Father Michael Pfleger of Chicago's Saint Sabina Church on the city's southside has been a thorn in the side of the Catholic Church for decades.
The priest has been a vocal opponent of many of the Church's positions and religious tenets but has seemingly been beyond punishment for his heresies. That seems to finally be at an end.
Cardinal Francis George has finally taken action against the troublemaking priest and has suspended Pfleger's "sacramental faculties as a priest" which prevents him from carrying on his duties at Saint Sabina.
The cardinal cited Pfleger's April 11th warning that he'd leave the church if he was sanctioned for his constant outrages against the church as one of the reasons he finally took action.
"If that is truly your attitude, you have already left the Catholic Church and are therefore not able to pastor a Catholic parish," the cardinal said to Pfleger's threats.
The Cardinal went on:
"A Catholic priest's inner life is governed by his promises, motivated by faith and love, to live chastely as a celibate man and to obey his bishop," the cardinal continued. "Breaking either promise destroys his vocation and wounds the Church.
"Many love and admire you because of your dedication to your people," the cardinal wrote.
"Now, however, I am asking you to take a few weeks to pray over your priestly commitments in order to come to mutual agreement on how you understand personally the obligations that make you a member of the Chicago presbyterate and of the Catholic Church.
"With this letter, your ministry as pastor of Saint Sabina Parish and your sacramental faculties as a priest of the Archdiocese are suspended."
Naturally, the extremely liberal parishioners of the southside church are standing behind their radical priest.
"He has done too much for this neighborhood, please, Cardinal George, don't do this to him!" said parishioner Wendy Wade. "What has he done wrong, but enhance the neighborhood, enhance the community to help people?"
Well, I have an answer for that Ms. Wade.
Father Michael Pfleger is as far from the image of a parish priest as can be imagined without crossing the line into absurdity. He is a loud-mouthed activist that has spent a 30-year career calling people he doesn't like names, spewing race tinged "sermons," liberally tossing out the race card, and engaging in extremist political causes. Not the model priest, for sure.
Pfleger has vexed the Catholic Archdiocese in Chicago for years and rumors have constantly swirled that he would be removed from his position as the pastor of Saint Sabina, a Catholic Church on Chicago's south side. Church leaders have constantly been under pressure to do something about this troublemaking priest.
Father Pfleger has indecently involved himself in numerous political causes. His favorite activism is to organize news camera grabbing pickets. He's picketed TV shows, business owners, and companies.
He's called gun shop owners murderers and Threatened their lives, he's tried to get radio stations shut down, and he's erected billboards attacking musicians.
During the 2008 election he accused Hillary Clinton of being a privileged "white person" and accused anyone that would vote against Barack Obama of being a racist.
He's stood by the side of the racist Jeremiah Wright. He's been a friend to the anti-semite Louis Farrakhan and he's been a vocal supporter of race card throwers like Harry Belefonte,
Cornel West, and Jesse Jackson.
The activist priest hasn't just jumped into political causes, he's also talked against Church doctrine on many, many occasions. He is, for instance, a vocal supporter of ordaining women as priests quite against Church leaders.
Cardinal Francis George was asking Pfleger to take over as head of Leo High School a job that would remove him from his church but it was a post that Pfleger apparently refused. For his part Pfleger announced that he does not want to leave his position as head of Saint Sabina.
Check out the blind hate from this supposed "priest"...
Why Cardinal George felt that such a radical hater as Pfleger was a good fit for a job with our children is hard to fathom, but I supposed George felt he was between a rock and a hard place with the radical priest.
Now he's finally had to take stronger action. Let's hope it leads to the end of this maniac.
Unfortunately, it could lead to his church separating from the Catholic Church with Pfleger still at their head, but at least he'd have the mantle of the Catholic Church removed from supporting him.
A last note, I am not a Catholic.
But I am glad to see the Church finally standing up for what it believes in with this sanction.
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