Pope Leo XIV has stepped into a growing controversy in the American Catholic Church, signaling support for honoring Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., with a Catholic “lifetime achievement award” despite the lawmaker’s record of backing abortion access.
The move has reignited long-running debates over whether Catholic leaders are watering down the church’s moral witness — and raised concerns that Leo is following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who faced years of criticism for praising and working alongside advocates of abortion rights.
The Chicago Archdiocese had planned to give Durbin a lifetime achievement award at its Nov. 3 Keep Hope Alive gala, recognizing his decades of work on immigration reform and his role as co-author of the DREAM Act.
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