On October 1, 2025, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois and one of the highest-ranking Catholic lawmakers in the country, announced his decision to decline a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Archdiocese of Chicago amid a storm of controversy over his support for abortion rights. The decision capped off a week of mounting backlash from Catholic bishops, lay leaders, and thousands of concerned Catholics who argued that honoring Durbin would undermine the Church’s pro-life witness.
The award, which was to be presented at the archdiocese’s annual “Keep Hope Alive” benefit on November 3, was intended to recognize Durbin’s decades-long advocacy for immigrants and his leadership on immigration reform. Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, described Durbin as embodying “unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.” The event, hosted by the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Immigration Ministry at St. Ignatius College Prep, has long celebrated those who champion the rights of migrants and refugees.
But as news of the planned honor spread, opposition quickly mounted. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois—Durbin’s home diocese—was among the first to publicly object. In September, Paprocki declared Durbin “unfit to receive any Catholic honor,” citing his consistent support for abortion rights. By October 1, Paprocki expressed gratitude that Durbin had declined the award, urging Catholics to “continue to pray for our Church, our country, and for the human dignity of all people to be respected in all stages of life including the unborn and immigrants.”
The controversy was not confined to Illinois. At least ten bishops and archbishops across the country voiced their disapproval, including Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco; Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia; and others from Texas, Kansas, and Missouri. Many argued that honoring a politician who supports abortion rights would cause “great scandal” and “confusion among the faithful.”
The grassroots response was equally forceful. CatholicVote, a prominent Catholic advocacy group, launched an online petition urging Cardinal Cupich to rescind the award. The petition quickly gained traction, gathering over 40,000 signatures by October 1. Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of CatholicVote, told Fox News Digital, “Not only was the public outcry enormous… he came to see what the Cardinal did not: Catholics are the backbone of the pro-life movement and they will stand and witness to life at every turn.” CatholicVote also supported plans by March for Life Illinois to peacefully protest outside the November event.
Senator Durbin, for his part, told NBC News he was “overwhelmed” by the attention and support he received, especially after Pope Leo XIV weighed in on the controversy. “It is amazing to me. It’s quite a moment. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know it was gonna happen,” Durbin said, reflecting on the pope’s comments. Despite the support, Durbin insisted he would not reconsider his decision to decline the award, explaining, “The level of the controversy led me to believe that it’s best that I decline to accept the award.”
Pope Leo XIV, himself a Chicago native, addressed the situation on September 30, responding to a reporter’s question as he left his residence at Castel Gandolfo. The pontiff acknowledged he was “not terribly familiar with the particular case,” but stressed the complexity of the issues at stake. “I understand the difficulty and the tensions. But I think as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the Church,” the pope said, according to Catholic News Service.
Pope Leo went further, highlighting contradictions in how some Catholics approach life issues. “Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro life,” he remarked. “So they are very complex issues and I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them. But I would ask first and foremost that they would have respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings, and in that case as American citizens and citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say that we need to be close to all of these ethical issues. And to find the way forward as a Church.”
Cardinal Cupich, in his statement announcing Durbin’s withdrawal, expressed sadness but respect for the senator’s choice. He used the moment to warn about the “dangerously deepening” divisions within American Catholic life. “These divisions harm the unity of the church and undermine our witness to the Gospel,” Cupich said. “Bishops cannot simply ignore this situation because we have a duty to promote unity and assist all Catholics to embrace the teachings of the church as a consistent whole.”
Cupich also addressed concerns that honoring Durbin signaled a softening of the Church’s stance on abortion. “It would be wrong to interpret the decisions regarding the Keep Hope Alive event as a softening of our position on abortion,” he insisted, citing the Catechism’s teaching that abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law.” Instead, Cupich argued that the Church must find ways to invite reflection and dialogue, rather than “total condemnation,” which he said “shuts down discussion.”
He proposed “synodal gatherings” for Catholics to listen to one another respectfully on these contentious issues, hoping to foster greater understanding and unity. “We can move forward if we Keep Hope Alive,” Cupich said, echoing the theme of the event.
The episode reflects the broader challenge facing American Catholics, many of whom feel “politically homeless,” as Cupich put it, with neither party fully representing the Church’s teachings on life, justice, and human dignity. The archbishop lamented that “there are essentially no Catholic public officials who consistently pursue the essential elements of Catholic social teaching because our party system will not permit them to do so.”
Durbin’s own journey on abortion rights has been complex. He opposed abortion when first elected to Congress in 1982, but later changed his stance, explaining in a 2005 interview that “there are certain times in the life of a woman that she needs to make that decision with her doctor, with her family and with her conscience and that the government shouldn’t be intruding.” After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Durbin vowed to work “to enshrine into law a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices.”
As the dust settles, the controversy over Durbin’s award has left lasting questions about how the Church navigates the intersection of faith, politics, and public witness. For now, Church leaders, lay Catholics, and public officials alike are left to grapple with the challenge of upholding their values in a deeply divided nation. The hope, as both Cardinal Cupich and Pope Leo XIV suggest, is that respectful dialogue and mutual understanding might yet chart a way forward.
