By Catholic Vote - Durbin, “one of the highest-ranking Democratic Catholics in U.S. office, told NBC News on Wednesday that he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the support he received from Pope Leo XIV... Durbin told NBC news he had chosen to decline the award “because the reaction has been so controversial against the Cardinal who proposed it, and I see no point in going forward with that.”... As CatholicVote reported, Pope Leo suggested Sept. 30 that, “while he was not very familiar with the controversy, it seemed suitable to honor Durbin for his 40 years of public service unrelated to abortion.”