The same Catholic Diocese that oversees Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky, home to the students that harassed Native American Nathan Phillips over the weekend, also banned openly gay valedictorian Christian Bales' speech at the High School of the Holy Cross last May.
Bales is now a 19 year-old freshman at the University of Louisville, according to NBC News. Bales spoke to them about his own graduation and the recent viral video putting Covington back in the national spotlight. “I was not surprised at all,” Bales said. “It was only a matter of time that something this school community did would blow up to this degree, and I think they [the Catholic Diocese of Covington] need to be held accountable.”
“They have the very last say in everything about students in the diocese,” Bales said, adding that the diocese has still not provided him and the student council president with “thorough explanations” of why their speeches were canceled last year.
A visit to the Diocese website only feature a letter about the incident in Washington that says in part:
Concerning the incident in Washington, D.C., between Covington Catholic students, Elder Nathan Phillips and Black Hebrew Israelites the independent, third-party investigation is planned to begin this week. This is a very serious matter that has already permanently altered the lives of many people. It is important for us to gather the facts that will allow us to determine what corrective actions, if any, are appropriate.
You can watch part of Bales' Valedictorian speech below.
