How dare he.
Charlotte Clymer at Charlotte's Web Thoughts:
It’s likely you haven’t been following the latest drama in the ongoing tension between the American far-right and Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff and perpetual thorn in the side of exasperated religious fundamentalists. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois—a lifelong Catholic—who earlier this year announced he will retire at the end of his present term, was to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich and the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity Immigration Ministry for his career work on immigration. For those unaware, Senator Durbin has been a stalwart champion for common sense immigration reform. In 2001, he introduced the original DREAM Act, which would have provided a reasonable citizenship pathway for undocumented migrants brought to the U.S. as children. After its defeat, he reintroduced the bill several times over the years before coming tantalizing close to its passage in 2010, when it cleared the House and nearly overcame a Senate filibuster with 55 votes; five Democrats in red states tanked the effort out of political convenience (none of whom are still in the Senate). In 2012, President Obama created DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which had similar criteria to the DREAM Act. That exists to this day, but its expansion was halted—although existing DACA recipients may still apply for renewal—and its ultimate fate will likely be decided by the Supreme Court next year. Anyway, Sen. Durbin being honored for his advocacy by the Catholic Church makes sense given his decades of public leadership on the issue and the Church’s stance on migrants and refugees. Even the more conservative cardinals in the Church oppose mass deportations and family separations, to say nothing of deporting children. But the award did not sit well with a number of other American Catholic officials, who were shocked that the Diocese would honor Sen. Durbin in light of his career advocacy for abortion rights.
On Tuesday, Pope Leo, who is stridently anti-choice, was asked about the controversy and offered a rather nuanced response, including this:
[Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life. Someone who says that ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.]
This is, of course, reasonable framing, and yet, it was surprising to most observers that the Pope pointed out an obvious argument that has been steadfastly and broadly ignored by conservatives for many years: that the so-called “pro-life” position often seems concerned with only one aspect of the sanctity of life. Many conservative commentators and pundits were not pleased with the Pope’s response, claiming he had been reductive in the Church’s stance on the death penalty and that the comparison wasn’t honest. But they’re wrong. The Catholic Church has been pretty clear for quite some time that the death penalty is almost always morally indefensible.
[...] It would seem to any reasonable adult that a “pro-life” framework would justly call for the abolition of the death penalty, which is why I have enormous respect for the consistency of the Catholic Church, even while I don’t agree with their official position on abortion rights. The Vatican advocates for the sanctity of all human life while American religious fundamentalists—particularly evangelicals—seem laser-focused on abortion while removing that bedrock value from conversations on immigration, homelessness, mental health, health care broadly, gun violence, state violence, etc. But that nuanced, adult conversation—so well expressed by Pope Leo—doesn’t fit on a bumpersticker or in a 240-character tweet or in a Republican fundraising email, and his insistence on Christ-like compassion and understanding for all people is at odds with the toddler reasoning of religious fundamentalists. Yesterday, it was announced Sen. Durbin had respectfully declined the Lifetime Achievement Award in light of the controversy in an effort to avoid division in a moment of increasing political tension for our country. He prioritized the unity of our country and the Church over his own ego. Cardinal Cupich said this in a statement on Sen. Durbin’s decision: “While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision. But I want to make clear that the decision to present him an award was specifically in recognition of his singular contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.”
Pope Leo XIV standing on business by standing up for what makes a Catholic truly pro-life.
