Sen. Dick Durbin says he's 'overwhelmed' after Pope Leo defended him from abortion-related criticism
- - Sen. Dick Durbin says he's 'overwhelmed' after Pope Leo defended him from abortion-related criticism
Frank Thorp VOctober 2, 2025 at 5:14 AM
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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has faced criticism over his support for abortion rights after being offered a Catholic "lifetime achievement award." (Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP file)
Sen. Dick Durbin, one of the highest-ranking Democratic Catholics in U.S. office, told NBC News on Wednesday that he was "overwhelmed" by the support he received from Pope Leo XIV after facing criticism for his long-held support for abortion rights.
Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, was recently offered a "lifetime achievement award" by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich for his work related to immigration advocacy. But that decision drew blowback over his abortion stance, including from multiple U.S. bishops, the Catholic News Service reported.
Durbin told NBC News he was surprised by "the level of controversy" and had withdrawn from accepting the award "because the reaction has been so controversial against the Cardinal who proposed it, and I see no point in going forward with that.”
But then, the pope weighed in.
Pope Leo XIV suggested Sen. Dick Durbin should not be judged alone by his abortion position. (Andrew Medichini / AP)
While acknowledging he was not "terribly familiar" with the specifics of the controversy, Pope Leo told reporters Tuesday, according to CNS, "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."
Durbin said he was shocked by the pope's defense.
"It is amazing to me. It’s quite a moment. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know it was gonna happen," he said.
Durbin told NBC News that Pope Leo’s comments have not made him rethink not accepting the award. “I knew there would be pushback from several — but the level of the controversy led me to believe that it’s best that I decline to accept the award," he said.
Durbin opposed abortion rights when he was first elected to Congress in 1982 but discussed how he changed his mind during that first term in the U.S. House in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" in 2005.
"I finally came to the conclusion that we really have to try to honor the Roe v. Wade thinking, that there are certain times in the life of a woman that she needs to make that decision with her doctor, with her family and with her conscience and that the government shouldn’t be intruding," Durbin told then-moderator Tim Russert.
Durbin has often said that he personally opposes abortion, while supporting the right for others. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he said he would keep working "to enshrine into law a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices."
Source: “AOL General News”
