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Catholic, Pro-Life Leaders Protest Sharpton's Address to Chicago Church
Cybercast News Service ^ | February 10, 2003 | Randy Hall

Posted on 02/11/2003 12:05:48 PM PST by Mr. Silverback

Rev. Al Sharpton's speech at St. Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 9, attracted a standing-room-only crowd of 1,200 people, as well as sharp condemnation and protests from pro-life and Catholic leaders and groups because of Sharpton's pro-abortion views.

Sharpton was invited to speak by Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of the predominantly African-American congregation, as part of its Black History Month Celebration.

During the week before Sharpton's appearance, area Catholics flooded Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago, with angry calls and e-mails demanding that he cancel the invitation.

Late Friday afternoon, the cardinal issued a press release indicating his support for the celebration of Black History Month but stating that he did "not approve of the invitation because of the Rev. Sharpton's present political candidacy and his pro-abortion stance."

However, Cardinal George's statement concluded by saying that "making a case of this invitation at this time would be a futile gesture and a waste of effort."

Catholic and pro-life leaders expressed shock and outrage over the cardinal's refusal to cancel Sharpton's appearance.

Among those was Karl Maurer, vice president and treasurer of Catholic Citizens of Illinois, who claimed the Sharpton visit was "in violation of canon law, IRS regulations, and [the cardinal's] own diocesan policy on pro-abortion speakers."

Chicago parishioner Tina Mahar left several messages with the archdiocese and received no response. "This is a clear violation of canon law," noted Mahar. "Al Sharpton should not be speaking at any time in any Catholic Church!"

Mary Anne Hackett, president of Catholic Citizens of Illinois, was also disappointed. "We want this pro-abortion preaching in our Catholic churches to stop. It is already 30 years late."

Also disturbed by the cardinal's lack of action was Judie Brown, president of the pro-life American Life League (ALL).

"This man - Rev. Sharpton - is one of the strongest advocates for abortion in the entire country," Brown said, "and Cardinal George is supposed to be one of the strongest proponents for respect for human life from conception in the country. And one man exercised gall, in my opinion, to even show up at a Catholic Church, while the cardinal should have acted immediately to say: 'No, that man will not be in that church.'"

Chicago-based Friends of the Unborn (FOTU) issued a press release critical of Sharpton's abortion record. "He was honored by NARAL Pro-Choice America at their Washington, D.C., 'celebration' of the Roe vs. Wade (anniversary) in January." The release also noted that Sharpton responded to pro-life protesters at that event by saying that he normally did not cross picket lines but was happy to cross the pro-lifers' line.

The FOTU release went on to list some statistics on abortions. "Black Americans make up 13 percent of the population, yet 33 percent of abortions are performed on black women. These numbers are tantamount to genocide, and the leaders in the black community should be up in arms."

'Love Me 'Til I Die'

On Sunday morning, the event drew approximately 20 protestors. Church ushers initially told the demonstrators to leave, but the protesters reminded them they were on public property and had a First Amendment right to free speech. The police were then called, but the officers concurred that the protestors had a right to picket Sharpton's visit. Ushers remained outside, as did the police, while the demonstrators handed out hundreds of pro-life handbills to parishioners arriving for the morning service.

Initially, Pfleger's introduction of Sharpton centered on the protestors outside.

"Let me say first to all those protesting outside," said Pfleger, "Welcome. I'd love to have them come in and hear Rev. Sharpton." With parishoners applauding, Pfleger then asked ushers to go outside and invite the protestors in. None accepted the invitation.

Pfleger also referred to "hundreds" of e-mails and calls he received "of hate and threats" but said he loved those people anyway, adding that those who sent the messages "are going to have to answer for that some day.

"I also know that if Martin Luther King was alive today and going to speak," said Pfleger, "they would oppose him, too."

Pfleger affirmed that he was pro-life but said his concern was not just "in the womb, it's in the classroom and the boardroom. You gotta take care of them after they come into the world, 'til they leave the world."

Like Pfleger, Sharpton began his remarks by acknowledging the pro-life protest.

