JOE de Bruyn, above, chose to denounce abortion and same sex marriage at a graduation ceremony this week at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), prompting a mass walkout by disgusted students and staff.
The Guardian reported that the students — reportedly around 95 percent walked out — will now be reimbursed the money they paid to attend the ceremony. In a statement, the ACU confirmed that the refund will be in recognition of the “unsatisfactory experience for many who attended”, as well as the “hurt and discomfort” caused by the god-addled idiot.
The Catholic bigot prompted major backlash after he compared abortion to the “human toll of world war two” and claimed same-sex marriage went against “every society on earth”.
The vice-chancellor of the ACU, Prof Zlatko Skrbis, wrote to staff on Tuesday confirming the university was aware of the contents of the address ahead of time and had allowed the speech to go ahead despite “strongly encouraging” De Bruyn to reconsider his remarks.
The ACU said:
The university was aware that Mr De Bruyn planned to speak about a number of polarising issues in his occasional address and asked him to consider a speech that was better aligned to the occasion and more directly celebrated the achievements of our students. We are deeply disappointed that the speech was not more befitting of a graduation ceremony. We do not censor our speakers but recognise that the content of Mr De Bruyn’s address caused distress and offence to many in the audience.
De Bruyn told Guardian Australia that th ACU advised him there would be a “diverse audience” for his speech when he provided it in advance and suggested it might be “wise to make some changes”.
But he said they didn’t specify what issues should be amended, and noted it had been left at his discretion.
De Bruyn, who received an honorary degree from the university in “recognition of his dedication to the rights of workers, educational advancement”, said:
Here I am, a Catholic layman being offered by ACU an award for my services to the Catholic church. If I can’t talk about issues that have confronted me in my professional life that I tried to deal with consistent with my Catholic beliefs, then what am I getting an award for? I thought it was fair and sensible.
Far-right religious outlet, LifeSiteNews, quoted De Bruyn as saying that, though he was asked to make some changes to his speech he refused to be censored.
I just would like to remind you …. that when Mother Theresa [sic], who spent her life helping the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, was given her Nobel Prize, she spoke about abortion.
Well, that just an outright lie. The fraudulent, self-serving bitch only helped to herself.
It also quoted his as telling his audience:
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.
7News, reported that angry students are now demanding that De Bruyn should be stripped of his honorary degree.
If you would like to support the Pink Triangle Trust’s mission to promote humanism, fight bigotry and fund LGBT groups, you can make a donation below. If you wish to report any typos or errors, please email freethinkered@aol.com
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
The Pink Triangle Trust 
A God-addled idiot indeed. It’s not a case of being “censored”, rather there is a “time and a place” to broach controversial subjects. A speech is not a dialogue, so the 95% of students and staff who walked out had no other means of showing their opposition or dismay at his unfeeling bigotry and ignorance. A university seminar, where any idea can be posited and robustly debated, however bigoted or bonkers, is one thing, but a graduation ceremony where paying guests are essentially “held hostage”, quite another. He could have lightly referenced the debates around abortion and same-sex marriage in his speech, without putting his foot in it quite so badly. The University was also at fault for not insisting on a less confrontational speech. Perhaps his honorary degree should be withdrawn, or reconsidered, as he is clearly lacking in intelligence, let alone empathy and basic etiquette.
LikeLike