As readers are most certainly aware, a firestorm erupted in Catholic circles several weeks ago when news spread that Blazing Cardinal Cupich was planning to bestow a “Lifetime Achievement Award” on Senator Dick Dubin (D, Illinois).
Durbin, who claims to be Catholic, is well known for his unwavering support of so-called abortion rights, which includes his vote against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which prevented the measure from coming to the floor of the Senate for a full vote in early 2025.
The Senator also has a long track record of promoting LGBT causes, including his support for same-sex marriage [sic].
As budget negotiations were taking place in June 2025, Durbin was a vocal critic of any attempt to eliminate Medicare payments for so-called “gender affirming care,” including the genital mutilation of minors.
In a statement issued to the homo-news outlet, Washington Blade, Durbin said, “Anti-trans extremists are attempting to use the full power of the government to hurt kids.”
Some Catholic achiever this guy, no?
A handful of conservative American bishops – a tiny minority as compared to the total – publicly called on Cupich to reconsider his plan to award Durbin in light of his decades-long record of promoting pro-abortion legislation.
Cardinal Cupich, however, issued a statement defending his decision, saying:
At the heart of a consistent ethic of life is the recognition that Catholic teaching on life and dignity cannot be reduced to a single issue, even an issue as important as abortion.
Cupich went on to suggest that Durbin is especially worthy of the award thanks to his staunch opposition to the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport illegal aliens.
The recognition of his defense of immigrants at this time, when they are subject to terror and harm, is not something to be lamented, but a reflection that the Lord profoundly supports both immigrants who are in danger and those who work to protect them.
Despite Cupich’s suggestion that Durbin merits the honor under discussion in light of his efforts over the last nine months, let’s not forget that the award being proposed is called a Lifetime Achievement Award.
It bears mention that Durbin was to be awarded at the upcoming 13th Annual Keep Hope Alive Fundraiser benefiting the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Immigration Ministry, i.e., the event and the award are evidently ordered specifically toward immigration issues and not Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life more broadly.
I offer this information only in the interest of accuracy. That being said, clearly it is scandalous for Durbin to receive any sort of Catholic award.
This brings me to the remarks made yesterday by Leo XIV in response to a reporter who asked him to comment on the matter of “Cardinal Cupich giving an award to Senator Durbin.”
Leo began his response with what looks very much like a fib.
“I’m not terribly familiar with the particular case,” he said.
Really, now?
If, in fact, he was largely unfamiliar with the situation, then the next appropriate statement would have been something along the lines of, “I’m sorry. Thank you for asking.”
End of conversation.
Instead, Leo launched into a defense of Durbin, and by extension, Cupich.
Um, I think that it’s very important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during, if I’m not mistaken, forty years of service in the United States Senate.
Let’s pause here for a moment.
Note that the reporter merely asked for his comments on “an award,” one with which Leo claimed to be “not terribly familiar.”
His immediate reference to Durbin’s “forty years of service,” however, seems to suggest that he is familiar enough with the controversy to know that it concerns a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Moreover, Leo sure spoke like one who is very familiar with the longtime Illinois Senator and his track record, which only makes sense given that he’s a native of the Chicago area where one of his two brothers still resides. This brother, John Prevost, has said that he and Leo continue to talk every day.
Leo and his brother must have discussed the Cupich-Durbin dust up, no?
As for Blazing Saddles Cupich, Leo and he are certainly very familiar with one another, if not personally close. Shortly after Prevost was elected, America Magazine interviewed Cupich, who said:
I’ve known him for about six years because he was appointed about six years ago to the Dicastery for Bishops, of which I’m also a member. Then we worked closely with him, but even more closely in the last two years when he became Prefect. He’s a hard worker, who, in many ways, approaches the church with the same vision as Pope Francis.
Get that? Cupich and Prevost are Bergoglian brothers who have a six-year history of working closely together, which makes it even more likely that Leo was well informed about the events under discussion.
Leo continued:
I understand the difficulty and the tensions, but I think um as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to what is the teaching of the Church.
Someone who says I’m against abortion but says I’m in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. So, uh, someone who says that, uh, I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life.
How’s that for an unseemly garment?
It’s bad enough when defenders of the unborn are accused of being anti-life for failing to reject what the Church has consistently taught concerning the legitimacy of capital punishment as an expression of retributive justice.
Lumping support for illegal immigration into the mix, however, is next level progressive equivocation, especially as it concerns a nation that, for four years running, endured what can only be understood as an invasion.
Leo went on to say:
So, they’re very complex issues. I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them…
He might as well have said: Don’t ask me. I’m not the Vicar of Christ and the head of a church known as the Bulwark of truth!
Now that would have been a refreshingly honest response!
At some point after Leo’s drivelous commentary went public, it was announced that Durbin had withdrawn from consideration for the big award.
We won! Yay!
No, not exactly. Even so, this sordid affair did result in a victory of sorts.
For one thing, it gave witness yet again to the fact that the USCCB is comprised almost entirely of geldings. Not exactly a well-kept secret, I know, but still.
On that note, it occurs to me that one of the reasons more than two-hundred-fifty American bishops sat this one out may be because many of them appreciate Dick Durbin’s efforts on behalf of the homo-deviant agenda.
Could the same be said of Leo?
After all, brief track record as conciliar CEO includes any number of bones thrown in the direction of Team LGBT.
Again, not exactly breaking news, but Leo’s mealy-mouthed commentary on the Durbin affair – prefaced with an impossible-to-believe claim of ignorance on the matter – also provided one more piece of evidence indicating that the blood coursing through his veins is Type-B for Bergoglian.
Perhaps best of all, events such as these put additional pressure on Trad, Inc. franchisees to either double down on their Meet Leo in the Middle strategy or face the harsh reality that Robert Prevost, beneath the saccharine smile and gentle façade, is just as hostile to the one true faith as his predecessor.
Stay tuned.
