A conservative anti-abortion speech made by an ex-union chief sparked a mass walkout from a Catholic university graduation ceremony on Monday.
The remarks about abortion and homosexual relationships made by Joe de Bruyn caused hundreds of staff and students to walk out of the Australian Catholic University (ACU) event at Melbourne’s Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Mr de Bruyn, 75, a former president of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (the SDA or “Shoppies” union) told graduates of the faculties of education and arts, law and commerce that he had been against “the deliberate killing of unborn human beings” for several decades.
“Over 80,000 unborn children are killed by abortion in Australia each year. Worldwide, the estimated number is 42 million each year,” Mr de Bruyn said.
“Abortion is the single biggest killer of human beings in the world, greater than the human toll of World War II. It is a tragedy that must be ended.”
Later in the speech he addressed homosexual “marriage”, telling students: “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 recognised marriage as being between a man and a woman.”
He also said that he believed that using IVF to bring a child into a father-less environment was morally wrong.
@theomandaza #graduation #acugrad2024 #melbourne #australia #australiancatholicuniversity ♬ original sound – Tad1wanash3
Mr de Bruyn’s comments caused most of the audience to leave, and one female education graduate told The Age “it was not at all appropriate for a graduation ceremony”.
An ACU spokesperson said the university “regretted” that some attendees disagreed with the content of the speech, but said it encouraged the respectful exchange of opinions, and that Mr de Bruyn’s views were his own.
“While his views may not be shared by some of our staff and students, as a university we encourage the respectful exchange of ideas that represent the wide spectrum of our diverse community,’ the spokesperson said.
“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.
“We always encourage people to present their views and beliefs while also being respectful to those who hold a contrary view. ACU is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for students and staff of all beliefs.”
The university also claimed that it had requested changes to the speech, but ultimately stood by Mr de Bruyn’s right to express his opinions.
“We are not in the business of censoring occasional addresses or dictating content to our guest speakers. That would be completely at odds with our values of freedom of expression,” the spokesperson said.
Mr de Bruyn told The Age that he was disappointed by the walkout.
“Universities are meant to be places of debate. Someone was invited to give a speech and reflect on his life as a Catholic, and when people walk out, that is disappointing,” Mr de Bruyn said.
“I wouldn’t do anything differently. My views are not peculiar views, they may not have majority support, but they are the views of the Catholic Church. I thought it was an entirely appropriate venue.”
Student groups including the ACU National Student Association, the Melbourne LGBTIQ+ Society and the ACU’s LGBTIQ+ Staff Ally Network jointly called for Mr de Bruyn to be stripped of the honorary doctorate he received from ACU for his commitment to trade unionism and the Catholic Church.
Student association president Stefan Orfanos said at the ACU’s Fitzroy Campus on Tuesday claimed that the university was failing homosexual students, referring to a gay “pride” flag being banned from ACU’s Blacktown campus last year.
This is also not the first time Mr de Bruyn, a conservative Catholic and member of Labour’s right-aligned SDA, has long been attacked by left-liberals (especially within his own party) for his traditional views.
De Bruyn has repeatedly voiced his opposition to IVF, abortion and homosexual “marriage”, and at an SDA meeting in 2011 he moved a resolution against same-sex “marriage” without giving members an option to vote on the issue.
Header image: The auditorium during the walkout (Theomandaza – TikTok)
