SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A Catholic bishop’s opposition to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s plans to honor Sen. Dick Durbin despite the powerful politician’s support of abortion rights has revived a decades-old struggle between church teaching and political reality.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago announced last week that the archdiocese will present a lifetime achievement award to the high-ranking Catholic Democrat for his work helping immigrants at a Nov. 3 fundraiser for the archdiocese’s immigration ministry. The plans were announced as President Donald Trump’s administration maintains a surge of immigration enforcement in the Chicago area that federal officials said has resulted in at least 550 arrests.
However, it’s the five-term senator’s support for abortion rights — while he personally disapproves of abortion — that elicited objections from Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Durbin’s hometown, who stated he was 'shocked' by the idea of honoring the U.S. Senate’s No. 2 Democrat.
“This decision risks causing grave scandal, confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life,” Paprocki said in a statement.
Durbin, 80, announced in April that he would not seek reelection, ending more than four decades on Capitol Hill. Cupich countered that the totality of Durbin’s work must be considered, asserting, 'Catholic teaching on life and dignity cannot be reduced to a single issue, even an issue as important as abortion.'
Critics of the church hierarchy’s prioritization of issues like abortion argue that there’s a disconnect with lay Catholics, many of whom oppose denying Communion to politicians who support abortion rights. This ongoing friction between U.S. bishops and Catholic politicians underscores the complex interplay of faith and politics in America today.
