Rev. Pfleger forced by Cardinal to take leave of absence

chicagotribune.com
Rev. Michael Pfleger forced to take leave of absence from parish after controversial comments
St. Sabina parishioners rally in Pfleger's support

By Manya A. Brachear and Margaret Ramirez

Tribune reporters

June 4, 2008

Cardinal Francis George on Tuesday asked Rev. Michael Pfleger, the embattled pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, to take a leave of absence "for a couple of weeks" to reconsider his mocking remarks about U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, which surfaced in recent days.

"Father Pfleger does not believe this to be the right step at this time," George said in a statement. "While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the Church's regulations for all Catholic priests. I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns."

Outside St. Sabina on Tuesday night, angry church members and residents of the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood said they took issue with the cardinal's action.

"It's unfortunate that one misstep would cause someone not to look at the overall good that Father Pfleger has done," said Lyne Grant, a clinical social worker who said she occasionally attends the church.

Inside the church, parishioners and ministers from across Chicago, including Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., the controversial retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, sang and prayed in protest of the forced leave.

Randall Blakey, director of ministry at St. Sabina, told the crowd that although Pfleger has been directed to leave the parish by Wednesday, parish leaders were meeting through the night to find a way to bring their pastor back.

"God is still in control," Blakey said to loud applause.

Gerald Stewart, president of the parish council, said the cardinal should have first discussed his decision with St. Sabina's flock.

"As a collective, we are opposed to the appointment of a temporary administrator," Stewart said.

The cardinal named Rev. William Vanecko, pastor of St. Kilian's Catholic Church, 8725 S. May St., as temporary administrator of St. Sabina's.

Pfleger made headlines with a May 25 guest sermon at Trinity in which he mocked Clinton and suggested that she is a white elitist who felt entitled to the Democratic nomination for president.

As a video of the sermon circulated, George issued a statement Friday saying Pfleger had promised the cardinal that he would not publicly mention any candidate by name this summer and fall and that he would abide by the "discipline common to all Catholic priests."

Clinton's opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who already had taken hits for controversial statements made by Wright, his longtime pastor, terminated his membership in Trinity a day later.

On Sunday at his parish, Pfleger apologized, and on Monday he issued a statement seeking to clarify another controversial snippet from his sermon. When he said "America is the greatest sin against God," Pfleger said, it was a simple mistake and the first word should have been "racism."

The cardinal repeatedly has allowed Pfleger to stay as pastor of St. Sabina, where he's served for more than 30 years, long beyond church policies that limit pastors to two six-year terms in a parish.

Pfleger who has built the parish into a thriving community also has a reputation for rebelliousness, including arrests for defacing alcohol and tobacco billboards. A longtime activist, he has picketed stores that sell drug paraphernalia and marched against gang violence.

Rev. Bill Stenzel, pastor of St. Bede the Venerable, was ordained with Pfleger in 1975. He recalls Pfleger's unconventional zeal even then.

"He was the guy who gave me a hunger for the people," Stenzel said. "What I saw was a man deeply in love with the people he served. He instilled that hunger in me as a seminarian. . . . He's responded to his call from God as he has perceived it. That's what we're all called to do. We're here to discern and live where the discernment takes us and let the chips fall."

St. Sabina member Ernestine Jackson, 38, said Tuesday that she would stay at St. Sabina if Pfleger did not return but that if he started his own church, she would follow him.

"I just want to cry," she said. "Father Pfleger has changed my life around and the way I believe in God and Jesus."

Chicago Tribune