The confusing, head-scratching saga of Chicago's Fr. Michael Pfleger

 

Catholic Church officials clear Chicago priest Pfleger of abuse claim

12 December 2022

A CORRESPONDENT

Chicago, US
AP

A prominent Roman Catholic priest known for his activism has been reinstated as leader of his Chicago parish after being cleared by church officials of allegations that he sexually abused a minor decades ago.

The Chicago Archdiocese released a letter Saturday saying that a review board found “no reason to suspect” that Rev Michael Pfleger was guilty of the allegations. Pfleger had stepped away from his duties as pastor of St Sabina Church in October during the review.

Cardinal Blase Cupich said in the letter that he recognises the “great toll” Pfleger’s absence had on the parish and said “I am committed to do everything possible to see that his good name is restored.”

In October, a man in his late 40s said through an attorney that Pfleger abused him twice in the late 1980s during choir rehearsals in the St Sabina rectory. That claim was similar to other allegations Pfleger faced last year involving two brothers than 40 years ago, of which he was also cleared by the archdiocese.

Pfleger, 73, denied the abuse allegations and spoke briefly before parishioners at a Saturday evening Mass about his reinstatement.

“This has been very painful,” Pfleger said. “Thank you for your love, for your support and your prayers.”

Pfleger, who is white, leads a Black church in Chicago’s largely Black and low-income Auburn Gresham neighbourhood. His activism captured the attention of film director Spike Lee, who based a character played by actor John Cusack in the 2015 film Chi-Raq on Pfleger.

Pfleger has made national headlines for his activism on an array of issues - calling for gun control and better schools and jobs, opposing cigarette and alcohol advertising, taking on drug dealers and stores that sell drug paraphernalia, and leading countless protests. He has been sued for his activism and once said it “has resulted in jealousy, attacks and hate.”

Attorney Eugene Hollander, who filed the latest abuse allegation against Pfleger, said his client is “incredibly hurt” by the archdiocese’s decision.

Hollander also represented the two men who came forward in 2021 with sexual abuse allegations. He said they had voluntarily submitted polygraph tests supporting their claims before the archdiocese determined their allegations were unfounded.

“In combination with the brothers’ claims and their evidence, and my current client’s claim, we had a staggering amount of evidence,” Hollander said.

The decisions will send a “deep chilling effect and strongly discourage victims of sexual abuse to come forward,” Hollander said.

“Obviously the St Sabina community really strongly rallied around Father Pfleger, and I think it’s very unfortunate that it’s kind of turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse allegations,” Hollander said.

An allegation of sexual abuse against high profile and controversial Chicago Priest

 

Chicago’s Father Michael Pfleger removed from ministry over new sexual abuse allegations

By Jonah McKeown

St. Louis, Mo., Oct 16, 2022 / 12:50 pm

A well-known Chicago priest has been asked to step aside from ministry during an investigation into an allegation of sexual abuse against a minor. 

Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor at St. Sabina parish and a well-known social activist, will live away from his parish while the allegation — which he denies — is investigated. The alleged abuse occurred more than 30 years ago, the archdiocese says. 

In an Oct. 15 letter, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said Pfleger has “agreed to cooperate fully” with the request to step aside from ministry following the allegation made to the Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review. 

As is required by archdiocesan child protection policies, the allegation was reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and law enforcement, Cupich wrote. The archdiocese has begun its investigation and “we will do our best to keep you informed,” the cardinal pledged. 

“The person making the allegation has been offered the services of our Victim Assistance Ministry and the archdiocese has begun its investigation and we will do our best to keep you informed,” Cupich wrote.  

St. Sabina pastor Father Thulani Magwaza will serve as parish administrator in Pfleger’s stead, Cupich wrote, and noted that until Magwaza returns from a visit with family in early November, Father David Jones will serve as temporary administrator.

This marks the second allegation of sexual abuse leveled against Pfleger in the past two years; after three men brought forward allegations in early 2021, Pfleger was reinstated that June after a Chicago archdiocese investigation concluded there was “insufficient reason” to suspect he was guilty of the allegations, which he had denied. 

In an Oct. 15 statement of his own, Pfleger complained that “the process of the archdiocese today is that a priest is presumed guilty until proven innocent.” He said his status as a “high-profile,” “outspoken,” and “controversial” person has engendered “jealousy, attacks, and hate.”

