(LifeSiteNews)— A Virginia bishop has become the latest to criticize Cardinal Blase Cupich for his plan to give an award to pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington said he is glad to see Senator Durbin, a Democrat, “decline a Lifetime Achievement Award which was to be awarded by the Archdiocese of Chicago.”
Cardinal Cupich planned to give Durbin the award based on what he says is his advocacy for immigrants. However, the proposed honor drew rebuke from a dozen of the prelate’s brother bishops, including Bishop Thomas Paprocki, who said Durbin had been barred from receiving Communion in his Diocese of Springfield since 2004. Durbin is an ardent supporter of killing preborn babies. Pro-life groups, including Illinois Right to Life, also had criticized the award.
Burbidge said that “dialogue” can happen with pro-abortion politicians, but it should not come with “honors and awards.”
Cupich, in his message responding to Durbin’s decision to decline the award, asked for help on how to address tensions. He suggested “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.”
In response, Burbidge offered his approach.
“All the faithful, and especially all bishops, priests, and consecrated religious, must recognize the immense importance of their acting and speaking with clarity about the Church’s teachings, particularly when in dialogue with civil authorities,” the Virginia bishop wrote in an Oct. 1 message.
“Bishops should always regularly appeal to politicians for their spiritual welfare as much as for the general welfare of the nation,” he wrote, “but such personal outreach is primarily pastoral in nature and profoundly distinct from public honors and awards, under the banner of dialogue, for politicians whose careers have been built upon the denial of the natural law.”
He continued on to critique the idea that more “dialogue” can solve the problem, when a politician holds a view that is deeply antithetical to basic human dignity.
Burbidge wrote:
Sincere dialogue will always be essential to the health of any political community, yet productive conversations occur only when participants share a basic commitment to certain objective moral realities about what is good and evil. Among these realities is the first and most fundamental natural right, that of the human right to life. True dialogue cannot take place when a purportedly Catholic lawmaker turns a blind eye to the killing of innocent persons. By God’s grace, interior conversion of heart and mind must come first.
He also appeared to address a claim by Cupich, and common among more heterodox priests and prelates, that a “consistent ethic of life” or “seamless garment” can somehow justify honoring a pro-abortion politician if that person may have stances on other issues that are amenable to Church teaching.
“A consistent ethic of life requires the faithful proclamation of challenging teachings just as it also requires the avoidance of scandal from actions that would convey ambiguity or indifference to the moral law,” the Virginia bishop wrote.
RELATED: Bishop Burbidge: Catholics must renew commitment to protecting the gift of human life
Durbin has a long history of supporting abortion, LGBT issues
Senator Durbin has consistently voted in favor of legalized abortion. He also strongly supports the LGBT agenda, which puts him at odds with the Catholic Church.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, for example, gives him an “F” rating on the issue of human life. Summarizing his record during the 117th Congress, the pro-life group concluded: “Senator Durbin has consistently voted to eliminate or prevent protections for children born alive after failed abortions and the unborn, including voting to use hard-earned tax dollars to pay for elective abortion.”
“Senator Durbin has confirmed Biden administration appointees and judges who prioritize activist, progressive agendas over the Constitution and the dignity of human life at all stages,” the group also reported.
He also opposed religious freedom, supporting laws that would force Catholic parishes, schools, and hospitals to provide abortifacient drugs through their health insurance plans. He also opposed the Supreme Court decision Burwell v. Hobby Lobby which affirmed businesses owned by religious individuals or families cannot be required to provide abortifacient birth control or other contraceptives against their will.
Durbin also has received a 100% score from the pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign.
