Young Catholics Oppose Marquette University’s Scandalous Pride Month
Marquette University, a Jesuit institution in Wisconsin, caused grave scandal by dedicating the month of April to pro-LGBT “pride.” The promotional flyer titled "Pride Month 2025 Event Lineup" includes events such as Drag Bingo, Queer Lasting, Pride Prom, and a Lavender Celebration of Graduates.
Marquette’s “Office of Inclusion and Belonging” promotes these sinful events—coinciding with Holy Week and Easter—which is especially offensive to faithful Catholics who just commemorated the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Students Oppose Pride Month
Young Catholics voiced their opposition to “Pride Month.” On Easter Tuesday, April 22, members of TFP Student Action gathered for a peaceful Rosary of reparation on Marquette’s campus in Milwaukee. The group included twenty-five students, faculty, and alumni. Passersby showed support, and some joined the prayerful event between classes.
Evan Olwell, who led the protest, said, “LGBT ‘values’ are not Catholic or Jesuit values. Shame on Marquette for dedicating a whole month to the vice of pride.” Mr. Olwell later noted that the school does not dedicate a single day to traditional family values, as the great Fr. Marquette would have wanted. “If it does,” he continued, “it doesn’t promote virtue nearly as much as it peddles Pride Month.”
Rainbow Dictatorship
One student complained that he was “disgusted” by how much the homosexual movement is shoved down students’ throats as if everyone on campus approved of it—which they don’t. Another student said that although most students disagree with “pride month,” their general attitude is to remain silent to avoid sounding impolite.
A Marquette alumnus who joined the pro-family campaign spoke with students during the rally and challenged them to take a bold Catholic stand. “I am sickened that they allow clubs and shows that favor homosexual and transgender lifestyles,” she said. “It is appalling and embarrassing for me. Why have Catholic leaders (bishops) not stopped this?”
The decadence and poor catechesis was sadly evident. One student affirmed blasphemously, “Jesus is gay.” Another said she had just come from theology class, where she learned that “God loves everybody.” However, when a TFP volunteer asked her if God loves Lucifer, Satan, and all the devils in Hell, she turned away without a response.
Catholic vs. Progressive
The bitter fruits of progressive Catholicism were apparent during the campaign. Conservative students are silenced, while liberal voices are promoted. One woman, for example, proudly said that she indulges in impure practices. Another had a friend take a selfie of her in front of a TFP sign, posing obscenely. A third, when invited to pray the Rosary, proclaimed that she was a satanist.
Another student insisted that the TFP campaign to protect the innocence of children was hateful. Yet, in a fit of anger, she threw hot tea on Mr. Olwell. The incident was caught on camera during a TFP Live Stream. She refused to apologize for her behavior, saying instead that was “sorry that you have been brainwashed.”
Catholic Identity Betrayed
It is ironic how a Jesuit university promotes secular causes while sidelining its Catholic heritage. “There’s a whole month for pride but nothing to honor the heroic Fr. Jacques Marquette,” noted TFP volunteer Ross Van Deventer.
Fr. Marquette, the university’s namesake and a 17th-century missionary, brought the Gospel to Native Americans and earned their deep respect. Yet a few years ago, the university removed his statue from a central location on campus. At the beginning of this academic year, they also approved the removal of his image from the school’s logo, which once depicted him leading a canoe across the Great Lakes with a cross in his belt.
Although this is the first time Marquette has celebrated a full Pride Month, the liberal trend is not new. In 2024, the university hosted a Pride Week and a “Trans Compassion Week,” which concluded with a “Mass of Inclusion and Welcome.” Mr. Olwell observed the Mass and said it was nearly identical to a sacrilegious “Pride Mass.” The homily, given by a Jesuit priest, focused on compassion for marginalized groups. When asked afterward why the Mass didn’t include a call to repentance, the priest appeared uncomfortable and offered a vague reply.
A university staff member commented about the event, “As a Catholic employee of Marquette, it’s both heartbreaking and infuriating to watch this once great Catholic institution of higher learning so intentionally offend God and misrepresent Catholic truth to students and the outside community in a cowardly campaign to win the approval of our Godless society.”
Young Catholic Students Stand Up for God's Truth
At today’s campaign, volunteers handed out flyers titled “10 Reasons Why Transgenderism is the Family’s Worst Enemy.” The pamphlet, which was well received by many drivers and passersby, outlined concerns ranging from the undermining of science and biology to the moral consequences of promoting gender ideology.
TFP Student Action has also launched a petition opposing Marquette’s promotion of sinful events that undermine Catholic morality. “A school cannot claim to be Catholic or Jesuit if it actively promotes behavior contrary to Church teaching,” said Mr. Olwell.
May God protect our nation from the dictatorship of the rainbow revolution.