“Let me be clear — I am completely innocent of this accusation,” he wrote. “It seems like most of my ministry I have spent fighting to stay a priest and to continue the work of justice, and to serve the good people of St. Sabina’s and our community. I cannot express how difficult, disruptive, and painful this process is to me and those who are close to me.”

A Chicago native, Pfleger has spoken out against the epidemic of gun violence in the city’s South Side that has afflicted his parishioners at St. Sabina’s, a predominantly African-American parish community. Pfleger adopted an 8-year-old boy in 1981 and another son in 1992. In 1997 he became the foster father of another city youth who was killed in a gang shootout in 1998.

The priest’s actions have put him at the center of controversy for years. The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago suspended Pfleger in 2011 after the priest threatened to leave the priesthood if George reassigned him. The cardinal later accepted Pfleger’s apology and reinstated him as St. Sabina’s pastor. In 2019, Cupich publicly denounced Pfleger’s decision to invite controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to speak at St. Sabina.

Pfleger has voiced support for the ordination of women as Catholic priests, a position that the Church has held to be incompatible with the Catholic understanding of the priesthood.

Pfleger also attracted attention and criticism for a December 2021 Christmas Eve Mass that featured jazz musicians, choreographed dances around the altar, and theatrical lighting effects. Many of those upset by the Mass said it crossed the line from worship to entertainment.

Contacted by CNA at the time, Pfleger declined to answer questions about the Christmas Eve liturgy.

“These are some of the same people that attack Pope Francis and Cardinal Cupich and have ignored the gift and value of Black Catholicism in the Catholic Church, so I am not responding to their attacks,” Pfleger said in an email.

Cardinals discuss Catholic hospital care for transgender patients but no to gender transition procedures

 

CHURCH

• UNITED STATES
• MEDICINE & HEALTH
• CATHOLIC CHURCH

Cupich & Dolan: Transgender patients receive equal care in Catholic hospitals

American Cardinals Blase Cupich and Timothy Dolan affirm the high quality of care transgender patients receive in Catholic hospitals, while expressing concern over a new federal rule which would force faith-based health care facilities to perform gender transition procedures.

By Devin Watkins

The Archbishops of Chicago and New York have issued a joint statement in reaction to a newly-proposed federal rule which would force Catholic health care facilities to offer gender transition procedures.

The rule proposed on 25 July 2022 by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to implement Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, specifically to “solidify protections against discrimination on the basis of sex including sexual orientation and gender identity”, according to the HHS website.

High-quality Catholic health care for everyone

In a statement published by America Magazine, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York affirm their wholehearted support for “all efforts to ensure that everyone, without exception, receives the best health care that is their due.”

They note that 1 in 7 Americans who visit a hospital will receive care in a Catholic facility, equaling over 115 million visits every year.

“They do so knowing they will receive excellent medical care and be treated with dignity, respect and welcome,” say the Cardinals. “That is true for all people who come to us, no matter their age, sex, racial or ethnic background, or religion.”

Transgender patients also receive the same quality of care as everyone else, affirm the two Cardinals.

“Catholic hospitals do not discriminate against anyone and to do so would be offensive to the embracing and expansive healing ministry of Jesus Christ.”

Forcing doctors to violate their consciences

At the same time, Cardinals Dolan and Cupich allege that the HHS-proposed rule would coerce Catholic facilities and staff to violate their consciences.

“Under this new proposed rule, it would be considered discrimination for a health care facility or worker to object to performing gender transition procedures, regardless of whether that objection is a matter of sincerely held religious belief or clinical judgment.”

The Cardinals say the rule represents “government coercion that intrudes on the religious freedom of faith-based health care facilities” and thereby threatens the conscience rights of those who consider such procedures contrary to their own beliefs.

Even people of no faith, note the Cardinals, may object to gender transition procedures, and should not therefore be expected to “violate their consciences as a condition of employment.”

Objection to procedure, not the person

Cardinals Cupich and Dolan then reaffirm their belief that objecting to such procedures in no way constitutes discrimination, also because those same Catholic hospitals and doctors offer the same quality of care for transgender patients.

“The focus of such an objection is completely on the procedure, not the patient.”

The American Cardinals note that the proposed rule fails to codify “the rights of faith-based providers to decline procedures based on conscience, as other federal laws do.”

