Cardinal Cupich Defends Giving Award to Huge Planned Parenthood Donor
Catholic Cardinal Blase Cupich is defending a decision to give an award to a huge Planned Parenthood donor.
Cardinal Blase Cupich defended the Archdiocese of Chicago’s decision to present its Nostra Aetate Award to billionaire businessman Michael Sacks, a major donor to abortion causes and the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
Sacks will receive the award at an October 29 fundraiser for the formation of future Catholic priests, framing the criticism in terms of interreligious respect and the risk of antisemitism.
The award is scheduled for the annual Seminary Salutes Rerum Novarum banquet at IBEW Local 134 in Chicago. The event, organized with the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, raises funds for priestly formation. Cupich and seminary rector the Very Rev. John Kartje are listed as hosts.
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Sacks, chairman and CEO of GCM Grosvenor, has provided approximately $1.1 million in documented and reported support for abortion-related causes since 2020, according to Illinois Right to Life.
Public foundation records show $500,000 from the Sacks Family Foundation to Planned Parenthood of Illinois between 2020 and 2022.
A September 2026 Crain’s Chicago Business report identified an additional $600,000 contribution by Sacks to an abortion initiative that benefited Planned Parenthood of Illinois and the Chicago Abortion Fund. Sacks has also supported Personal PAC, which works to elect candidates who favor abortion, and helped recruit Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
In a statement issued Monday, Cupich said the Nostra Aetate Award affirms the Church’s relationship with non-Christian communities, particularly Judaism, which is “uniquely linked at its roots to Catholicism.”
He described Jews as “representatives of a faith community bound to God by an irrevocable covenant” and said honoring Sacks acknowledges “shared divine heritage, distinct from specific contemporary political or doctrinal disputes.”
Cupich addressed criticism that a Catholic institution would honor someone who does not hold core Catholic beliefs, “primary among them being the divinity of Jesus Christ.”
He wrote that Nostra Aetate supports public respect and dialogue even when individuals hold theological, moral or political positions at odds with Catholic teaching, without implying endorsement of those positions. He added that refusing to honor Jews “solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry.”
His statements ignore the main reason for the opposition – namely that Sacks has funded killing babies in abortions and that the Catholic Church should not honor someone who violates its pro-life teachings.
Giving an award to an ardent abortion activist is not necessary to open dialog and conversation.
Illinois Right to Life had called on Cupich and Kartje to withdraw the honor. The group said in an earlier statement that the Archdiocese “cannot credibly proclaim the sanctity of human life while publicly honoring a man whose wealth has helped support abortion providers and organizations working to expand abortion in Chicago.”
After Cupich’s statement, Illinois Right to Life President and CEO Mary Kate Zander said the cardinal responded by suggesting that opposition was motivated by the donor’s Jewish faith.
“Our history of opposing Catholic awards to pro-abortion individuals stands by itself,” she said. “We believe abortion grossly violates the human rights of mother and child and are disappointed that Cardinal Cupich is intentionally misdirecting from the core tenet of our statement: The Catholic Church, which has always stood against abortion, should never honor anyone who has so publicly promoted the killing of innocent life. Michael Sacks’ Jewish roots are completely irrelevant.”
The controversy follows last year’s episode in which Cupich planned to honor Sen. Dick Durbin, a longtime supporter of abortion, at another archdiocesan fundraiser. Durbin declined the award after objections from other bishops.
ACTION: Request that the honor be withdrawn. Contact the Archdiocese of Chicago main office at 312-534-8200. Email: [email protected]
