Cardinal Cupich Should Not Honor Michael Sacks Because Honoring Abortion Funders Contradicts Catholic Teaching
Source: Zachary Mettler. "Bishop Awards Billionaire Who Donated $1.1Million To Kill Babies." November 5, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that the Catholic Church's own teaching says abortion is a grave evil and that people who defy it shouldn't be honored. Since Michael Sacks gave over a million dollars to abortion-supporting groups, he says Cardinal Cupich was wrong to give Sacks an award and wrongly used antisemitism as an excuse. He concludes that this shows Cupich doesn't take protecting life seriously.
Conclusion
Cardinal Cupich's decision to give the Nostra Aetate Award to Michael Sacks is wrong and inconsistent with Catholic teaching, and it reflects poorly on the cardinal's commitment to protecting human life.
Premises
- Michael Sacks, through his family foundation, gave $500,000 to Planned Parenthood of Illinois and $600,000 to the Prairie State Access Fund, which was intended to offset abortion providers' loss of federal funding.
- The Catholic Church teaches that every procured abortion is a grave moral evil, and it attaches excommunication to the crime.
- The U.S. bishops' document 'Catholics in Political Life' states that Catholics should not honor those who act in defiance of fundamental moral principles or give them awards, honors, or platforms.
- Sacks' donations materially facilitated abortions (an estimated 1,833 at about $600 each) and are therefore morally culpable support for grave evil.
- Cupich praised Sacks' 'leadership,' 'generosity,' and 'gifts,' dismissed the abortion funding as a 'political dispute,' and answered critics by invoking antisemitism, which the author says is a red herring because the objection is to abortion funding, not Sacks' religion.
- Honoring an abortion funder does not serve his salvation, which calls for repentance, and Nostra Aetate itself does not blur the line between good and evil.
Assumptions
- Funding abortion providers is morally equivalent to, or substantially responsible for, the abortions those providers perform.
- Donation dollars map directly onto abortions performed (the $600-per-abortion calculation), so Sacks' gifts caused about 1,833 abortions.
- The U.S. bishops' guidance on honoring politicians who defy moral principles applies equally to private donors at an archdiocesan event.
- An award honoring someone's interfaith relations or general contributions amounts to endorsing or excusing all of his actions.
- Cupich's motive is a lack of concern for human life rather than genuine interfaith outreach or a different interpretation of the guidance.
- Criticism of the award is motivated by abortion and not by religious animus.