Catholic Speaker Stands by Pro-Life, Pro-Family Graduation Speech in Australia After Students Walk Out

May God abundantly bless Mr de Bruyn for his defence of Catholic doctrine! And what are they teaching at Australian "Catholic" University?

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Joe de Bruyn condemned abortion as ‘the single biggest killer of human beings in the world,’ declared that God instituted marriage as ‘between a man and a woman,’ and criticized IVF in his graduation address at Australian Catholic University, prompting backlash from liberal students.

Catholic former union boss Joe de Bruyn is standing by his pro-life graduation speech after university graduates staged a mass walkout during his address.  

On October 21, hundreds of Australian Catholic University (ACU) students left their graduation ceremony after de Bruyn condemned abortion, homosexual “marriage,” and IVF in his keynote speech after being awarded an honorary doctorate at ACU.  

“Today, over 80,000 unborn children are killed by abortion in Australia each year,” de Bruyn, the former national president of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), declared.  

“Worldwide, the estimated number is 42 million each year,” he continued. “Abortion is the single biggest killer of human beings in the world, greater than the human told of World War II. It is a tragedy that must be ended.”  

De Bruyn then proclaimed the biblical teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman, saying, “Marriage between a man and a woman was instituted by God at the origin of humanity in the Garden of Eden, as the book of Genesis in the Bible tells us.” 

“Since then, every society on Earth at all times has recognized marriage as being between a man and a woman,” he pointed out.

De Bruyn also condemned the embryo-destroying practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF) when it “deliberately bring[s] children into the world in an environment would have no father.” 

While de Bruyn was still delivering his speech, ACU graduate Charlie Panteli stood up and signaled for his fellow classmates to follow him as he left the ceremony.  

“I was one of the first to get up and I was quite far down the front and I started to signal I was going,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne. 

According to Panteli, “95 percent” of people left, while those who stayed “were filming it because they were all so shocked that they thought the news should get out.” 

Following the walkout, ACU, a nominally Catholic but dissident institution, offered to reimburse attenders and offer “counseling” over de Bruyn’s speech.  

“Graduation is a special day and it’s important to us that our graduates and their families have a positive experience,” ACU declared. “The university understands that many of our staff, graduates and their families disagreed with the content of Mr de Bruyn’s speech and we regret that this occurred.” 

“As a university we’re committed to open, respectful dialogue,” it continued. “We always encourage people to present their views and beliefs while also being respectful to those who hold a contrary view.” 

Despite harsh backlash, de Bruyn is standing by his speech, explaining that he believed it was appropriate for a Catholic university.  

“A university is a place for discussion and debate of different points of view,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.  

“I was in the position where I had been invited by the university to give a graduation speech in my capacity as a Catholic layman coming to Australia Catholic University for an award, an honour, for my services to the Catholic Church, so it was most appropriate for me to deal with Catholic issues,” he explained.  

De Bruyn revealed that ACU had asked him make some changes to the speech which were not “precisely identified” before he delivered the address.  

“I thought about that, and I thought that they have asked me to give a grad speech so I’m not going to be censored by them as to what I can and cannot say,” he explained.  

“I just would like to remind both you and your listeners that when Mother Theresa, who spent her life helping the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, was given her Nobel Prize, she spoke about abortion,” he declared.  

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