An article about Senator Dick Durbin

The pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church, the parish that includes the Springfield home of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, says he would not give Holy Communion to Durbin, who is Catholic but supports abortion rights.
Durbin, who also has a condominium in Chicago, says he has been a regular attendee at a Chicago Catholic church, Old St. Patrick’s, for about seven years and takes communion there. …

Bishop George Lucas of the Springfield Diocese said in January that while there are consequences for disregarding church teachings, refusing to give the sacraments to legislators or others “is a more complicated matter.”

“To ask someone to refrain from a sacrament is something I’d only do as a last resort,” Lucas said at the time.

Durbin said he finds it interesting that many pro-life senators are not likely to vote in accordance with positions taken by Catholic bishops on issues other than abortion. The Catholic conference opposes the death penalty, for instance, he said, but many legislators who vote against abortion have supported capital punishment.

Durbin said he supported a moratorium on the federal death penalty.