"We may be on different sides of the pro-life/pro-choice question, but one thing we can agree on is that it is a sin not to love me after I'm here and not to love me 'til I die."

Sharpton was bitterly critical of George W. Bush's foreign and domestic policies, and he even accused Bush's father, George H. W. Bush, of ignoring domestic problems and waging a war with Iraq that few in America wanted.

He also accused the current president of taking advantage of "preferences" to get into college, due to his influential family, yet attempting to deny blacks the same advantage. President Bush recently spoke out against the University of Michigan for using racial quotas to determine the composition of its student population.

About the elusive, perhaps dead, Osama bin Laden, Sharpton said: "Explain to me why the CIA with all the pictures they take can't find one criminal in Baghdad!"

It wasn't long before the Sharpton controversy drew considerable media attention. The speech and the accompanying protest made front-page news in several Chicago area newspapers, and local affiliates of most major television networks provided extensive coverage of the event.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: alsharpton; blackcatholic; cafeteriacatholics; catholic; catholiclist; sharpton
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To: Arthur McGowan
Ouch! Cardinal George dropped the ball; Pfleger should indeed be suspended.
21 posted on 02/12/2003 12:36:18 PM PST by MrLeRoy ("That government is best which governs least.")
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To: Mr. Silverback
Cardinal George has shown why the Church is experiencing troubles these days--a cowardice and refusal to lead. But Reverend Michael Pfleger is the pastor directly responsible for giving the Pro-Abort race hustler Sharpton a place to speak in a Catholic church.

Maybe he should hear from some Freepers: pastorpfleger@ameritech.net

For more info on this radical priest, check out Pfleger's website at www.SaintSabina.org.

22 posted on 02/12/2003 12:41:27 PM PST by d-back
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To: Mr. Silverback
Cardinal George has shown why the Church is experiencing troubles these days--a cowardice and refusal to lead. But Reverend Michael Pfleger is the pastor directly responsible for giving the Pro-Abort race hustler Sharpton a place to speak in a Catholic church.

Maybe he should hear from some Freepers: pastorpfleger@ameritech.net

For more info on this radical priest, check out Pfleger's website at www.SaintSabina.org.

23 posted on 02/12/2003 12:45:01 PM PST by d-back
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Arthur McGowan
MLK was an adulterer many times over, so sure, I'd oppose any appearance by him if he hadn't confessed to and sought forgiveness for those sins.
24 posted on 02/12/2003 3:52:34 PM PST by Kryptonite
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To: Kryptonite
Bump and read later.

God bless the twenty protesters.
25 posted on 02/12/2003 8:19:16 PM PST by victim soul
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Silverback
Pro-Abort Rev. Al Sharpton Uses Pulpit at St. Sabina's to Blast President Bush As Pro-Life Catholics Picket Outside

Monday, February 10, 2003

By Karl Maurer
Catholic Citizens of Illinois

http://catholiccitizens.org/press/pressview.asp?c=4213

As pro-life protests go, the demonstration on Chicago's south side Sunday morning was a familiar sight. American flags fluttered in the morning sun. Roman Catholics recited the Rosary, a series of prayers and meditations on the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Protesters held signs with pictures of Jesus and babies, some with captions like, "choose the gift of life." It was a familiar routine for pro-life demonstrators, but there were a few factors that made this protest unusual.

First of all, it was freezing. With temperatures in the teens, and wind gusts of 20 to 30 miles an hour coming off Lake Michigan, the subzero wind chill factor was enough to send even the most winter-hardened Chicagoan scrambling for shelter. In spite of the brutal cold, the protestors stood outside for over an hour.

Secondly, this protest didn't take place at an abortion clinic, but on the front steps of a Roman Catholic Church (St. Sabina's Catholic Church, Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor) as pro-abortion, Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton spoke inside during the regularly scheduled 11:15 a.m. Mass service.

