Pope Leo XIV made a direct foray into U.S. politics Tuesday, offering measured support for the Chicago Archdiocese’s plan to honor Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who supports abortion rights, with a “lifetime achievement award” for his work on immigration policy.
The pope’s comments to reporters come as anti-abortion advocates are condemning Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich and the archdiocese’s immigration ministry for planning to give Durbin the award at a Nov. 3 event.
After the pope’s comments emerged Tuesday, Cupich issued a statement saying Durbin had “decided not to receive an award at our Keep Hope Alive celebration.”
“While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision,” the prelate said. “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.”
Bishop Thomas Paprocki, who has denied the Eucharist to Durbin in his home diocese of Springfield, Ill., had said he was “shocked” that the senator was being honored, adding it would risk “causing grave scandal, confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life,” according to The Pillar, a website that focuses on the Catholic church.
Nine other bishops have also spoken out against the planned award, claiming it was a betrayal of the church’s teaching on abortion.
But Leo, in remarks that appeared both careful and bold, urged Catholics not to view the senator — or any political figure — through a single-issue lens.
“I think it’s important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during, if I’m not mistaken, in 40 years of service in the United States Senate,” the pope, a Chicago-area native, told reporters, responding to a question from EWTN News.
“I understand the difficulty and the tensions,” he said. “But I think as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the church.”
More pointedly, the pope said, “Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion,’ but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”
Durbin, who recently announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026, did not immediately return a request for comment. He is a long advocate for immigrants and an original co-author of the DREAM Act, legislation that would grant a path to legal status to undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors.
Leo, who voted in Illinois as recently as last year, has endeared himself to Illinoisans as a homegrown hero who has spoken of his fondness for Chicago pizza and White Sox baseball.
His words, which are guaranteed to prompt applause and anger, highlight the central tension within the church between theology and political partisanship.
“So they are very complex issues and I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them,” the pope continued, when asked about Durbin’s critics. “But I would ask first and foremost that they would have respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings and in that case as American citizens and citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say that we need to be close to all of these ethical issues. And to find the way forward as a church. The church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear.”
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