Ten U.S. bishops have now spoken out against Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich’s decision to present Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his work on immigration issues in November due to the Catholic senator’s longstanding public position in favor of abortion.
Cardinal Cupich and the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Immigration Ministry are scheduled to give Durbin the award Nov. 3 at an event supporting the Archdiocese of Chicago’s local Immigration Ministry and National Pastoral Migratoria.
Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois — in whose diocese Durbin resides, according to his official biography — was the first to speak out in an interview with The Pillar Sept. 20.
In a Sept. 24 interview with OSV News, he said that presenting the award would be “contrary to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ statement on ‘Catholics in Political Life'” which states “The Catholic community and Catholic Institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” He added that the Archdiocese of Chicago has a similar policy that the award would violate.
In a statement Sept. 22, Cardinal Cupich said Durbin purchased a condo in Chicago “some years ago” and “considers me to be his bishop.”
Bishop Paprocki told OSV News that while Durbin “has a condominium in Chicago,” he “still has his home here in Springfield. I would say I’m still his bishop as far as that is concerned.”
Cardinal Cupich said he has “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.'”
Referring to the 2021 CDF (now DDF, or Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) letter encouraging the U.S. bishops to dialogue with Catholic politicians, Bishop Paprocki told OSV News, “That’s fine. I do that. I’ve had dialogue with Sen. Durbin. But when a bishop is trying to do that and the politician ignores it, well then you have to take some steps.”
Bishop Paprocki noted that Durbin has been barred from Communion in the Diocese of Springfield since 2004 when “the pastor of his parish here, Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield, was then Msgr. Kevin Vann. He’s now Bishop Kevin Vann, the bishop of Orange, California. And he told — back then — Senator Durbin that he shouldn’t go to Communion, and that was upheld by my predecessor, Bishop George Lucas, who’s now Archbishop Emeritus of Omaha.”
In addition to Bishop Paprocki, nine bishops have now spoken out against Durbin receiving the award. See what they had to say below.
1) On Sept. 21, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco posted on X his support of Bishop Paprocki, saying, “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.
“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.”
2) On Sept. 22, Bishop Joseph Strickland, formerly of Tyler, Texas, wrote on X, “I join Archbishop Cordileone in supporting Bishop Paprocki and urging Cardinal Cupich to reverse his decision regarding Senator Durbin. I also commend Bishop Paprocki for caring for the Senators soul and barring him from receiving Communion.”
3) Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, wrote on X on Sept. 23: “I too was shocked and bewildered to learn of this Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. The senator’s public record has been consistently pro-abortion and he has opposed any protections or safeguards for unborn children in the womb, even to the point of rejecting legislation to protect children who survive failed abortions.”
4) Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, posted Sept. 24 simply, “Thank you @BishopPaproki” on X, in response to a formal fraternal correction that the Springfield bishop had written in First Things to Cardinal Cupich.
5) Also posting Sept. 24 was Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, who said, “The Archdiocese of Chicago’s plan to give @SenatorDurbin a Catholic “Lifetime Achievement Award” is untenable. Works of justice & protecting life are not mutually exclusive but must be inclusive. Abortion violates “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex 20:13). I join @BishopPaprocki & @ArchCordileone in urging @CardinalBCupich to retract this award. Let us together pray & act consistently for life!”
6) Bishop Michael F. Olson of Fort Worth, Texas wrote Sept. 25, “Cardinal Cupich could promote peace and unity by withdrawing the invitation to Senator Durbin to receive an award and instead use the event to highlight the many ways in which human life and dignity are defended and promoted in the Archdiocese of Chicago and elsewhere.”
7) Bishop Carl A. Kemme of Wichita, Kansas also wrote Sept. 25, “As a former priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, I support Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, in his objection to awarding Senator Richard Durbin, who is from Springfield, a lifetime achievement honor. It is my opinion that his long held views and consistent votes promoting abortion clearly disqualify him for this award by the Archdiocese of Chicago. As a brother bishop, I urge Cardinal Cupich to withdraw this honor, which will ultimately cause scandal and confusion among the faithful.”
8) On Sept. 26, Bishop James V. Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri wrote, “The recent decision by the Archdiocese of Chicago to bestow honors on a prominent politician who has consistently and notoriously worked against the protection of the vulnerable lives of the unborn cannot be reconciled with Catholic Social and Moral teaching. Indeed, to do so would give a confusing counter-witness about the dignity of the human person and the grave evil of destroying innocent human life. I hope and pray that the decision will be reconsidered to eliminate confusion and scandal as well as protect the integrity of the teaching office of the Church.”
9) On Sept. 27, the retired Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, formerly of Kansas City, Kansas told the National Catholic Register, that it is a “source of scandal” for Cupich to give Durbin this award and a case of “pastoral neglect.” He said that “Dialogue does not require giving awards to Catholic political leaders who disregard the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life of the unborn” and that the USCCB “has consistently identified the protection of unborn children and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion as the primary human rights issue of our time.”
