Chicago-based Cardinal Blase Cupich is shrugging off warnings from two other prominent bishops within the Catholic Church who said that he is at risk of “grave scandal” if he continues to go through with plans to honor radical leftist Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is a staunch supporter of abortion, with a lifetime achievement award.
Durbin, who claims that he’s a Catholic, has been banned from receiving the Holy Eucharist (Communion) anywhere within his home diocese located in Springfield, Ill. This is akin to cutting oneself off from the source of eternal life. It’s a condemnation of the senator’s support for abortion, which Catholics believe is the murder of a pre-born person.
Cupich cooked up an excuse to continue forward with his plan to honor Durbin — who goes as far as to support unrestricted abortion — by claiming that “Catholic teaching on life and dignity cannot be reduced to a single issue, even an issue as important as abortion.”
Complicit Clergy, a Catholic watchdog site, weighed in on the matter, saying, “Gauging responses on social media, most Catholics aren’t buying what Cupich is trying to sell.”
“Instead of acknowledging his mistake, Cardinal Cupich turns his back on his brother bishops and doubles-down on his original decision,” the watchdog group said, going on to add, “Cupich once again employs the tired arguments of Cardinal Bernadine’s seamless garment in trying to justify his decision to give an award to a pro-abortion politician. Cupich’s response fails to mention Durbin’s other anti-Catholic votes, such as his support for LGBTQ+ issues.”
If you take a gander at the Archdiocese of Chicago’s published norms, Cupich’s intent to honor Durbin is a direct violation.
A post by the Lepanto Institute on X included a screenshot of the policy that Cupich violates.
Cdl. Cupich ignores the laws of his own archdiocese. Is anyone surprised? pic.twitter.com/epQVrxxwaZ
— Lepanto Institute (@LepantoInst) September 23, 2025
Cupich put out a statement on Monday in response to the criticism from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Durbin’s own diocesan bishop, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, over honoring Durbin with the award.
“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,” the statement started off.
“Senator Durbin informed me some years ago that he has taken up residence in Chicago, registered in a parish of the archdiocese and considers me to be his bishop. 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,'” it continued.
“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,” the statement concluded.
Late last week, Bishop Paprocki spoke with “The Pillar” after learning about Cupich’s intentions, saying, “I was shocked to learn that the Archdiocese of Chicago plans to honor Senator Richard Durbin with a Lifetime Achievement Award.”
“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,” the bishop said.
“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,” he added.
The bishop then pointed out that bishops in the U.S. have taught clearly that a person’s support for the vile act of abortion disqualifies them from receiving honors from Catholic institutions. He then warned that Cupich would be sowing confusion among the laity concerning the serious crime against human dignity that abortion poses and damages the integrity of Christian witness in public life.
He then urged Cupich to reconsider.
“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,” said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on X.
The Catholic Church, since it was instituted by Jesus Christ and further established by His chosen Apostles, has always stood against abortion and fought for life. It started with Christians rescuing babies who were purposefully abandoned and left to die during the times of the Roman Empire and has continued to this day. It’s nothing new.
The cardinal’s actions send conflicting messages to parishioners in the pews. One of the great passions for Catholics is a rabid defense of those who are defenseless and cannot speak for themselves: the pre-born. How can the Church claim to do that, while at the same time honoring those directly opposed to that work?
It’s an egregious display of hypocrisy and moral compromise that simply cannot be ignored.
Cardinal Cupich is breaking with 2,000 years of established magisterial teaching on abortion and the dignity of human life by honoring someone like Durbin. If he follows through with his plan, Cupich needs to receive Church discipline.
Help PJ Media continue to expose the infiltration of radical leftist ideology in religious institutions. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
