(LifeSiteNews) — The decision to honor pro-abortion U.S. Senator Dick Durbin with a “lifetime achievement award” at an upcoming fundraiser seems to be having a negative impact on the daily life of dissident Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich.
According to the National Catholic Register’s Jonathan Liedl, two meetings of Catholic groups chaired by Cupich were recently “postponed indefinitely” likely due to his controversial decision, which has drawn criticism from 10 bishops across the U.S.
A lay board member of @CatholicConfIL wanted +Cupich’s honor for Sen. Durbin on the agenda, b/c it threatened to “undermine” their advocacy.
“All of our work is premised upon the dignity of the human person.”
The Sep. 25 meeting was cancelled on Sep. 24.https://t.co/0NWpC5vFC4— Jonathan Liedl (@JLLiedl) September 29, 2025
In a report published Monday, Liedl wrote that John Breen, a board member of the Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI), asked on September 23 that Cupich’s decision be added to the agenda for discussion at its planned September 25 board meeting.
“All of our work is premised upon the dignity of the human person. And yet you’re going to honor a man who denies the dignity of a whole class of persons? It makes no sense. So, I don’t see why we, as a body, wouldn’t address the issue,” Breen reportedly said.
Liedl reported that the meeting, which was set to take place at the archdiocese’s cemeteries office, was canceled on September 24, one day after Breen’s request, despite having been scheduled for months. Another meeting of the bishops of the state of Illinois was also postponed, he said.
The CCI is the official policy arm of the Catholic Church in Illinois. Its board is composed of the state’s six bishops and is overseen by executive director Bob Gilligan, who has been in the role since 2003. Breen is the group’s lay representative for the Diocese of Joliet while Cupich serves as its chairman. Breen is one of six diocesan lay representatives. Eight auxiliary bishops also work with the CCI.
Liedl explained that Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield forwarded Breen’s request to Gilligan on September 23. He added that after he spoke with Cupich, it was decided the topic would not be added to the agenda but would “instead be discussed among the Illinois bishops at their provincial meeting.”
CCI staff informed Liedl that the reason the September 25 meeting was canceled was simply that not enough bishops were able to attend the meeting. “I can understand why this looks bad because of the timing, but the reason the meeting didn’t take place was because we did not have quorum,” Kelsey Chisam, the group’s director of external relations, said.
READ: New campaign urges more bishops to denounce Cupich’s award for pro-abortion senator
Breen remains unconvinced. He told Liedl that he believes the postponement was done due to the “public outcry” Cupich has been facing. “I hope this criticism is sustained, and I hope that the cardinal reverses his position,” he remarked. As of the publication of this story, there has not been a date set for the next CCI meeting.
In remarks provided to the National Catholic Register this past weekend, recently retired Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph Naumann became the latest prominent U.S. clergyman to rebuke Cupich’s decision, which he described as “a source of scandal” and an example of “pastoral neglect.”
“Dialogue does not require giving awards to Catholic political leaders who disregard the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life of the unborn,” Naumann said. “Ignoring the policies and recommendations of the Bishops Conference is not synodal and serves to fracture unity.”
He further pointed out that the USCCB has “consistently identified the protection of unborn children and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion as the primary human rights issue of our time.”
Archbishop Naumann’s comments bring the list of bishops who have denounced Cupich’s decision to 10. They also include Bishop Paprocki; Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco; Bishop Joseph Strickland, bishop emeritus of Tyler, Texas; Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas; Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita, Kansas; and Bishop James Johnston of Kansas City, Missouri.
Some Catholic reporters have speculated that Cupich wants to give Durbin the award as a form of payback for his apparent efforts to increase federal tax dollars sent to Chicago-area Catholic groups during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Catholic watchdog site Complicit Clergy has launched a campaign encouraging American Catholics to contact the overwhelming majority of bishops who have not spoken out against Cupich’s decision.
At present, Illinois’ five ordinaries are as follows: Cupich; Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet; Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria; Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford; and Bishop Paprocki. Bishop Michael G. McGovern, formerly of the Belleville diocese, was made Archbishop of Omaha earlier this year after serving in his previous role for five years.