Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago has been flooded with messages from Catholic urging him to rescind an award he is planning to give to pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin.
As LifeNews reported, Cupich, head of the Archdiocese of Chicago, plans to honor radically pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the “Keep Hope Alive” Benefit on November 3.
Instead of backing down and changing course, Cupich has told Catholics to pound sand.
In a statement at the web site of the Archdiocese, Pound defended the award and said he is Durbin’s bishop – not the bishop who has told Durbin he can’t receive communion for violating the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.
“Recently some have criticized the decision of the Archdiocese of Chicago to recognize Senator Dick Durbin at our annual fundraiser for our immigration ministry, Keep Hope Alive. Senator Durbin informed me some years ago that he had purchased a condo in Chicago, registered in a parish of the archdiocese and considers me to be his bishop,” Cupich wrote.
Instead of holding Dubin accountable for years of promoting and voting for killing babies in abortions up to birth, Cupich claims he’s dialoging with Durbin. Never mind that such dialog hasn’t gotten the Democrat senator to back down from his radical pro-abortion position nor moved him to vote pro-life as a faithful Catholic.
“Accordingly, I have remained faithful to the May 2021 instructions of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, advising bishops to “reach out to and engage in dialogue with Catholic politicians within their jurisdictions…as a means of understanding the nature of their positions and their comprehension of Catholic teaching,” Cupich claims.
Cupich then dismisses Durbin’s violation of pro-life teachings by saying that abortion is just a “single issue,” so somehow that excuses Durbin’s votes for infanticide and unlimited abortions. The single issue is responsible for killing 66 million babies since 1973 when Roe was handed down, but apparently that’s not enough for Cupich to take action to hold Durbin accountable.
In Cupich’s mind, Durbin has been good enough on immigrant to excuse his votes supporting genocide and killing tens of millions of babies.
“At the heart of the consistent ethic of life is the recognition that Catholic teaching on life and dignity cannot be reduced to a single issue, even an issue as important as abortion. The annual celebration of immigrants, Keep Hope Alive, will recognize all the critically important contributions Senator Durbin has taken to advance Catholic social teaching in the areas of immigration, the care of the poor, Laudato Si’, and world peace. The recognition of his defense of immigrants at this moment, when they are subjected to terror and harm, is not something to be regretted, but a reflection that the Lord stands profoundly with both immigrants who are in danger and those who work to protect them.”
TAKE ACTION: Contact Cardinal Cupich and tell him to rescind Senator Dick Durbin’s award.
The award is prompting fierce backlash from pro-life advocates who decry the decision as a betrayal of pro-life Catholic teachings and a grave scandal that violates the sanctity of life.
Illinois Right to Life is rallying Catholics to contact the Archdiocese’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Director Jose Coronel or call 312-534-8200 to voice their disapproval, urging the Church to uphold its mission to defend the vulnerable and reject complicity in abortion’s violence.
Meanwhile, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield Illinois, Durbin’s home diocese, has issued a scathing statement calling for Cupich to rescind the award.
HELP LIFENEWS SAVE BABIES FROM ABORTION! Please help LifeNews.com with a donation!
“I was shocked to learn that the Archdiocese of Chicago plans to honor Senator Richard Durbin with a Lifetime Achievement Award through its Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Immigration,” Paprocki said.
He said Durbin’s voting record for infanticide and abortions up to birth is diametrically opposed to Catholic teachings affirming the sanctity of human life.
“Given Senator Durbin’s long and consistent record of supporting legal abortion — including opposing legislation to protect children who survive failed abortions — this decision risks causing grave scandal, confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life,” Bishop Paprocki wrote. “Honoring a public figure who has actively worked to expand and entrench the right to end innocent human life in the womb undermines the very concept of human dignity and solidarity that the award purports to uphold.”
Paprocki wrote how Durbin has been prevented from receiving communion because of his abortion advocacy.
“Senator Durbin, who has been barred from receiving Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois since 2004 for his public support of abortion, should not be celebrated by the Church. This decision not only contradicts the Church’s moral doctrine but also sows confusion about the seriousness of abortion and the integrity of Catholic witness in public life,” Bishop Paprocki added. “I urge Cardinal Cupich to reconsider this action for the sake of clarity, unity, and fidelity to the Gospel of Life.”
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco wrote on X that he agrees with Paprocki.
“I stand in solidarity with Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, in urging Cardinal Cupich to reconsider giving Senator Durbin a Lifetime Achievement Award through the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity given his long record of supporting legal abortion,” Archbishop Cordileone wrote.
He added: “Bishop Paprocki, who is Senator Dick Durbin’s bishop, has expressed shock that the Archdiocese plans to honor Senator Durbin who, although a self-professed Catholic, supports access to abortion so radically that he has even opposed legislation to protect babies born after an attempted abortion. Bishop Paprocki is correct that both clarity and unity are at risk. I hope this will be a clarion call to all members of the Body of Christ to speak out to make clear the grave evil that is the taking of innocent human life.”
Illinois Right to Life, a leading statewide pro-life organization, condemned the award, to be presented by the Archdiocese’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity, as a stark contradiction to the Church’s unwavering stance on the dignity of the unborn.
“The Church emphasizes that human beings are integrated persons and that we cannot live in spiritual harmony if we are denying even one aspect of the truth of the faith,” said Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander in comments to LifeNews. “Presenting Dick Durbin with an award – and from the Office of Human Dignity, no less – is an explicitly inconsistent and un-Catholic choice by Cardinal Cupich. Not only does it cause scandal among the faithful by creating confusion, it also puts the Senator’s soul at risk by failing to hold him accountable for his refusal to oppose abortion in the U.S. Senate.”
Durbin, a self-professed Catholic elected to the Senate in 1997, has consistently opposed pro-life legislation, earning sharp criticism from pro-life advocates who view his record as antithetical to the Church’s defense of life from conception. He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which prohibited late-term abortion procedures, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which sought to ban abortions after 20 weeks when unborn children may feel pain, and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have mandated life-saving care for infants born alive during failed abortions.
Durbin also backed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which aimed to codify Roe v. Wade and usher in abortions up to birth, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that it was unconstitutional.
His actions extend beyond votes.
During the 2020 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Durbin questioned her about identifying as an “orthodox Catholic” and whether she wore a rosary, remarks pro-life Catholics saw as dismissive of faithful adherence to Church doctrine.
In 2021, Durbin was barred from receiving Holy Communion in his home diocese of Springfield, Illinois, by Bishop Thomas Paprocki due to his voting record.
Cardinal Cupich’s decision to honor Durbin has reignited scrutiny of his approach to abortion, particularly after he delivered the opening prayer at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where support for abortion has been a party platform staple since 1980.
