Catholic Cardinal Will Give Pro-Abortion Senator Dick Durbin a Lifetime Achievement Award
National | Steven Ertelt | Sep 18, 2025 | 3:23PM | Washington, DC
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 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, 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.”
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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 aboritons 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.
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.
