Covington Diocese bans Holy Cross gay valedictorian graduation speech

James Pilcher | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Valedictorian barred from giving speech, grabs megaphone Hours before Christian Bales was set to give his valedictory speech, his Catholic high school decided to stop him. But he found a way to deliver it anyway.

Scroll to the bottom of this story to read the valedictorian's banned speech.

The Diocese of Covington last weekend banned the graduation speeches from the valedictorian and student council president of Holy Cross High School, with officials saying they contained "elements that were political and inconsistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church."

The school's graduation was Friday night at Thomas More College, and valedictorian Christian Bales was told earlier that day that he would not be allowed to give his speech.

Bales, 18, later gave it outside the graduation using a megaphone, he told the Enquirer in an interview Tuesday.

Bales, who is openly gay, said he had already agreed to conform to a dress code for the event.

"I have been on their radar as a rather non-gender conforming individual," said Bales who lives in Cold Spring. "I have worn makeup and bobby pins in my hair to school before. So it seems too much of a coincidence for my critical thinking to think this was just about the speech itself.

"But I wasn't going to go up there and give my speech in full drag."

Student Council President Katherine Frantz also was not allowed to give her speech.

Bales said they were told her speech was "too personal." Frantz did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

"If they wanted to keep me from speaking and didn't want to just single me out, then this is my fault and I am deeply sorry to Katherine that she didn't get to speak either," Bales said.

In a statement, diocesan officials also said that the speeches weren't turned in on time for prior approval.

"School officials and representatives of the Diocese of Covington reserve the right to review and approve all student speeches to be presented in public at high school graduations," Diocese spokesperson Tim Fitzgerald said in the statement. "All speeches must be submitted in a timely manner. The student speeches for the Holy Cross High School graduation were not submitted for review before the deadline. When the proposed speeches were received, they were found to contain elements that were political and inconsistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church."

Holy Cross is a diocesan high school in Covington with nearly 390 students. It is overseen by the diocese and its school superintendent, who reports to Bishop Roger Foys.

Bales said he and Frantz turned in their speeches Tuesday and they were approved by school officials. He said they were never told about the possibility of diocesan review.

Bales' speech did not refer to his sexuality but instead referenced the ongoing gun-control protests by the students of Parkland High School in Florida, the scene of a school shooting earlier this year.

The overriding theme was that young people can and should stand up for themselves, whatever they believe, said Bales, who is planning on studying biology at the University of Louisville in the fall.

"I worked hard to become valedictorian and be in the position to give that speech but I guess somehow I was seen as an unintentional threat to the diocese," Bales said.