The protest was prompted by a series of events set in motion by a February 5, Chicago Sun-Times report that Rev. Pfleger had invited Democratic presidential candidate and Pentecostal minister Rev. Al Sharpton to speak during Mass. This created several problems for local, faithful Catholics and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

Firstly, Sharpton is pro-abortion and the Archdiocese of Chicago has a long-standing policy that pro-abortion candidates are not, under any circumstances, allowed to use Church property. This policy was explained to State Senator Patrick O'Malley by Cardinal George himself (see 'Chicago Catholics Outraged at Cardinal George Refusal to Stop Pro-Abortion Rev. Al Sharpton from Appearing at St. Sabina's', www.catholiccitizens.org, Friday, February 07, 2003.)

Secondly, IRS rules clearly stipulate that religious groups can jeopardize their tax-exempt status by hosting political events (e.g. the Clinton administration levied a huge fine against a Protestant church that was overtly involved in politics, then closed and auctioned off the church to pay the fine!) Father Pfleger has repeatedly and routinely given the pulpit over to liberal and Democratic political activists in a way that jeapordizes the tax status of not only St. Sabina's, but the entire Archdiocese. The IRS penalties, interest and fines related to 20 years of lost tax revenues resulting from a revocation of St. Sabina's tax exempt status would be millions and millions of dollars based prior cases.

Lastly, Roman Catholic Canon Law -- the rules that govern the Catholic Church -- clearly stipulates that the homily during a Catholic Mass must be preached by a Bishop, Priest, or Deacon. Laymen, especially laymen who aren't Catholic, are precluded from giving a homily.

Sharpton also hauls a lot of baggage. Last week, Jim Bowman of Blithe-spirit.com reported, "Rev. Sharpton, who supports the right to abort a baby, has a checkered past. He gained national fame when he vigorously espoused the cause of a New York woman who falsely claimed that some policemen had raped her and has never admitted he was wrong."

Sharpton told Sun-Times reporter Cathleen Falsani during her interview with him that this was his first time preaching in a Catholic church. "The comfort," however, "is that Father Pfleger is a different kind of a Catholic priest," he said. Different, indeed.

Throughout the week, as the controversy escalated, Rev. Pfleger refused to comment, referring people to comments he had made to the Sun-Times in the prior week. "He (Sharpton) is going to talk about civil rights and black history," said Pfleger. "One of the reasons we have invited Rev. Sharpton, is seemingly the at-home issues of poverty and homelessness and racism and healthcare are not just on the back burner, they're not even being addressed." Sounding more like a political communications director than a pastor, Pfleger went on to say, "While we're obsessed with overseas terrorism, we've kind of ignored the terrorisms we have had here long before September 11."

When asked by the Sun-Times two weeks ago about the political nature of his views, and the potential controversy his appearance would provoke, Rev. Sharpton said he intended to preach about "putting the war in Iraq, as well as the domestic fights around the economy and affirmative action, in a historical context. In my studies of the Bible, people were always challenged by learning and studying history."

Chicago Catholics reacted to the Sun-Times reports earlier in the prior week by flooding the Archdiocese with angry calls and emails demanding that Francis Cardinal George intercede and cancel the appearance.

Finally, late on Friday afternoon, the Cardinal issued a press release indicating his support for the celebration of Black History Month, but that he "does not approve of the invitation because of the Rev. Sharpton's present political candidacy and his pro-abortion stance." In spite of the fact that the Sharpton visit was in violation of Canon Law, IRS regulations, and his own diocesan policy on pro-abortion speakers, Cardinal George's press statement concluded by saying that "making a case of this invitation at this time would be a futile gesture and a waste of effort."

Catholic, pro-life leaders expressed shock and outrage over the Cardinal's refusal to cancel Sharpton's appearance and his defeatist attitude.

Chicago Archdiocese parishioner Tina Mahar left several messages with the Archdiocese and recieved no response. "This is a clear violation of Canon Law," noted Mahar. "Al Sharpton should not be speaking ANY time in ANY Catholic Church!"

