense, have used their talents to serve in other ways.

“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.”

It’s important to note that while the sisters are involved in the school, they do not represent the administration itself. The college has issued no formal statement since the speech, though a single post on its News page surfaces a speech from the late Pope John Paul II, praising “the diverse vocations of women,” seems to obliquely address the furor. Meanwhile, the NFL issued a statement noting that Butker’s comments were made “in a personal capacity” and do not reflect the stances of the league.

Why it matters: The college of just over 2,000 students was rocketed from national obscurity to talking point overnight thanks to Butker’s speech. What happens next and how the college and community respond could have huge impacts on the future of the institution. Will it swell with students thanks to the notoriety? Will current students be alienated by the administration’s silence? Or, in the most likely scenario, will it be a little of Column A, a little of Column B?

As a Catholic institution, Benedictine College has its own unique mission and values to uphold. But the sisters’ dissent makes it clear that there is no monolithic consensus about the issues Butker raised in his speech. But their statement was clear, polite and firm as it celebrated the role of all women, regardless of the family path they choose in life.

Meanwhile, the college’s own silence rings.

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Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on X or LinkedIn.