Rather, they say, the rule allows the HHS to decide if it can force facilities to “violate their beliefs.”

In conclusion, Cardinals Dolan and Cupich uphold every American’s right to receive high-quality health care which respects “the life and dignity of every person”.

Cardinal Cupich offers support to migrants while criticizing Texas Governor Abbott

 

Chicago cardinal pledges support for migrants sent from Texas

By John Lavenburg

Sep 7, 2022

|National Correspondent

NEW YORK – Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago has pledged the archdiocese’s support for city efforts to respond to busloads of migrants arriving from the southern border at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, simultaneously calling Abbott’s actions “unbecoming of any elected official.”

“Treating children of God as political pawns is unbecoming of any elected official, especially when it involves marginalized, suffering people,” Cupich said in a Sept. 3 statement. “The Archdiocese of Chicago stands with local municipal and religious leaders who have pledged to support these new arrivals seeking better and safer lives.”

As of Sept. 6, more than 150 migrants had been sent to Chicago on three buses, according to Abbott’s press office. The first bus arrived on Aug. 31. Abbott’s press office declined to comment on what the frequency of buses would look like going forward. Migrants are not forced onto the buses. They board voluntarily after they are processed by U.S. immigration officials.

Chicago is the third Democrat-led city to which Abbott has bused migrants. The Republican governor started busing migrants to Washington, D.C. in April, followed by New York City at the beginning of August. As of Sept. 6, more than 7,700 migrants had been sent to the nation’s capital on over 185 buses, and more than 2,100 migrants had been sent to New York City on over 40 buses, according to Abbott’s press office.

Abbott began the practice as a rebuke of President Joe Biden’s border policies, which he blames for the unprecedented number of migrants that have arrived at the southern border this year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows that there were more than 1.9 million southwest land border encounters between October 2021 and July 2022 – exceeding the total for Fiscal Year 2021 by more than 200,000.

Announcing that the first bus had arrived in Chicago on Aug. 31, Abbott said that like New York and Washington, D.C., Chicago is a sanctuary city.

“Mayor [Lori] Lightfoot loves to tout responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them,” Abbott said.

Lightfoot at a Sept. 4 press conference said her frustration with the situation isn’t the city’s need to respond to the migrants, but the actions and lack of coordination from Abbott.

“There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to do none of those things and instead tries to send human beings, not cargo, not freight, but human beings across the country to an uncertain destination,” Lightfoot said. “We have yet to hear from anybody in an official capacity from Texas. It’s unacceptable.”

“We’re talking about human beings’ lives, who have themselves gone through an incredible journey to go to the United States,” she added. “I think the decent human thing to do is to cooperate and collaborate.”

Phil Zepeda, vice president of communication for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago told Crux on Sept. 1, that the organization is “helping the city … welcome immigrants and assess very initial basic human needs on their journey.” Zepeda and the organization declined to comment further, citing that the city of Chicago is handling all media inquiries.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office declined multiple Crux interview and comment requests.

In the statement, Cupich acknowledged that the “burden of supporting migrants has fallen disproportionately on border states,” adding that the “issue would be better addressed by a strategy of national cooperation.”

Cupich went on to call welcoming immigrants “a fundamental moral imperative of Christianity.”

“We Christians are called to welcome the stranger, the migrant, the refugee, because they too, are children of God, all of us members of the same family, the human family.” Cupich said.

“After all Jesus himself was a refugee, as Mary and Joseph were forced to flee their homeland because it had become too dangerous,” he continued. “When Christians choose to help our immigrant brothers and sisters, we are doing as Jesus taught – we are choosing to see them in the Holy Family, who only wanted to live. We are choosing life.”

The cardinal concluded with a welcome message to all immigrants.

“So to all immigrants and refugees, those who have recently arrived, as well as those who have made lives for themselves here, enriching their communities and indeed the whole nation, we welcome you, along with the opportunity to show you God’s family cares for its own,” Cupich said.

Cardinal of Chicago responds to mass shooting on the 4th of July

 

After shooting, cardinal urges unity to ‘build path to safety and peace’

Catholic News Service July 5, 2022

A tricycle is seen near the scene of a mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., July 4, 2022. (CNS photo/Max Herman, Reuters)

CHICAGO (CNS) – Saying he watched “in horror” news reports in the aftermath of a mass shooting during a suburban Fourth of July parade, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago offered prayers for the victims.

