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Posted on 11/03/2026 1:41:15 PM PST by ebb tide
Cardinal Cupich (Oct 29, 2026) will today honour Michael Sacks despite his substantial financial support for abortion, while the Archdiocese of Chicago has responded to criticism by warning of the dangers of antisemitism
Today, despite widespread indignation from the pro-life movement, Cardinal Blase Cupich will award Michael Sacks the inaugural Nostra Aetate Award at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. The award will be presented during the annual Rerum Novarum event, “an evening to honour lay men and women who are examples of Catholic Social Teaching in action.”
Nostra Aetate, full title Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, is an official declaration of the Second Vatican Council which addresses the Church’s relationship with other religions, most notably Judaism. The document states that, despite Jews not accepting the Gospel, “God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers”, referencing St Paul’s assertion in Romans “that they are loved on account of the patriarchs.”
The document also refutes the idea that Jews bear collective responsibility for the death of Jesus, stating that “what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today”. It also “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”
Michael Sacks is, as might be expected, Jewish.
Described by the Chicago Tribune’s Amy Guth as “maybe the most connected person in Chicago”, Sacks is no stranger to public awards. He was named Crain’s 2025 Executive of the Year, partly for his successful fundraising for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which took place in Chicago. The event was seen as giving a fresh start to the party after the clunky and last-minute transfer of the presidential candidacy from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris. Harris delivered her presidential nomination acceptance speech at the convention. Biden spoke alongside Barack and Michelle Obama in a display of unity. Sacks was the behind-the-scenes hero of the event.
In 2025, he was awarded the Patriot Award by the Navy SEAL Foundation. At the award ceremony, Sacks took part in an on-stage discussion with retired Admiral Joseph Maguire, former Acting Director of National Intelligence. The event raised $5.3 million to support Naval Special Warfare personnel, veterans and their families.
None of this would necessarily exclude him from Catholic accolades. His ardent support for Democratic causes, with his foundation also giving an annual million-dollar grant to the Barack Obama Foundation, might justify careful reflection on partisan alliances, particularly given the Democrats’ history of championing anti-Catholic causes. But one might argue that he is not guilty by association, especially if his other work is in line with Catholic social teaching.
But it is not. Michael Sacks is a mammoth supporter of abortion.
Between 2020 and 2022, the Sacks Family Foundation, of which Michael Sacks is president and treasurer, made grants totalling $500,000 to Planned Parenthood of Illinois. According to a report published by Crain’s Chicago Business on 29 September, Michael Sacks and his wife, Cari, also contributed $600,000 to the Prairie State Access Fund, an initiative established in partnership with the administration of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to support abortion access in the state.
Sacks’ funding has worked. Illinois was among the US states with the highest abortion rates in 2024, at approximately 36.75 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44. It is also serving as an abortion outpost for other states, recording the highest number of abortions provided to out-of-state residents of any state in 2024, at approximately 35,500, accounting for 39 per cent of abortions performed there.
In response to the controversy, the Archdiocese has focused its public defence of the award on Sacks’ Jewish identity and the importance of interreligious dialogue. In a statement on its website, the Archdiocese said that “some have voiced criticism that a Catholic group would honor a person who does not hold to core beliefs of the Catholic Church, primary among them being the divinity of Jesus Christ”, but that “Nostra Aetate offers a clear theological and ethical framework that supports honoring, respecting, and building constructive relationships with non-Christians.”
The statement further points out that “refusing to honor or engage with Jews solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry, which, frighteningly, is on the rise.”
The statement released by the Archdiocese makes no reference to his support for abortion. In a request for further clarification, AdVaticanum was told by the Archdiocese that “our bishops will not be providing a response, and neither will other clergy or the Media Relations Department. The statement previously shared represents the Archdiocese’s response to this matter, and no further comment will be issued.”
Thus, the Archdiocese has focused its response on the risk of antisemitism, without addressing the substantive objections to Sacks’ receipt of the award arising from his financial support for abortion. It appears that clergy have been silenced from speaking on the matter, and the only answers that will be given make reference to those who “risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry.” Those who criticise him for his disdain for the unborn are not to be addressed.
However, if the Archdiocese is unwilling to address the objections of pro-life Catholics directly, it might consider the guidance of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, of which Cardinal Cupich is a member. He also chaired its Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People from 2008 to 2011. The USCCB’s document Catholics in Political Life, adopted in June 2004, states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
The USCCB’s position is clear. Cardinal Cupich’s justification for departing from it is not.
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The USCCB’s position is clear. Cardinal Cupich’s justification for departing from it is not.
Ping
I am no longer a Catholic. Saddens me, but the Church leaders have abandoned her, not me.
“You White people are on an endangered list. And unlike, say, the bald eagle or some exotic species of muskrat, you are not worth saving. In forty years or so, maybe fewer, there won’t be any more White people around, and that’s a good thing.” – Tim Wise, Jewish activist and author
“I think there is a resurgence of antisemitism because at this point in time, Europe has not yet learned how to be multicultural. And I think we are going to be part of the throes of that transformation which must take place. Europe is not going to be the monolithic societies they once were in the last century. Jews are going to be at the center of that. It’s a huge transformation for Europe to make. They are now going into a multicultural mode and Jews will be resented because of our leading role.” – Barbara Spectre, Director of the European Institute for Jewish Studies
“Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world, only to serve the people of Israel. Why are Gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That is why Gentiles were created.” – Ovadia Yosef, Chief Rabbi of Israel and Talmudic scholar
Oh Sarah… just another person looking for something to be offended about.
Liberals soak up that crapola
“Thus, the Archdiocese has focused its response on the risk of antisemitism, without addressing the substantive objections to Sacks’ receipt of the award arising from his financial support for abortion.” So, they are in for murdering babies, huh?
She’s an idiot.
Abortion is only allowed in Judaism when the life of the mother is in direct, dire, danger and neither the child, nor the mother, is likely to survive without it, such as the case with an ectopic pregnancy.
These fake Jews are as disgusting as the fake Catholic Charities who import Somalians for profit.
From Chabad.org:
The 212th mitzvah is that we are commanded to be fruitful and to multiply, and to have the intention of perpetuating the species. This is known as the mitzvah of pirya v’rivya (be fruitful and multiply).
The source of this commandment is G‑d’s statement (exalted be He), “Be fruitful and multiply.”
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/955070/jewish/Positive-Commandment-212.htm
Abortion violates the 212th Mitzvah.
Or even more directly:
The first reference to abortion is in Genesis, when Noah and his descendants are forbidden to murder: “One who sheds the blood of man through man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of G‑d He made man.”1
The sages of the Talmud point out that the phrase “one who sheds the blood of man through man” is more accurately translated as “one who sheds the blood of man within man.” Based on this Rabbi Ishmael learns that under ordinary circumstances the killing of a fetus is considered a capital offense for all descendants of Noah, i.e., humankind.2
I was pretty sure you based that on nothing but wishful thinking, so I did an internet search:
Unborn Infants have life and autonomy in the book of Genesis.
Sad and Angry life you have
Careful, that’s antisemitic on here, since so many are israel first.
You’re still 100% brainwashed. I was angry because I believed the propaganda for so long.
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