Cdl. Cupich to Receive Honorary Degree from Notre Dame

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Blase Cupich is slated to receive an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame's Commencement Ceremony this year.

At the 173rd University Commencement Ceremony on May 20, Cdl. Cupich will be honored with a doctorate in law. His Eminence is the archbishop of Chicago, while also serving on the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Cupich who is known for his liberal views has stirred up controversy since becoming archbishop of Chicago and elevated to a cardinal.

He removed Fr. Frank Phillips as pastor of St. John Cantius Parish in Chicago, owing to "credible allegations of improper conduct involving adult men" last month while giving a free pass for Fr. James Martin, who is best known for normalizing homosexuality, to offer Lenten reflections March 22–23 in Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral.

Martin has said that chastity is not required of homosexuals, that Catholics should "reverence" gay "marriage," that "transgender" children should be able to register for religious education under their preferred sex and that people who have left the gay lifestyle do not live an "integrated life."

The popular Jesuit also supports a dissident priest, Fr. Gregory Boyle, S.J., who publicly promotes gay "marriage" and women "priests." Martin has also claimed dissident Sr. Jeannine Gramick, a pro-gay nun who founded New Ways Ministry, should be canonized a saint. He also accused faithful Catholic critics of being "homophobic" and "close-minded."

Cupich has expressed disapproval of "church language" referring to homosexual acts as "intrinsically disordered," complaining that such words can "dehumanize gay and lesbian people."

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, issued a public rebuke to Martin in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in September, citing Martin's omission of key doctrine on chastity in his book, Building A Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion and Sensitivity.

"For the unmarried — no matter their attractions — faithful chastity requires abstention from sex," Sarah noted. "With God's grace and our perseverance, chastity is not only possible but it will also become the source for true freedom."

Sarah reminded readers of a fact Martin refuses to admit: that homosexual acts are "gravely sinful and tremendously harmful to the well-being of those who partake in them."

His Eminence gathered in February with dozens of liberal American bishops, including Cdl. Donald Wuerl (Washington D.C.); Cdl. Joseph Tobin of Newark; Abp. Wilton Gregory of Atlanta and Bp. Robert McElroy of San Diego to craft plans to implement Amoris Laetitia's "new paradigm" to parishes across the United States.

The pope's exhortation on marriage and the family published in 2016, Amoris Laetitia, has led dioceses around the world to open Holy Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried in certain situations.

Since the publishing of Amoris Laetitia, bishops and bishops' groups in Argentina, Malta, Germany and Belgium have issued pastoral instructions that allow for civilly divorced and remarried Catholics living in adultery to receive Communion, contrary to longstanding Church teaching and practice.

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