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June 8, 2008
Pfleger asked to ‘step back’ after controversy
After nearly a week of controversy, Cardinal George told Father Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Parish, to “take a couple of weeks of leave” to “put recent events in some perspective.”
The cardinal’s June 3 statement, reprinted on this page, noted that Pfleger did not agree that stepping away from the parish temporarily was the right move.
It came after Pfleger faced a firestorm of criticism on his May 25 sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ. A clip from the sermon was disseminated on YouTube and aired repeatedly on broadcast and cable television news shows nationwide, with attention picking up on May 29; it showed Pfleger pretending to be Sen. Hillary Clinton crying because she felt as a white woman, she was entitled to the Democratic nomination for president and that Sen. Barack Obama, an African American, had stolen it from her.
The clip drew a stern rebuke from Cardinal George, who said in a May 30 statement that Pfleger had promised to “not publicly mention any candidate by name” and “abide by the discipline common to all Catholic priests.”
The statement also said, “The Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates. Consequently, while a priest must speak to political issues that are also moral, he may not endorse candidates nor engage in partisan campaigning.
“Racial issues are both political and moral and are also highly charged . Words can be differently interpreted, but Father Pfleger’s remarks about Senator Clinton are both partisan and amount to a personal attack. I regret that deeply.”
The cardinal’s decision that Pfleger should remove himself from St. Sabina temporarily came the same day that the Chicago Sun-Times published a lengthy interview with the priest about the issue.
Pfleger issued his own apology May 29, which read, “I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama’s life and message and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them.”
Judging by the e-mails and phone messages that flooded offices of the Archdiocese of Chicago, as well as the 3,000 e-mails Pfleger told his congregation at St. Sabina that he received, many, many people were offended, although Pfleger enjoys widespread support in his parish.
The messages received by archdiocesan offices questioned how a priest could use a pulpit — even one in another church — to mock an individual, and how any church could allow its pulpit to be used for political purposes.
Father John Canary, the vicar general of the archdiocese, sent a memo to all pastors April 15, well before Pfleger’s appearance at Trinity, reminding them of their obligation to stay above the partisan fray surrounding the presidential election.
“Politics inevitably divides people on many issues; the church is called to give witness to the truth of the faith as the path to authentic freedom,” Canary wrote. “I want to encourage you to help your people prepare well for exercising their important responsibilities as voters in the upcoming election.”
Father Michael Boland, president and administrator of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, said divisive statements like Pfleger’s make it more difficult for the church to carry out its mission.
“We believe that statements like Father Pfleger’s do not further the mission of our church, our parishes or Catholic Charities in our efforts to create this one human family,” Boland wrote. “In the face of such statements, it is difficult for all of us working in the community every day to tend to Christ’s vineyard, to preach the Gospel and care for the poor in our communities. … Catholic Charities works tirelessly to reduce poverty, and we hope these efforts are not impeded by the sometimes inflammatory cries against unity, which have no place in Christ’s church.”
However, the bishops are clear that Catholics should be politically active, in accord with the teachings of the church.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages Catholics to exercise their right to vote, writing in “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.”
Internal Revenue Service regulations prohibit non-profit organizations, including churches, from engaging in partisan campaigning. To avoid the appearance of such campaigning, and to avoid giving a platform to candidates who hold positions in opposition to church teaching on moral issues, Canary advised pastors “that it might be best to look outside the political community for speakers.”
Read Cardinal George’s statements at www.archchicago.org.
