Dissident Chicago priest Fr Michael Pfleger has finally been ousted. I've written about him and his antics much in the past, and always wondered what hold he had over Cardinal George that kept the latter from removing him. One might have thought his crack about "snuffing out" that gun shop owner would have gotten him expelled, if no laicized.
It took a sex abuse allegation to purge the Archdiocese of Chicago of a cancerous priesthood. I do not offer an opinion as to the veracity of the abuse allegations. I regret that it took so long to eject Pfleger and to end his spiritually poisonous "ministry".
Given that there is no solidly-established 'pattern of practice' here (what? 4 allegations in 50 years?)--one suspects that Soupy Cupich was anxious to rid himself of this political time-bomb. I don't know if the Mayor or the County Exec (Preckwinkle) was more invested in getting rid of Pfleger (and it could have been Pritzker, too)--but it was certainly...........conveeeeeeeeeeeeenient.
ReplyDeleteLived in Chicago for 28 years, and during that length of time, Father Pfleger always came off as sensational embarrassment. A priest who delivered his sermons as if he was in a storefront Pentelcostal church. Embossed with his own brand of Ebonics.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, his replacement will be of the same ilk. So sad!
ReplyDeleteDawn