Cardinal Cupich Honors Pro-Abortion Senator, Cincinnati’s new archbishop previously worked for Cardinal Cupich

By: Laura Strietmann, Executive Director, Cincinnati Right to Life

Here in Cincinnati, we are blessed with new leadership and welcome Archbishop Casey who began his role when Archbishop Schnurr retired. Our newly installed Archbishop of Cincinnati previously served faithfully as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago before being called to shepherd our local Church. We look forward to his guidance and firm defense of the unborn, especially at a time when clarity and courage are needed within the wider Church.

Ohio’s abortion laws remain tragically close to those of Illinois, and both states experience an evil amount of innocent bloodshed from the preborn each year. Yet even amid these challenges, we are grateful for signs of hope. We thank God for Senator Jon Husted’s appointment to fill JD Vance’s Senate seat and for Bernie Moreno’s victory over Sherrod Brown in last November’s election—two pro-life leaders who will stand boldly in defense of the unborn.

Against this backdrop of both challenge and hope, troubling news has emerged from Chicago.

Cardinal Cupich Honors Pro-Abortion Senator

Cardinal Blase 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.

The announcement has triggered immediate and widespread backlash among pro-life Catholics, who see the move as a scandalous betrayal of the unborn.

Pro-Life Advocates Condemn the Award

Illinois Right to Life, a leading statewide pro-life organization, condemned the decision in sharp terms. The award is being presented by the Archdiocese’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity, a choice that pro-lifers say blatantly contradicts the Church’s defense of the dignity of every human life.

“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. “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.”

In addition to Illinois Right to Life, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Durbin’s home diocese, as well as Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco, have publicly criticized the award, underscoring the seriousness of the scandal and the disunity it creates within the Church.

Durbin’s Anti-Life Record

Senator Durbin, who has long claimed to be Catholic, has built a career consistently voting against protections for the unborn. Since being elected to the Senate in 1997, he has opposed:

• The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, prohibiting the most brutal late-term abortion procedures.
• The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks, when unborn children can feel pain.
• The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, requiring life-saving care for babies born alive after failed abortions.

Durbin also strongly supported the Women’s Health Protection Act, a sweeping measure that sought to enshrine Roe v. Wade into federal law and permit abortions up to birth.

His hostility toward faithful Catholics has also been evident. During the 2020 hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, he questioned her about being an “orthodox Catholic” and whether she wore a rosary—remarks that many Catholics considered dismissive and discriminatory.

In 2021, Durbin was barred from receiving Holy Communion in his home diocese of Springfield, Illinois, by Bishop Thomas Paprocki because of his unwavering pro-abortion record.

Cupich’s Troubling Alignment

Cardinal Cupich’s decision to bestow this award on Durbin comes on the heels of his prominent role at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where he offered the opening prayer despite the party’s long-standing embrace of abortion as a “core value.”

By honoring Durbin, Cupich not only deepens the scandal of Catholic leaders siding with pro-abortion politicians but also undermines the faithful witness of bishops across the country who have taken firm stands in defense of life.

Tragedy in Chicago Even more alarming, in Chicago—in close proximity to the Archdiocesan offices—a nearly full-term abortion business has opened, disguised as a boutique. Instead of celebrating pro-abortion politicians with awards, the local shepherd should be sounding a clear moral outcry against the killing of preborn children sacrificed in what amounts to a modern-day human slaughter. The silence of leadership in the face of such blatant evil only compounds the scandal and deepens the wound to the Body of Christ.

Call to Action for the Faithful

Illinois Right to Life is urging Catholics to speak out against this grave scandal. They encourage the faithful to contact the Archdiocese’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Director Jose Coronel at 312-534-8200 and demand that the Church uphold its mission to defend the most vulnerable.

Feel free to write the Cardinal and have Masses said for this church leader who mocks the preborn with this award:

Archdiocese of Chicago
 835 N Rush St, Chicago, IL 60611