Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has turned down an award that was set to be given to him at an Archdiocese of Chicago reception in November, Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a statement Tuesday.
The award was intended to recognize Durbin, who is Catholic, for his work on immigration reform and support for immigrants. But since the award’s announcement, the senator and the archdiocese have come under fire from Catholic and anti-abortion leaders and groups over Durbin’s support for legal abortion.
“While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision,” Cupich said in the statement.
“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,” he continued.
Durbin’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A backlash by Catholic leaders over Sen. Dick Durbin’s selection to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Archdiocese of Chicago for his work on immigrants rights led to Durbin declining the award Tuesday. Pope Leo XIV weighed in, saying, “I think that it is very important to look at the overall work that the senator has done.”
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photos
The senator was set to receive the award at the Chicago Archdiocese’s Keep Hope Alive reception in November, organized by its Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Immigration Ministry.
In 2023, the award was given to Sisters Pat Murphy and JoAnn Persch, who pioneered Chicago’s sanctuary movement and founded several community and housing organizations for migrants.
Following the award’s announcement in September, bishops have criticized the Chicago Archdiocese’s decision.
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, whose diocese includes Durbin’s official residence, wrote in an op-ed for the religious magazine First Things that Durbin was “unfit to receive any Catholic honor,” noting the senator’s support for legal abortion.
“It is absurd that Sen. Durbin should be given an award from the office of ‘human dignity and solidarity’ when Durbin has spent his time in office denying the human dignity of the unborn and undermining solidarity with the weakest and most vulnerable among us,” Paprocki wrote in the op-ed.
Paprocki also noted that Durbin has been barred from receiving communion in the Springfield Diocese since 2004.
Asked by reporters about the controversy Tuesday, before Cupich’s annoucement, Pope Leo XIV said he was not very familiar with the issue but said it was “very important to look at the overall work that the senator has done.
“I would ask first and foremost that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings, in that case as American citizens or as citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say we really need to really look closely at all of these ethical issues and to find the way forward as a church,” the pope said.
The decision about the award also drew ire from Catholic and anti-abortion groups. CatholicVote, a conservative advocacy group, launched an online petition against recognizing Durbin. As of Tuesday, the petition has gathered more than 38,000 signatures.
The group has also planned to protest the November reception with Illinois Right to Life.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, CatholicVote celebrated Durbin’s decision on X, writing that “this is great news. Our voices made a difference.”
🚨 BREAKING
Senator Dick Durbin has officially backed down from receiving the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Cardinal Cupich.
This is great news. Our voices made a difference. pic.twitter.com/iftapxfCHI
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) September 30, 2025
Cupich has initially defended the decision to honor Durbin. In a statement in September, he said the award intends to recognize “all the critically important contributions Senator Durbin has made to advance Catholic social teaching,” including on immigration, poverty and peace.
In Tuesday’s statement, Cupich maintained that the award decision was not intended as a softening of the archdiocese’s position on abortion.
Cupich said he hoped to schedule gatherings 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.”
“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,” he said.