Cardinal George, Catholic Bishops Criticize Quinn for Presenting an Abortion Rights Group's Leadership Award

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 3, 2011 9:50PM

Gov. Quinn is receiving flack from Catholic bishops and Chicago Cardinal Francis George for agreeing to present an award at an abortion rights group's event in a couple of weeks.

Quinn will present a leadership award to Jennie Goodman, a rape victim-turned-victim’s advocate at a Nov. 17 event sponsored by Personal PAC. The Sun-Times noted that Personal PAC donated $500,000 in cash and in-kind services to the governor's campaign last year.

George and Illinois' five Catholic bishops skewered Quinn for aligning himself with a group that advocates "the legal right to kill children."

“With this action, Gov. Quinn has gone beyond a political alignment with those supporting the legal right to kill children in their mothers’ wombs to rewarding those deemed most successful in this terrible work,’’ the bishops’ statement said.

Quinn, in response, said his presenting the award to Goodman is the right thing to do for someone who is helping the greater community.

“I am going to the event to present an award to a woman who was a victim of rape and who is a very strong advocate of helping rape victims all over our state [and] our country,” Quinn said Thursday. “I really feel that’s a proper, Christian thing to do to honor someone who’s doing someone that helps the community at large.”