CNA Staff, Sep 30, 2025 / 20:02 pm

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, will decline an award from the Archdiocese of Chicago after global backlash over his strong pro-abortion views that included comments from Pope Leo XIV and criticism from U.S. bishops.

Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich announced Durbin’s decision in a Sept. 30 statement , revealing that Durbin informed the prelate that he “decided not to receive [the] award” at the archdiocesan Keep Hope Alive celebration on Nov. 5. Durbin was scheduled to receive a “Lifetime Achievement Award for support to immigrants” at the event.

Cupich’s announcement brings an end to a chaotic late September in which his brother bishops in the U.S. criticized the decision to grant Durbin the award, citing the Democratic senator’s long tr

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