Pope Leo XIV has stepped into a growing controversy in the American Catholic Church, signaling support for honoring Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., with a Catholic “lifetime achievement award” despite the lawmaker’s record of backing abortion access.
The move has reignited long-running debates over whether Catholic leaders are watering down the church’s moral witness — and raised concerns that Leo is following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who faced years of criticism for praising and working alongside advocates of abortion rights.
The Chicago Archdiocese had planned to give Durbin a lifetime achievement award at its Nov. 3 Keep Hope Alive gala, recognizing his decades of work on immigration reform and his role as co-author of the DREAM Act.
But the announcement quickly drew condemnation from anti-abortion leaders, who argued that honoring Durbin risked scandal and confusion among the faithful.
In his remarks Tuesday, Pope Leo urged Catholics to look at Durbin’s career as a whole rather than focusing solely on his abortion stance.
“I think it’s important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during, if I’m not mistaken, in 40 years of service in the United States Senate,” the pontiff, a Chicago native, told reporters.
“I understand the difficulty and the tensions. But it’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the church.”
Shortly after Leo’s comments became public, Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich confirmed that Durbin had declined the award.
“While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision,” said Cupich, a Francis appointee. “But I want to make clear that the decision to present him an award was specifically in recognition of his singular contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of immigrants.”
That explanation did little to quell the uproar.
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, who has barred Durbin from receiving Communion in his diocese, said he was shocked by the original plan to honor him.
At least nine other bishops voiced opposition, warning the award would blur the church’s unequivocal teaching on abortion.
“The faithful are rightly scandalized when Catholic institutions elevate politicians who have used their public office to defend abortion,” Paprocki said.
Pope Leo’s remarks drew immediate comparisons to those of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who often spoke of the need for Catholics to avoid reducing moral concerns to abortion alone.
Francis was criticized by traditionalists for receiving and praising political leaders who favor abortion rights, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and for celebrating figures who supported abortion access while advancing other social causes.
“Francis often gave the impression that abortion was negotiable when set against other issues like climate change or migration,” said George Weigel, a Catholic commentator critical of both pontiffs’ approach. “Now Leo is walking down the same path.”
Unsurprisingly, abortion rights supporters welcomed the pope’s words.
Catholics for Choice applauded Leo’s statement as a “historic pushback against single-issue Catholicism.”
Planned Parenthood Action Fund issued a statement saying his remarks “acknowledge that lawmakers like Senator Durbin cannot and should not be reduced to a single issue, but instead measured by their broader commitment to human dignity.”
Durbin, who recently announced he will not seek reelection in 2026, did not comment on Pope Leo’s remarks but has long touted his immigration advocacy as central to his career.
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