Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is praising President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of Brian Burch to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, saying Burch is a “leading voice in the Catholic community.”
Butker took to his X account to express his support for Burch as America’s representative to the Holy See.
“Very happy to hear that [Brian Burch] has been selected to be the next Ambassador to the Vatican. Brian has been a leading voice in the Catholic community here in America through his organization [CatholicVote], and now, in his new role, he can take those gifts to Rome. Pray for him and his family as they embark on this new journey,” Butker wrote.
The Super Bowl-winning kicker’s post also featured a photo of Buttker and Burch standing on the field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Trump praised Burch for helping get him elected by focusing on Catholic voters.
“Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote. He has received numerous awards and demonstrated exceptional leadership, helping build one of the largest Catholic advocacy groups in the Country,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social.
“He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History! Brian loves his Church and the United States – He will make us all proud,” Trump added.
Burch is known for his more conservative Catholic beliefs and has often been critical of Pope Francis and his decidedly left-wing approach to the papacy. Indeed, the National Catholic Reporter labeled Burch a “sharp papal critic.”
One of Burch’s criticisms of Pope Francis came after the pope decided to allow priests to bless gay marriages. Burch slammed Francis for sowing “confusion” in the church over the issue of gay marriage, an act the church still opposes.
For his part, Harrison Butker has been criticized by the woke for his adherence to traditional Christian values and his support for Donald Trump.
Butker most triggered the left with a commencement speech he gave at Benedictine College, in which he urged the women graduates not to forsake a family for a career and told the men to embrace their manhood. Despite the storm of woke criticism on social media, Butker did not waver in his support for his values and later said he had no regrets about what he said in his commencement speech.
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