Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, announced Sept. 30 that Democratic Senator Dick Durbin had declined to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese. The news brings to an end a mounting scandal over Cardinal Cupich’s controversial decision to honor Durbin, a strident promoter of abortion.
Cardinal Cupich used his statement to make a long defense of his original decision to give the “Keep Hope Alive Award” to the pro-abortion senator, despite growing opposition from several American bishops and pleas from pro-life and leading Catholic organizations like CatholicVote.
The Archbishop of Chicago claimed that “the tragic reality in our nation today is that there are essentially no Catholic public officials who consistently pursue the essential elements of Catholic social teaching because our party system will not permit them to do so.” Nonetheless, he argued, “praise and encouragement” can open up politicians “to consider how to extend their good work to other areas and issues,” because “(n)o one wants to engage with someone who treats them as a thoroughgoing moral threat to the community.”
Cardinal Cupich also wrote that his hope with the controversial award was to turn it into “an invitation to Catholics who fiercely defend the vulnerable on the border between the United States and Mexico to ponder why the Church defends the vulnerable on the border between life and death, as in cases of abortion and euthanasia.”
Likewise, “it could be an invitation to Catholics who tirelessly promote the dignity of the unborn, the elderly, and the sick to extend the circle of protection to immigrants facing in this present moment an existential threat,” he added.
“It is also important to clearly state that it would be wrong to interpret the decisions regarding the Keep Hope Alive event as a softening of our position on abortion,” the Cardinal wrote. He went on to offer “a proposal for moving ahead.”
“I believe it would be worthwhile to schedule some synodal gatherings for members of the faithful to experience listening to each other with respect on these issues, all the while remaining open to maturing more fully in their common identity as Catholics,” he suggested. “I welcome suggestions.”
Readers can find Cardinal Cupich’s full statement below:
Senator Durbin today informed me that he has decided not to receive an award at our Keep Hope Alive celebration. While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision. But I want to make clear that the decision to present him an award was specifically in recognition of his singular contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.
Yet, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to share some additional thoughts, which I offer as your pastor.
As I look back on my 50 years as a priest and 27 years as a bishop, I have seen the divisions within the Catholic community dangerously deepen. These divisions harm the unity of the church and undermine our witness to the Gospel. Bishops cannot simply ignore this situation because we have a duty to promote unity and assist all Catholics to embrace the teachings of the church as a consistent whole.
The tragedy of our current situation in the United States is that Catholics find themselves politically homeless. The policies of neither political party perfectly encapsulate the breadth of Catholic teaching. Additionally, polling tends to show that when it comes to public policies Catholics themselves remain divided along partisan lines, much like all Americans. This impasse has become more entrenched over the years and our divisions undermine our calling to witness to the Gospel.
The controversy of these past days points to the depth and danger of such an impasse. Some would say that the Church should never honor a political leader if he pursues policies diametrically opposed to critical elements of Catholic social teaching. But the tragic reality in our nation today is that there are essentially no Catholic public officials who consistently pursue the essential elements of Catholic social teaching because our party system will not permit them to do so.
Total condemnation is not the way forward, for it shuts down discussion. But praise and encouragement can open it up, by asking their recipients to consider how to extend their good work to other areas and issues. More broadly, a positive approach can keep alive the hope that it is worth talking to one another–and collaborating with one another–to promote the common good. No one wants to engage with someone who treats them as a thoroughgoing moral threat to the community. But people will engage with, and may even learn from, those who recognize them as making some contribution to a common endeavor.
We should all be disturbed that the present impasse continues to significantly hamper the church’s efforts to promote human dignity across the full range of issues. Indeed, the child in the womb, the sick and elderly, the migrant and refugee, the death row inmate, those already suffering from climate change and generational poverty will continue to be at risk if we, as Catholics, do not start talking to each other respectfully and work together. That includes listening. This way of being church, of being human, one might even call synodal. And it is this path, beautifully laid out for us by our late beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, which can lead all Catholics to embrace the fullness of our teachings. Such witness would undoubtedly serve society by building up the common good.
My hope was that our Keep Hope Alive celebration would serve as an invitation to Catholics who fiercely defend the vulnerable on the border between the United States and Mexico to ponder why the Church defends the vulnerable on the border between life and death, as in cases of abortion and euthanasia. Likewise, it could be an invitation to Catholics who tirelessly promote the dignity of the unborn, the elderly, and the sick to extend the circle of protection to immigrants facing in this present moment an existential threat to their lives and the lives of their families.
Both groups are Catholics, regardless of where they fall on this spectrum, and they all need to remember that we are not a one issue church. Ideological isolation all too easily leads to interpersonal isolation, which only undermines Christ’s wish for our unity.
It is also important to clearly state that it would be wrong to interpret the decisions regarding the Keep Hope Alive event as a softening of our position on abortion. We firmly assert what the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear: “Since the first century the church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.” Likewise, there should be no question about our duty to advocate for laws protecting human life as well as for the church’s right to the free exercise of religion.
The Catholic bishops heroically responded when the right to life of the unborn was negated by the 1973 decisions of the Supreme Court. That right to life still needs to be defended without compromise. Another issue — that of immigration– had long been a problem inadequately addressed by our nation, but also one in which we U.S. bishops have long invested our energy and resources.
Thirty years ago, St. John Paul II preached a homily in our nation in which he vigorously defended the rights of the unborn, the elderly, and disabled people, and cited the poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. He asked, “Is present-day America becoming less sensitive, less caring towards the poor, the weak, the stranger, the needy? It must not! Today, as before, the United States is called to be a hospitable society, a welcoming culture. If America were to turn in on itself, would this not be the beginning of the end of what constitutes the very essence of the ‘American experience’?” We need to listen to these prophetic words in this moment of our nation’s life.
This leads me to make a proposal for moving ahead. I believe it would be worthwhile to schedule some synodal gatherings for members of the faithful to experience listening to each other with respect on these issues, all the while remaining open to maturing more fully in their common identity as Catholics. Perhaps our Catholic universities can be of assistance. As I give thought to how such gatherings might take place, I welcome suggestions.
We can move forward if we Keep Hope Alive.