At least six people died and more than two dozen others were injured.

“What should have been a peaceful celebration of our nation’s founding ended in unspeakable tragedy,” Cardinal Cupich said in a statement released hours after the tragedy by the archdiocese of Chicago.

Pointing to the victims, who authorities said ranged in age from 8 to 85, Cardinal Cupich said, “Weapons designed to rapidly destroy human bodies have no place in civil society.”

Law enforcement authorities said they arrested a “person of interest” about eight hours after the shooting in Highland Park in Chicago’s affluent North Shore. Police identified the man as Robert E. Crimo III, 22, of suburban Chicago.

The man was apprehended without incident on a busy highway in a nearby suburb after briefly fleeing officers. Officials said their investigation was continuing July 5.

Highland Park police said witnesses reported seeing a man with a long gun indiscriminately firing dozens of rounds from a rooftop at parade spectators, sending marchers and viewers scurrying for cover.

Five adults were reported dead along the parade route while a sixth person of an unknown age died at a local hospital. Highland Park Fire Chief Joe Schrage said emergency workers transported 23 people to hospitals, while others walked into emergency rooms.

“Please join me in praying for the victims and their loved ones, who never imagined a July 4 celebration could become a killing ground,” Cardinal Cupich said.

“May the Lord of mercy embrace in love those who have died, bring healing to the wounded, comfort to their loved ones and courage to all of us, so that we may respond to the tragedy united as God’s children to build a path to safety and peace,” he added.

In a telegram to Cardinal Cupich, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said that Pope Francis was “deeply saddened to learn of the senseless shooting that took place in Highland Park and he asks you to convey his spiritual closeness to all affected by this attack.”

The diplomatic message also noted that the pope was praying for the dead and “healing and consolation to the injured and bereaved.”

“With unwavering faith that the grace of God is able to convert even the hardest of hearts, making it possible to ‘depart from evil and do good,’ Pope Francis prays that every member of society will reject violence in all of its forms and respect life in all of its stages,” Cardinal Parolin’s message said.

Reaction to the violent event included statements from the Philadelphia and San Antonio archbishops.

Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez called for steps to end violence in society following the Illinois incident and the shooting of two Philadelphia police officers during a concert and the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display.

The officers were treated at a local hospital and released. Officials were investigating who fired the shots and why.

“Civic celebrations like the commemoration of our country’s birth are meant to unify our richly diverse populace. They prompt us to reflect on the lofty goal of preserving and protecting freedom, dignity, equality and opportunity for all of our brothers and sisters,” Archbishop Pérez said in a statement early July 5.

Saying that the two incidents “draped a heavy pall over our already wounded and struggling nation,” the archbishop explained that society’s “collective mettle is being tested over and over again. Evil acts and senseless loss of life have become all too common features of our landscape.”

He recalled his message for Independence Day in which he stressed that the “American spirit shines brightest when we treat our neighbors with dignity and respect.”

“In the wake of further pain, confusion and sadness, we must act. Words alone are not enough. Acts of kindness and charity, no matter the size, are contagious. Let’s work together and mend the tears in the fabric of our nation’s soul,” Archbishop Pérez said.

In a series of tweets, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller eschewed gun violence and prayed for a conversion of hearts and minds throughout the country.

“Guns should not be an America idol,” he tweeted. “In this anniversary let us pray for civilization in our Country.”

The parade shooting incident also prompted Cardinal Cupich to repeat his call “to enact serious, broadly popular gun safety measures.” He credited Congress for passing “significant, yet modest” gun safety measures that President Joe Biden signed into law June 25.

“The right to bear arms does not eclipse the right to life or the right of all Americans to go about their lives free of the fear that they might be shredded by bullets at any moment,” Cardinal Cupich said. “Gun violence is a life issue. We must continue to pray that all our officials, elected and unelected alike, will redouble their commitment to keeping safe the people they have sworn to serve.”

The White House released a statement from Biden and first lady Jill Biden saying they were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.”

There is “much more work to do,” Biden said.

In a late afternoon Independence Day gathering with military families at the White House, Biden asked for a moment of silence for the Illinois victims.

