The uproar surrounding Chicago cardinal Blase Cupich’s decision to honor Sen. Dick Durbin for his work on immigration reform reveals more about the divisions in the U.S. Church than it does about either man. What should have been a moment of recognition for decades of advocacy on behalf of immigrants instead became fodder for another skirmish in the endless culture war, with some bishops quick to denounce Durbin on the grounds of his voting record on abortion.
Cardinal Cupich’s response, however, was not only pastoral but profoundly Catholic. In his letter, he made it clear that honoring Durbin was about one thing: his “singular contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.” That distinction matters. It reflects a Church capable of seeing the whole of a human being’s public service without collapsing every question into a single issue.
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