(LifeSiteNews) — Two prominent bishops have warned against “grave scandal” if Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich goes through with his plan to honor self-proclaimed Catholic Senator Dick Durbin (D–Illinois) with a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity.
During his nearly three-decade tenure in the U.S. Senate, 80-year-old Durbin has consistently opposed pro-life principles.
“I was shocked to learn that the Archdiocese of Chicago plans to honor Senator Richard Durbin with a Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Durbin’s diocesan bishop, Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, where Durbin has been barred from receiving Communion since 2004.
“Given Senator Durbin’s long and consistent record of supporting legal abortion – including opposing legislation to protect children who survive failed abortions – this decision risks causing grave scandal, confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life,” he told The Pillar.
“Honoring a public figure who has actively worked to expand and entrench the right to end innocent human life in the womb undermines the very concept of human dignity and solidarity that the award purports to uphold,” said Paprocki.
“The U.S. bishops have clearly taught that support for abortion disqualifies individuals from receiving honors from Catholic institutions,” said the prelate, who further explained that the Chicago archdiocese’s plan to award Durbin “sows confusion about the seriousness of abortion and the integrity of Catholic witness in public life. I urge Cardinal Cupich to reconsider this action for the sake of clarity, unity, and fidelity to the Gospel of Life.”
“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,” wrote Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on X.
“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,” said Cordileone. “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.”
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… https://t.co/T9X5R7ai2T
— Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone (@ArchCordileone) September 21, 2025
Jayd Hendricks, former executive director of government relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, also called Cupich’s plan to honor Durbin “a genuine scandal.”
“His Eminence’s honoring a public official who clearly and unapologetically supports abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and violations of religious liberty,” wrote Hendricks at Catholic World Report, “are profound attacks on the dignity of the human person, people of faith, and the Catholic Church.”
Durbin “has voted against key pro-life legislation,” noted a statement from Illinois Right to Life (IRL), “including: 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.”
“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 IRL 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.”
At least one observer noted that Paprocki’s and Cordileone’s willingness to publicly criticize Cupich represents a major vibe shift within the U.S. prelature.
“It is quite clear that Cardinal Cupich is no longer Rome’s guy in the U.S., given how freely Paprocki & Cordileone are now able to express their disagreement with the Chicago Archbishop’s decisions publicly,” wrote Josh Manfield on X. “Cupich is no longer seen as Rome’s watch dog & that is a relief for many.”
It is quite clear that Cardinal Cupich is no longer Rome’s guy in the U.S., given how freely Paprocki & Cordilrone are now able to express their disagreement with the Chicago Archbishop’s decisions publicly. Cupich is no longer seen as Rome’s watch dog & that is a relief for many pic.twitter.com/GM3cINhyWC
— Josh Mansfield (@WalkingHymnal) September 22, 2025