Posted on 06/02/2008 11:51:37 AM PDT by prolifefirst
A defiant Rev. Michael Pfleger on Saturday dared the Chicago archdiocese to kick him out of the Catholic Church, telling a crowd of 400 people on the South Side, "I am not quitting." "You are going to have to have the balls to fire me," Pfleger said, sending a message to church leaders. "If you want to fire me, fire me."
Pfleger made his remarks at a conference on the legacy of slavery. The mostly black audience gave him a standing ovation.
His comments came after he told how a Catholic vicar, Bishop Joseph Perry, visited his St. Sabina Church and left a message saying that Pfleger should leave to start his own church, which the Sun-Times reported Friday. The "bishop came to St. Sabina and said [I should] quit so as not to disrupt the Catholic Church," Pfleger said. "I find it very difficult not to take it personally when the bishop tells me to leave."
Asked later whether he thought the church would fire him, Pfleger said, "I don't know. If that's what they want, then that's what they'll do."
Archdiocese spokesman Jim Dwyer said Saturday night that the archdiocese had no plans to oust Pfleger.
"Nobody is trying to fire him," Dwyer said. As for Pfleger's remarks, "We are not going to respond to something until we have talked to him."
Dwyer said he could not confirm Bishop Perry's remarks, but he noted that Perry and Pfleger have not spoken directly about Pfleger's future.
Two weeks ago, Pfleger announced that Cardinal Francis George had told him that he could not stay on as pastor at St. Sabina, the predominantly African-American church where he has served for 18 years, because of church rules limiting the tenure of priests. But later George agreed to extend Pfleger's term by a few years while a search for a successor is conducted.
Pfleger told the crowd at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep Academy that the tenure issue is a smokescreen. "It's not about tenure, it's not about terms, it's not about church rule or policy," he said.
Pfleger, who is white, said the real issue is how poorly Catholic leaders treat blacks.
"We want African-American culture to be embraced completely on equal grounds, and not just tolerated," he said. "We want the Catholic Church to understand what Nat Turner tried to make America understand: The slaves aren't happy being slaves. We are not just going to be satisfied being on the fringe."
Pfleger said the cardinal had declined to meet with the entire 21-member leadership cabinet of St. Sabina, which wants Pfleger to stay.
Last summer, Pfleger was at the center of a months-long controversy when he accused the Southside Catholic Conference athletic league of racism after the largely white league voted against admitting all-black St. Sabina. He said Saturday that he was later told by a church official that he had given the church a "black eye," and that he should not use the word "racist" when talking about the incident.
"I resented we were being blamed for an incident that the white Southwest Side did," Pfleger said. "Everybody wants to say there is racism, but no one wants to say there are racists."
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, which organized the conference, said he wrote George a letter supporting Pfleger.
"The cardinal should let him stay despite what the rules say," Wright said.
Copyright 2002 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc
His patience for Pfleger's blackface act is probably quite thin.
Bishops have to follow canon law like anyone else.
You cannot canonically remove someone from his ministry just because he is a loudmouth jerk.
You have to be able to prove in court that he is an egregious lawbreaker. There is a process, and Pfleger knows the process as well as anyone, and he knows how to bend canonical limits without breaking them too often.
So long as this Pimp Daddy “priest” remains in that Catholic Church - and preaching his version of “Catholicism” he is Catholic......and speaks with the authorization of the Pope himself.
If the Pope can excommunicate women “priests” as he threaten recently — why can’t he simply excommunicate Pimp Daddy?
Do they not realize that enemies of Christianity are using the Church to destroy a moral society???
Rev. Wright, this Pimp Daddy and even the new pastor at Obama’s former “church”......are all clearly enemies of the Republic....... Racists and rabble rousers...
Apparently it's not a pre-requisite. Just like in many protestant churches.
My memory is a bit wobbly on this, but it occurs to me that Chicago breeds particularly stroppy Catholic clergymen. Wasn’t Archbishop Paul Marcinkus and Cardinal John Cody also both of Chicago? And weren’t they somewhat infamous for their irregularities?
Is there something in the Chicago water, I wonder, or is my memory foggy on this?
(I’m not Catholic, yet, but I am studying to be...)
Fr. Pfleger on "snuffing" pro-gun legislators and gun shop owners
The coarsening of our culture continues. “Balls” a reference to male genitalia is now an accepted word to refer to someone’s courage. “Hey everybody! I’m a priest, but I’m not a sissy! I’m down with the trash talkin’ yall!” Did everyone notice how “with it” I am? “Balls!” There I said it!
I just checked the St Sabina web site and I don't see any links to a KofC council.
See post 13.
I was under the impression that moving him to another position, not necessarily disciplining him, was an administrative function. Some years back there was a controversy when he was scheduled to be moved, parishioners complained and he was retained.
Yes, his parish seems to suffer from a serious cult of personality. That is not good for the priest or his parishioners. The cardinal should move him to a place where he could work to overcome his egotism and self-loathing. Perhaps a hospice or something similar.
Having a generally bad attitude towards one's superiors may violate the spirit of the vow, but not its letter.
Pfleger has built his career on this distinction.
Good heavens! I thought priests were gentle men and Godly..this guy is just hateful and nasty.
Also, he has adopted three children, one of which was shot dead in front of the church.
Since when have priests been able to adopt!!!
I note he was not so combative after his most recent visit by the Bishop. I still think the Church should transfer him to outer Mongolia - that will show what his real agenda his.
While politics is definitely a part of it, priests generally do not get moved from a parish involuntarily unless they do something wrong or there is a emergency need for them elsewhere.
They are not allowed to.
He was very nearly relieved of his faculties in 1981 over adopting Lamar.
The boy who was shot - Jarvis Franklin - was a foster child, not an adoptee.
“Well, given the current state of the See, I expect the Church to kiss his ass rather than do anything concrete like that which I would do.
If he is so concerned about helping poor blacks, then send him to Kenya.”
Our church goes to Tanzania once a year and supports the building of homes, clean water and irrigation to grow crops. We don’t even bother talking about what we should be doing as Christians to make the world a better place. Those that do like this preacher are playing church & in this case, playing politics during an election year.
6 years later the Catholics are still ballless and allowing this pos vermin spread his hate America bs and racism.
Catholics should stop their tithing to the church until he is fired and deflocked across the country.
Of course they won’t, which is why rats like Kennedy, Kerry, Boxer, Pelosi and other CINOs push abortion as the new holy sacrament of the rats.
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