Bill Beckman, also a Roman Catholic and Executive Director of Illinois Right to Life was equally outraged. In a letter to Cardinal George, Beckman pointed out that Pfleger's conduct was clearly in contradition to the policies the Cardinal had assured Senator O'Malley were in place. "This subject was raised previously," said Beckman. Beckman went on ask who was running the Archdiocese, George or Pfleger? "Who is in charge of whom? What is so difficult about requiring that Al Sharpton appear in the parish hall AFTER Mass, consistent with norms you cite? How can that be a "futile gesture and a waste of effort'?"

Mary Anne Hackett, President of Catholic Citizens of Illinois, was also disappointed. "The comment, 'this is a futile gesture and a waste of effort' is outrageous! I can only hope that Cardinal George has been misquoted. But I can tell you for every baby killed because of Al Sharton's position on abortion, it is not a waste of effort. For every Catholic pro-lifer who expects some moral leadership from the Church, it is not a waste of effort. For every Catholic pro-abortion politician headed for Hell, it is not a waste of effort. We want this pro-abortion preaching in our Catholic Churches to stop. It is already 30 years late."

Chicago based Friends of the Unborn (FOTU) issued a press release critical of Sharpton's abortion record. "He was honored by NARAL Pro-Choice America at their Washington DC 'celebration' of the Roe vs. Wade (anniversary) in January." The release also noted that Sharpton responded to pro-life protesters at that event by saying that he normally did not cross picket lines, but was happy to cross the pro-lifers' picket line. According to the release, Sharpton then taunted the protesters, saying, "the Christian Right needs to meet the right Christians."

The FOTU release went on to list the statistics on abortions. "Black Americans make up 13% of the population, yet 33% of abortions are performed on black women. These numbers are tantamount to genocide and the leaders in the Black community should be up in arms."

Meanwhile, as the protest went on outside, the parishioners of St. Sabina's were literally up in arms, hands swaying to Gospel music, as Rev. Pfleger led them in spirited song prior to Mass. One of the pro-life protesters who went inside and reported "they were jumping up and down singing like it was some kind of charismatic revival meeting. The place was packed, but it wasn't like any Catholic ceremony I've ever seen."

The protest outside was peaceful and prayerful. Two dozen representatives came from Catholic Citizens of Illinois, the Catholic Archdiocesan Respect Life Office, the Pro-Life Action League, Illinois Right to Life, and Bremen-Orland Citizens of Life.

Upon arriving at St. Sabina's at 10:30 a.m., demonstrators were 'welcomed' by three tough guys who emerged from St. Sabina's and appeared to be security guards. The men, who did not identify themselves, pointed out that the protesters were trespassing on Catholic Church property, and demanded that the entire group move from the sidewalk in front of the Church to an area across the street. When several of the protesters responded that they were Catholics, and weren't going to move, the Chicago police were called. Immediately upon their arrival, the police informed the protestors and security guards that Rev. Pfleger did not want the protestors interfered with.

The demonstrators proceeded to hand out hundreds of pro-life handbills as parishioners began to arrive for the morning service. Several parishioners yelled back to the protesters that "it's a woman's right to choose!" or "who's gonna take care of the babies?" At one point, several parishioners confronted the protesters, who were white, as anti-black racists. The altercation fizzled after the pro-life protesters responded that Jesus Christ died for all humanity, regardless of skin color.

The Sharpton controversy was front-page news in the Saturday Sun-Times, and drew a large media contingent. Local affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, WGN and FOX TV covered Sharpton's speech and the protest. On-line news service www.illinoisleader.com was also represented.

As expected, Sharpton was allowed to use the pulpit during the Mass, and as expected, he delivered a highly charged political speech. Excerpts were carried on local news stations during the Sunday evening news. The news anchors at those stations also pointing out that Cardinal George had objected to the appearance due to Sharpton's political standing and pro-abortion views.

Sharpton was bitterly critical of George W. Bush's foreign and domestic policies, and even criticized Bush's father, George H. Bush. Sharpton accused the president of ignoring domestic problems and waging a war with Iraq that few in America wanted.

Reporting on the event inside St. Sabina's, Illinois Leader (www.illinoisleader.com) said today, "Pfleger inferred during his introduction of Sharpton that the controversy had to do with race, saying, 'Contrary to a lot of people’s views, I think it makes sense that a black man should talk to black people during Black History Month'."

