Pope Leo XIV responded to controversy over the Chicago cardinal’s plans to honor a Catholic U.S. senator who supports legalized abortion, saying that the senator’s record should be considered in its totality and that Americans should search together for the truth on ethical issues.

Several U.S. bishops condemned Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plans to honor U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, with a “lifetime achievement award” for his work surrounding immigration policy despite his pro-abortion voting record.

“I am not terribly familiar with the particular case. 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,” the pope told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question from EWTN News.

He said: “I understand the difficulty and the tensions. But I think as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the Church.”

“Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life,” the pope explained. “Someone who says 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.”

“So they are very complex issues and I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them,” he continued, “but I would ask first and foremost that they would have respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings and in that case as American citizens and citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say that we need to be close to all of these ethical issues. And to find the way forward as a Church. The Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear.”

The number of U.S. bishops who have condemned Cupich’s decision to honor Durbin with a “lifetime achievement award” has risen to 10, including two bishops emeritus.

The Chicago-born Pope Leo spoke to reporters as he was leaving the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo near Rome, where in recent weeks he has made it a practice to spend Tuesdays before returning to the Vatican.

Seven current bishops have joined Springfield, Illinois, Bishop Thomas Paprocki in calling on Cupich to reconsider honoring Durbin including Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco; Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita, Kansas; Bishop James Johnston of St. Joseph-Kansas City, Missouri; and Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas.

The recently retired Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, also addressed the controversy over the weekend in a statement released to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, in which he referred to the move by Cupich as a “source of scandal.”

Cupich has defended the award as being aligned with instructions by the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2022, which instructed bishops “to reach out to and engage in dialogue with Catholic politicians within their jurisdictions.”

A spokesperson for Cupich did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Responding to Cupich’s argument, Naumann said in the statement: “Dialogue does not require giving awards to Catholic political leaders who disregard the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life of the unborn.”

Bishop Emeritus Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, has also called on Cupich to reverse his decision to proceed with the award.

In an interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Sept. 25, Paprocki called on the Chicago cardinal to either withdraw the award or Durbin himself to decline it.

A spokesperson for Durbin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cupich has since canceled meetings with two groups of Illinois Catholic leaders, the Catholic Conference of Illinois and a separate meeting of Illinois bishops, this past week.

So far, the Illinois bishops of Peoria, Rockford, and Joliet have refrained from joining Paprocki in calling for Cupich to reverse his decision, while the Diocese of Belleville is currently awaiting the appointment of a new bishop, after its former Bishop Michael McGovern was appointed archbishop of Omaha.

“European institutions need people who know how to live a healthy secularism, that is, a style of thinking and acting that affirms the value of religion while preserving the distinction — not separation or confusion — from the political sphere.”

Pope Leo XIV expressed this when greeting on Monday in the Vatican the ‘Working Group on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue,’ an initiative of the European Parliament.

The Pope began by thanking them for the initiative and expressing his hope that it would bear much fruit.

Deeply rooted in Gospel and Gospel values

Being men and women of dialogue, he underscored, means remaining deeply rooted in the Gospel and in the values that flow from it and, at the same time, cultivating openness, listening and dialogue with those who come from other backgrounds,

He said this necessitates “always placing the human person, human dignity, and our relational and communal nature at the center.”

Participation in interreligious dialogue, by its nature, he went on to say, recognizes that religion is of value both on a personal level and in the social sphere, recalling that the word ‘religion’ itself “refers to the notion of connection as an original element of humanity.”

Therefore, he stressed, when authentic and well-cultivated, the religious dimension can greatly enhance interpersonal relationships and help people to live in community and society.

“And how important it is today,” the Holy Father underscored, “to emphasize the value and importance of human relationships!”

Affirming religion’s value while preserving appropriate distinction from politics

With this in mind, he suggested, “European institutions need people who know how to live a healthy secularism, that is, a style of thinking and acting that affirms the value of religion while preserving the distinction — not separation or confusion — from the political sphere,” as he brought to mind examples of Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi.

Pope Leo XIV concluded by thanking them for the work they do to promote dialogue among, and respect for, all people, and imparting God’s blessing upon them and their work.

“Promoting dialogue between cultures and religions is a key objective for a Christian politician, and thanks be to God there is no shortage of people who have given good witness in this regard.”

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday as the Church marked the Jubilee of Catechists.

In his homily, the Pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Lk 16:19-31), which recounts the story of the rich man and Lazarus, noting that this was the same Gospel read during the Jubilee of  Catechists during the Holy Year of Mercy in 2016.

Through this Gospel passage, he said, Jesus shows us how God views the world, as one man lies dying with dogs licking his wounds while another man gorges himself in elegant clothes just on the other side of the door.

“At the doorstep of today’s opulence stands the misery of entire peoples, ravaged by war and exploitation,” he said. “Through the centuries, nothing seems to have changed.”

Even as many Lazaruses die while the rich ignore what is before their eyes, the Gospel assures us that God will do justice to both, putting an end to the poor man’s sufferings and to the rich man’s revelry.

After the rich man dies, he sees Lazarus at Abraham’s side and begs God to warn his brothers of his fate. Yet Abraham, said Jesus, tells him that those who are alive have Moses and the prophets to warn them.

“Listening to Moses and the Prophets means remembering God’s commandments and promises, whose providence never abandons anyone,” said the Pope. “The Gospel announces to us that everyone’s life can change because Christ rose from the dead.”

Jesus’ Resurrection, he added, is the truth which saves us and which must be proclaimed by the Church through her catechists.

By learning to love this truth, we come to understand the Gospel as our hearts are transformed and opened to God and our neighbor, said the Pope.

Pope Leo then reflected on the meaning of the word “catechist,” which he said comes from the Greek word meaning “to teach aloud, to make resound.”

A catechist, he said, is a person of the word that they proclaim with their life, whether they are our parents or a minister on behalf of the Church.

“We have all been taught to believe through the witness of those who believed before us,” he said. “From childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood, and even old age, catechists accompany us in our faith, sharing in this lifelong journey.”

Catechists and everyone who teaches others by their example, said the Pope, cooperate in the Church’s pastoral work by listening and serving “the desire for justice and truth that dwells in the human conscience.”

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited catechists to be filled with faith so that they may help others along their journey of faith.

As St. Augustine told the Deacon Deogratias, “Explain everything in such a way that the one who listens to you, by listening, may believe; by believing, may hope; and by hoping, may love.