Remnant Recap

• Catholic in name only: Benedictine University defended a “Trans Day of Remembrance” event that contradicts core Catholic teaching.

• Leadership blindsided: Some board members had no idea the event was happening until after the backlash.

• Woke influence growing: Campus inclusivity programs are steering decisions while the school’s Catholic identity takes a back seat.

A Catholic university outside Chicago is bending over backward to justify a campus ministry event that promotes ideology completely at odds with Catholic teaching. Benedictine University insists its “Trans Day of Remembrance” was somehow rooted in “Catholic social teaching,” even though the Church is crystal clear on gender ideology and human identity.

Less than 20 people showed up, yet the school still doubled down with a polished PR statement. Meanwhile, faithful Catholics on campus and on the board were blindsided. This is what happens when institutions try to please the secular left instead of boldly defending truth. Weak leadership invites woke mission drift every single time.

LifeSiteNews reports:

The communications department at a Catholic university located just outside Chicago is doubling down on its campus ministry’s scandalous decision to observe the so-called “International Trans Day of Remembrance” last week.

In a statement provided to LifeSiteNews Thursday, Benedictine University insisted that an event aimed at honoring “those whose lives have been lost to anti-trans violence” was not in opposition to its Catholic mission.

“It was a solemn remembrance rooted in Catholic social teaching and belief in the inherent and sacred dignity possessed by every person, created in the image of God,” the university’s communications department said via email.

I reached out to Benedictine today. Attached is the statement I received defending the event. pic.twitter.com/UXFRWNupYG

— Stephen Kokx (@StephenKokx) November 20, 2025

Benedictine is not to be confused with Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kansas, which welcomed traditionalist Catholic Harrison Butker for its commencement speech in 2024.

Located in Lisle, Illinois, roughly 25 miles west of Chicago, Benedictine University was founded in 1887 by Benedictine monks at the adjacent St. Procopius Abbey. The school markets itself as a “Catholic University in the Benedictine Tradition.” Today, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Joliet.

Last Wednesday, social media influencer “Libs of TikTok” expressed outrage over the event, which less than 20 people attended. It shared an image of a marketing graphic that seems to have been created by the university’s campus ministry department.

“Hey [Benedictine], where is your day to remember the Christian children who were gunned down by trans terrorists?” Libs of TikTok, which routinely mocks left-wing social media users and which has roughly 4.5 million followers of its own, asked the school.

Benedictine University, a “Catholic” university outside of Chicago, Illinois, is hosting a “Trans Day of Remembrance” across campus to highlight “anti-trans violence.”

Hey @BenU1887, where is your day to remember the Christian children who were gunned down by trans terrorists? pic.twitter.com/wwQQvGJNaI

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 19, 2025

Libs of TikTok’s remarks were a reference to the uptick in mass shootings — and attempted killings — by gender-confused persons in recent years.

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