The Illinois Leader also reported that "during his speech, Sharpton expressed admiration for Pfleger's defiance, saying, 'He's been persistent, he's been courageous, and he's refused to bow to the powers that be.' Regarding protesters, "Pfleger said he was glad (they) came, and glad they were standing up for life, but wished 'they would have marched with us earlier against white supremacists and when the Catholic Churches kicked us out of their league', referring to a time when St. Sabina was denied membership in the Southside Catholic Conference, disallowing the St. Sabina basketball team from competing against the other parochial schools in the conference."

Pfleger also referred to "hundreds" of emails and calls he received "of hate and threats," but said he loved those people anyway, adding that those who sent the messages "are going to have to answer for that some day."

"I also know that if Martin Luther King was alive today and going to speak," said Pfleger, "They would oppose him, too."

Pfleger affirmed that he was pro-life but said his concern was not just "in the womb, it's in the classroom and the boardroom. You gotta take care of them after they come into the world, 'til they leave the world."

Like Pfleger, Sharpton began his remarks by acknowledging the pro-life protest. "We may be on different sides of the pro-life/pro-choice question. But one thing we can agree on is that it is a sin not to love me after I'm here and not to love me 'til I die"

Sharpton went on to criticize President George Bush for focusing on Iraq and not North Korea. "Why are we going where we're trying to find weapons when we already know where there are weapons"

Sharpton also accused the President of taking advantage of "preferences" to get into college, due to his influential family, yet attempting to deny blacks the same advantage. President Bush recently spoke out against the University of Michigan for using racial quotas to determine the composition of its student population.

About the elusive, perhaps dead, Osama bin Laden, Sharpton said, "Explain to me why the CIA with all the pictures they take can't find one criminal in Baghdad."

Sharpton also criticized the black community for falling prey to Hollywood’s portrayal of it. "Women aren't 'ho's' and 'b****es!," said Sharpton, to applause.

(To see a live Webcast of Sharpton's remarks, go to St. Sabina's web site at www.saintsabina.org.)

But it all came back to abortion the Illiois Leader reports. "God didn't tell us to preach against abortion. He told us to preach the Gospel," said parishioner Andrew Lopez. Added his pregnant wife Elizabeth, "We're against abortion too, but everyone has their own choice." (No need to wonder what Father Pfleger teaches in his pre-cana program.)

(For additional coverage of the protest, see www.illinoisleader.com)

If he were to win the Democratic nomination for president, Sharpton would face incumbent President George W. Bush, who is pro-life. The current Bush administration has demanded a ban on late term, 'partial birth' abortions. Bush has also proposed that unborn babies be recognized as citizens entitled to health benefits. This controversial proposal makes an end run around Roe vs. Wade by recognizing unborn babies as American citizens owed equal protection of their Constitutional rights to life and liberty.

As if having pro-abortion speakers at the pulpit giving homilies was a common occurrence, Rev. Pfleger displayed feigned shock for the cameras on Sunday prior to services. Claiming that the opposition all happened suddenly, and Sharpton's announced candidacy came long after he was invited, Pfleger compared Sharpton's Black History Month invitation to last February's speaker, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu. However, the differences between the pro-abortion, racially charged politics of Sharpton, and the peaceful, Christian spirituality of Tutu are substantial.

As the protest concluded, members of the Coalition to Share the Truth called on Rev. Pfleger to clear up the confusion caused by inviting Sharpton to address the congregation at St. Sabina's, particularly in light of the Vatican's recent guidelines, which have clearly indicated that no Catholic politician can be 'pro-choice' when that choice means taking an innocent life through abortion. Coalition representative Joe Scheidler said, "Father Pfleger needs to make it crystal clear that his parishioners cannot vote for a candidate who espouses a pro-abortion agenda."

Rev. Pfleger has given his pulpit to other pro-abortion speakers before, including singer Harry Belafonte this year on Sunday, January 20, when Belafonte chastised Bush for being pro-life and threatening a "woman's right to an abortion."

