I was hoping Bill Donohue would comment on what the heck is a priest like this doing under the umbrella of the Catholic church?
I don’t know, his gun shop comments would have done it for me. There’s no question in my mind what he was advocating. My bold.
• We're going to snuff out John Riggio [gun store owner]
We're going to snuff out legislators that are voting against our gun laws.
Fr. Michael Pfleger
Fortunately no one took him up on it. He later explained he didn't know that snuff out was slang for kill. I believe that, the Father wouldn't lie. And Barry never heard a word of what was going on in Church, he was deep in thought while his co-religionists were whooping it up in support of Rev Wright, and Fr. Pfleger.
ISRA: Chicago Priest Calls for Murder of Gun Shop OwnerSPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
Nobody expected Saturday's Operation PUSH protest at Chuck's Gun Shop & Range to be anything other than a circus of the bizarre. However, nobody anticipated that an address by a Chicago priest would include a call for the murder of a suburban gun shop owner and legislators who oppose gun control.
During an address at an anti-gun rally in front of Chuck's, Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina's Church, exhorted the crowd to "drag" shop owner, John Riggio, from his shop "like a rat" and "snuff" him.
Rev. Pfleger went on to tell the crowd that legislators that vote against gun control legislation should be "snuffed" as well. As many know, "snuff" is slang for especially violent murder.
The ISRA has a recording of Pfleger's remarks in MP3 format.
"Certainly Fr. Pfleger has offered Absolution to a murderer or two during his tenure as a priest," commented ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "That's why it's shocking to hear him actually advocate the murder of a gun shop owner who has never committed a crime in his life. He then compounds the problem by calling for the murder of legislators who disagree with his personal political views -- something I suspect is a felony in this state. Pfleger's comments were disgusting and dangerous. And, I seem to remember that the Fifth Commandment frowns on murdering one's neighbor."
"This week, I'll be penning a letter to the Archbishop, expressing my concerns over Rev. Pfleger's comments," continued Pearson. "I would hope that the Archbishop would reply with words of comfort for Mr. Riggio, his family, state legislators, and all others who were injured by Rev. Pfleger's thoughtless, inflammatory remarks."
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful, and responsible firearms ownership. Since 1903, the ISRA has represented the interests of over 1.5 million law-abiding firearm Illinois firearm owners.