Meetings of Catholic leaders in Illinois that were to be chaired by Cardinal Blase Cupich have been cancelled as controversy deepens over plans to honour Senator Richard Durbin with a lifetime achievement award.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI) was due to gather on 25 September, but its board meeting was abruptly called off the day before. A separate meeting of the state’s bishops scheduled for the same day was also cancelled. The Archdiocese of Chicago said the cancellations were the result of “unforeseen quorum/attendance issues".
The cancellations followed a request from John Breen, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago and lay a representative of the Diocese of Joliet, to add to the CCI agenda the controversial presentation of the award to Senator Durbin.
Durbin is due to be honoured on 3 November at the “Keep Hope Alive” benefit event for the Archdiocese of Chicago’s immigration ministry.
But Professor Breen argues that honouring a senator with a record of supporting abortion rights undermines the group’s mission.
Senator Durbin, a Democrat representing Illinois since 1997, has consistently supported legislation to expand abortion. In Springfield, where he resides, he has been barred from receiving Holy Communion since 2004 because of his public stance.
The decision to give him an award has drawn sharp criticism from bishops across the United States. Suffragan Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, was the first to voice opposition, calling the award “absurd".
Since then, at least eight other bishops have joined him. They include Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Bishop James Wall of Gallup, Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita, Bishop James Johnston of Kansas City–St Joseph, Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, the retired Archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas.
Archbishop Naumann, a former chair of the US bishops’ pro-life committee, said that giving an award to a politician with a record of supporting unrestricted abortion was “a source of scandal". He added that the decision broke with a policy of the US bishops’ conference, which bars Church institutions from honouring public officials who oppose Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.
Cardinal Cupich has defended the award, citing Senator Durbin’s record on immigration, environmental issues and other social concerns. He said in a statement that Catholic teaching on life “cannot be reduced to a single issue, even an issue as important as abortion".
The cancellations of the CCI and bishops’ meetings have fuelled speculation that the controversy directly influenced the decision, though CCI officials insist the reason was lack of quorum. A spokesman said that four of the state’s six ordinaries were required to attend, but scheduling conflicts prevented this.
(Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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