Pfleger has also hosted Black Muslim firebrand Louis Farrakhan, ridiculer of the Pope and castigator of Judaism as "a gutter religion."

Rev. Pfleger was at the center of contraversy in 2001 over St. Sabina's membership in a Catholic athletic league. Pfleger accused suburban Catholic schools of being racist when they voted not to admit St. Sabina's due to safety concerns traveling into high crime areas of Chicago in the evenings with bus loads of children and young adults.
Buckling to media pressure Cardinal George demanded St. Sabina's be admitted to the league or suburban Catholic schools would suffer repercussions.

Later, when the crime statistics -- in particular the murder rates -- for the area surrounding St. Sabina's were made public, the leaders of several suburban Catholic schools let it be known that they were going to opt for the repercussions rather than endanger their students. In the midst of this, Rev. Pfleger suddenly and unexpectedly withdrew St. Sabina's from the Catholic athletic league.

Last year, Rev. Pfleger was given a short term extension of his term at St. Sabina's after he threatened to leave the priesthood if he was transferred from St. Sabina's.

Rotation of Catholic pastors to new parishes is standard practice in most Catholic dioceses across the country. On average, pastors serve 5 to 10 years in one parish before moving on to their next assignment. Rev. Pfleger has been at St. Sabina's for 22 years, since 1981.

What Cardinal George will do next as a result of Sharpton's appearance is unclear. He has already suggested to the media that Rev. Pfleger consider a career change. Many observers believe Pfleger is trying to provoke a showdown with the Cardinal, giving him no choice but to relieve him. Pfleger has already indicated that he would seriously consider leaving the priesthood if he were transferred from St. Sabina's. After publicity generated by Pfleger's latest stunt this weekend, the Cardinal may now be ready to take him up on his offer.

Rev. Pfleger's biography is located at St. Sabina's website, www.saintsabina.org. "As a minister, Father Pfleger has sought to break down the walls of racism and denominationalism by building unity among all people founded on truth and based on Jesus' command to love one another. This holy calling has led him to be a parent, a preacher, a teacher, a lecturer, and an activist."

St. Sabina's website describes its mission as a "word-based, Bible teaching church that believes in the power of praise and worship. We are a spiritual hospital where all are welcome and invited to 'taste and see the goodness of the Lord." Our purpose is to nurture and develop spiritually mature Christians who are not confined by the walls of the sanctuary, but can penetrate the world in order to present God's way of living as a divine option."

St. Sabina's website also includes a calendar of events, for those interested in future speakers.



YES INDEED, THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU: ST. SABINA, FATHER PFLEGER, AND AL SHARPTON

Monday, February 10, 2003

By Jim Bowman at www.blithe-spirit.com

http://catholiccitizens.org/press/pressview.asp?c=4215

The first thing to remember about St. Sabina Catholic Church is that last Sunday its collection was $36,000. The second is to realize that its pastor, Rev. Michael Pfleger, glories in media attention while his supposed opponent in church warfare, Cardinal Francis George, is a media fussbudget, without interest in waging battle, or undergoing trial, by media. (He once told reporters to stop taking notes on his sermon; it's the last thing Pfleger would say.)

This Sunday, 2/9/03, Pfleger brazened out the cardinal's non-acquiescence in his inviting Rev. Al Sharpton to his pulpit. It would have been "futile" to try to stop Pfleger from hosting Sharpton, a Democrat and therefore pro-choice presidential candidate, the cardinal said, admitting his inability, at least short-term, to rein Pfleger in.


So Sharpton was part of Pfleger's three-hour service, slipping in a few verses from Joshua in the middle of his 35-minute sermon but using the rest of it for politicking: The first Bush "loved the troops until they came home," but then they found "bad schools," etc. Now "another Bush" is doing the same thing. Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction; how do we know? Colin Powell (merely) showed "some pictures." Why go to Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction when we know North Korea has them?