“Six people have passed and others are wounded, but we’ve got a lot more work to do, we’ve got to get this under control,” Biden said.

New members of the Congregation for Divine Worship include Cupich and Farrell

 

Pope names members to worship congregation

Carol Glatz June 1, 2022

Pope Francis greets Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago during a meeting with U.S. bishops from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican in 2019. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has appointed new members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, including Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich.

The Vatican announced the appointments June 1.

The congregation, led by Cardinal-designate Arthur Roche, deals with regulating and promoting the liturgy and the sacraments, is responsible for the development and promulgation of liturgical books and reviews their translations.

The other members named include: Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life; Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia, adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who had also served as secretary of the worship congregation from 2009 to 2012; and Bishop David Douglas Crosby of Hamilton, Ontario.

Pope Francis condemns violence and arms trafficking in wake of Uvalde Texas mass shooting

 

Robb Elementary School, Texas, scene of Tuesday's mass shooting  (ANSA)

POPE

• UNITED STATES
• POPE FRANCIS

Texas shootings: Pope condemns indiscriminate trafficking of arms

Pope Francis calls for an end to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms on the day after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in the US state of Texas.

By Lydia O'Kane

The lives of 19 innocent children were taken on Tuesday when an 18-year-old gunman entered the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a town about 130 km west of San Antonio where he launched a rampage that also took the lives of 2 teachers.

The suspect, identified as Salvador Ramos had already shot his own grandmother before storming the school. He was later killed by law enforcement officers.

Uvalde Memorial Hospital said 15 students from Robb Elementary were treated in its emergency room, with a number transferred to San Antonio for further care.

Nearly 500 pupils attend the predominantly Hispanic school, ranging in age from 7 to 10 years old.

This latest mass shooting has shocked people in the United States and beyond.

In an appeal during his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis said his heart was broken at the loss of innocent lives.

“I am praying for the children and adults who were killed, and for their families. It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms. Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again.”

Cardinal Cupich: we must weep but then we must act

In a statement on the carnage, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, said:

“We don’t yet know whether the Uvalde gunman took advantage of 'permitless carry,' but we do know that America is awash in guns. We have more firearms than people," he said.

“As I reflect on this latest American massacre, I keep returning to the questions: Who are we as a nation if we do not act to protect our children? What do we love more: our instruments of death or our future?”

The Cardinal noted that mass shootings have become a daily reality in America today, recalling that just last week dozens of people fell victims to such events.

"The size of the crisis, and its sheer horror, make it all too easy to toss up one’s hands and declare: Nothing can be done. But that is the counsel of despair, and we are a people of hope. What do we hope for our children?" he said.

"We must weep and soak in the grief that comes with the knowledge that these children of God were cut down by a man who was just a few years their senior," Cardinal Cupich continued and then issued an urgent appeal: " But then we must steel ourselves to act in the face of what seems like insurmountable despair."

He pointed out that gun safety measures make a difference, and that a 2021 Northwestern Medicine study found that the Federal Assault Weapons Ban prevented 10 mass shootings during the 10 years it was in effect. 

"Researchers also determined that if the ban had remained in place in the years since it was allowed to expire, it could have prevented another 30 public mass shootings that killed 339 people and injured 1139 more," he continued. 

"The Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai. The right to bear arms will never be more important than human life. Our children have rights too. And our elected officials have a moral duty to protect them.”

President Biden

Those sentiments were echoed by US President Joe Biden speaking from the White House following the attack who called for gun control.

"How many scores of little children who witnessed what happened - see their friends die, as if they're in a battlefield, for God's sake," he said. "They'll live with it the rest of their lives."

Catholic Bishops' Conference

Responding to news of the shootings the Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said: “There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent. Our Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others, and we join our prayers along with the community in Uvalde and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller. As we do so, each of us also needs to search our souls for ways that we can do more to understand this epidemic of evil and violence and implore our elected officials to help us take action.”

Authorities said the suspect in Tuesday's killings acted alone. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the shooter was apparently killed by police who confronted him at the school, and that two officers were hit by gunfire, though the governor said their injuries were not serious.

This latest mass shooting comes just 10 days after another 18-year-old opened fire at a grocery store in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Buffalo, New York.

Tuesday's shooting was the worst at a U.S. school since a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December 2012. In 2018, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killed 17 students and staff.