Father Michael Pfleger and the Presidential Campaign

Catholic Online ^ | 5/30/08 | Deacon Keith Fournier

[tcg]

...What now makes this Parish unique is not the intensity of its care for the poor and marginalized but the vocal and active support of its Pastor, Father Michael Pfleger for the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama for President and the outlandish remarks he recently made in the pulpit of a Protestant Church.

In his own words:

"I really believe that she just always thought, 'This is mine! I'm Bill's wife, I'm white, and this is mine! I just gotta get up and step into the plate....And then out of nowhere came, 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama and she said, 'Oh, damn! Where did you come from? I'm white! I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show!'

"She wasn't the only one crying," he shouted as he mockingly pretended to cry, "There was a whole lot of white people crying...... "I'm white! I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show."

Senator Obama, who has publicly disavowed Rev. Wright’s controversial comments, soon found himself having to disavow this Catholic Priest. He did so from the campaign trail this week with these words:

"As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that unites us.... That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together."

Father Fleger apologized this week for his words. He said "I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Sen. Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Sen. Clinton or anyone else who saw them."

However, the controversy has not subsided in a Democratic Presidential campaign which may not end even with the end of the Democratic Primaries.

[tcg]

Cardinal George also seems to have put a damper on this priests continued high profile political activity:

"Racial issues are both political and moral and are also highly charged. Words can be differently interpreted, but Fr. Pfleger's remarks about Senator Clinton are both partisan and amount to a personal attack, I regret that deeply.”

"To avoid months of turmoil in the church, Fr. Pfleger has promised me that he will not enter into campaigning, will not publicly mention any candidate by name and will abide by the discipline common to all Catholic priests."

Where this controversy goes next is anyone's guess.

[Robwin]

My guess is that the Cardinal rebuked Pfleger because he (Pfleger) is white.

[Miss Didi]

"To avoid months of turmoil in the church, Fr. Pfleger has promised me that he will not enter into campaigning, will not publicly mention any candidate by name and will abide by the discipline common to all Catholic priests."

His Eminence has not seen the parish website:

http://a.saintsabina.org/

[sappy]

Where is the IRS investigation into the 501(c)(3) status of this “church”.

[Calvin Locke]

I thought JPII, and The Vatican, cracked down on "liberation theology" priests?

After all, it got Drinan out of Congress (leaving the door open for Barney Frank...)

[KEmom]

Obama distanced himself from Wright after Wright said Obama says things because he’s a politician. I believe he made all kinds of excuses for him when his rhetoric at the pulpit was exposed.

How are either of these men representative of God and Jesus’ message?

[mmichaels1970]

His Eminence has not seen the parish website:

I can't either.

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.

[dragonblustar]

"She wasn't the only one crying," he shouted as he mockingly pretended to cry, "There was a whole lot of white people crying...... "I'm white! I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show."

Isaiah 57:4 - Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars?

[Tex Pete]

Has Obama rejected Pfleger’s endorsement?

I mean, since McCain has rejected the endorsements of two mainstream pastors that he barely knows, surely Obama will reject the endorsement of a radical pastor that he knows very well.

[Dr. Ursus]

I watched the video- I fully expected him to start singing
Mammy!

[Appleby]

But you have to admit he does speak Jive much better than Hillary does.

[NTHockey]

Can we please stop calling him “Father”? We don’t call Murtha a Marine, do we?

While some may say that “Father” is an honor, he has done everything to not honor his own position. Why should we continue to honor Mister Pfleger with a title he doesn’t care about?

[MrB]

Funny how he mentions “entitlement” “because I’m white”.

Has ANYONE, EVER met someone who thought they were entitled to something because of their skin color, that WAS white?

[MinuteGal]

Wait till you hear the lengthy scream on the tape of Fr. Pfleger's racist diatribe.

It will be added to the top three screams of all time:

1) Edvard Munch's famous painting, "The Scream"
2) Tarzan's movie scream
3) Howard Dean's political scream
4).....and now, Fr. Pfleger's primal scream in his church

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

Leni

[Anti-Bubba182]

Kiss Me You White Devil!!

[cubreporter]

pfleger is NOT a priest in my eyes. He’s a showman.

[TheThinker]

Look, a white anti-white bigot. There are plenty of those rooting for Obama.

[Miss Didi]

This appears on the parish home page...Tornado posted it on the Rush thread earlier (site must be getting slammed today):

Wright and Obama:...
Saturday, 10 May 2008
WRIGHT AND OBAMA: TWO DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS TO A NEW AMERICA “...Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright, love America, are passionate about its future, and desire at their very core the best for this country and for each and every one...The truth is we need both!...”

This has been a sad week for me. I have watched two friends who I respect, admire, and have a deep love for, torn apart by pundits and editorialists, talking heads, and political strategists! It has been sad because both men that I know, Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright, love America, are passionate about its future, and desire at their very core the best for this country and for each and every one of its citizens. I must also say that I find it quite hypocritical that conservative preachers and commentators who have identified themselves as the protectors and respecters of life are consistently silent on the issues of gun violence, poverty, no health care, poor education, and the effects of racism and classism that are continually killing life in our inner cities. Yet when other voices identify them, they’re called angry and unpatriotic.

There has been a strong desire and demand to make people take a side, draw a line in the sand and make a choice between Wright and Obama. I personally believe this is evil and unfair. First of all, I don’t understand why Senator Obama and Reverend Wright are suddenly being held accountable and responsible for whatever the other says. This is not being done in either of the campaigns of Senator Clinton or Senator McCain. So the question must be asked, what’s the hidden strategy as to why this is being done to Senator Obama and Reverend Wright? Secondly, why are they seemingly being forced to not only be held accountable for each other, but to speak for and sound like each other? They are different persons, different personalities, and have different purposes. Finally, I understand, appreciate, and believe we need both!

Senator Obama has spent the past two years and years earlier in his political life presenting America a vision of hope. Hope as to who we can be, how we can be inclusive and different, how we can do politics differently, and how we can build a new and better America. This vision of hope has set a fire of enthusiasm, excitement, and involvement across this country.

Reverend Wright, as a gifted preacher in the prophetic tradition, has spent his ministry identifying the sins, problems, and stumbling blocks of racism, sexism, classism, poverty, inequality, and the down right lies that must be acknowledged and eradicated if we are to build a new and better America. He has given hope to masses of people who have come to feel invisible in America.

The truth is we need both!

We need a voice of hope that points us to a vision and we need a prophetic voice that makes us uncomfortable and forces us to acknowledge our sins. Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright are, I believe, seeking the same thing, what the scriptures may call “a new heaven and a new earth.” Why are we trying to force them to drive down the same street in order to get there, rather than being more preoccupied with arriving to the place of new beginnings, and grateful to all the different voices that take us there? The true audacity of hope comes when it seems everything looks hopeless. Both Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright are calling us to hope – but from their different vantage points.

I challenge us all not to get caught up in the trick to choose one or the other. Rather, let us be committed to the new day and the new beginning for America. And let us be appreciative and thankful for all the different and necessary voices who call us to get there! The truth is we need Senator Barack Obama and we need Reverend Jeremiah Wright and, if we are serious about wanting a new America, we cannot afford to throw either one of them under the bus!

Rev. Michael L. Pfleger, Pastor

the Faith Community of Saint Sabina

This letter also appears in the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday, May 4, 2008.

[griswold3]

I thought so too.
Apparently too many in the US slept while these ‘progressive’ ideas spread like a cancer. They organized and gained power in high places. Now, they seek the highest office in the world. Is it too late?

[Miss Didi]

MORE HOLY MESS FOR OBAMA