He offered pure candidate-talk. "Bush says you are with us or against us. Who is us?" Millions go for missile defense which we don't even know will work. There are "tax cuts for the rich," with rise in property and sales tax. There's the attack on affirmative action at U. of Michigan, but Bush applied to the University of Texas and couldn't get in [sic]. Then got into Yale even though his grades were too low. He's against "set-asides," but he "set aside a whole election to be president." We sent LBJ back to Texas 20 years ago, "we should send Bush back to Texas too."


Sharpton hearkened to the days of Adam Clayton Powell in Harlem, to whom he has elsewhere likened himself, and how Powell, who left Congress in disgrace, would say, "Keep the faith."


For each of these assertions or recollections and many more, he got standing ovations, people shouting and waving the right hand and clapping. Pfleger sitting behind periodically stood and raised his hand as he saw an applause point coming, sometimes anticipating the general excitement, sometimes coming on its heels.


He and Pfleger differ on the pro-life, pro-choice spectrum, he said, but they agree on another point, the need to protect children after they are born.


Earlier, introducing Sharpton, Pfleger had said he welcomed pro-life demonstrators in front of his church (protesting Sharpton) and was glad they were there but would like to have seen them sooner. He ticked off several of his causes where he would have liked their support, including St. Sabina's exclusion from a Catholic grade-school basketball league 18 months ago on grounds of its being unsafe for their women and children to go "where the demonstrators were" right then!


(Not quite. You had van and car loads driving through tough neighborhoods. But Pfleger had a point anyhow. His church is in no slum.


(Pfleger called himself pro-life but by inviting Sharpton has gone out of his way to minimize the abortion issue. One can imagine pro-life demonstrators wondering where Pfleger, an activist of the first water, as been when they needed him. He has demonstrated and generally raised Cain about several other issues but never abortion. Moreover, his recent hosting of Harry Belafonte in the same pulpit means he cares not a whit if he helps promote abortion: Belafonte made the point specifically. Would Sharpton also have made the point if Cardinal George, moved by a mountain of protest, hadn't signified his displeasure?


(On this Sharpton had a comment about one's "rank in church" not qualifying someone. He commended Pfleger, who had "refused to bow," as if he, Sharpton did not have a stake in the matter: this was an excellent ready-made audience for him on his campaign trail.)


MASS APPEAL . . . The St. Sabina service -- it's not billed as a

mass -- is a study in group psychology. Both Pfleger and Sharpton started in well modulated tones but ended shouting, so that a moviegoer of the 40s might have thought of Hitler-mocking Charley Chaplin in "The Great Dictator," stopping in the middle of a tirade to pour water from a pitcher not into a glass for drinking but down his pants, which he unloosened for the purpose.


Indeed, it was decibel heaven this morning and early afternoon, and a good time was had by all. The music, by pinpoint-accuracy, near-military choir and 4-man combo of trumpet, flute, keyboard with awe-inspiring volume capability (he appealed to our bass instincts, you might say), and full set of drums plus marimba-shaker, was something to wake the dead with. This white man had to hold finger to ears a few times. Not kidding.


The preaching was by slogan, often shouted. No argument need apply here, just repetition of things already well digested by the audience, which was overjoyed to hear them for the umpteenth time and responded regularly with single right hand raised in air, two hands clapping, swinging, swaying, and/or shouting assent.


"When the spirit moves you, you'll shout hallelujah, yes indeed," went the old Tommy Dorsey number. "When it hits you, you'll holler. Yes indeed."


They hollered at St. Sabina. Not all. For many, mostly men, it seemed enough to hear the word and take it in, though no other fingers went to ears as far as I could see.


Not all the time either. The thing about shouting, when you lower your voice, assuming you have the mike, everything becomes quiet, and there were moments of meditative pauses, though even then it was usually with Pfleger as prayer leader muttering into the mike -- like the "aspirations" or "ejaculations" (short prayers) which we students of the Sisters of Mercy were taught in the 40s.


At St. Sabina these generally took the form of riff (jazz for refrain, from the 30s), however. Sharpton riffed rhythmically at the end of his sermon (in Pentecostal style maybe, that's his brand of Protestantism,which he reportedly betrays by his pro-choice-ism, by the way). The music was at the ready for him, amazingly. Had he scripted this with the keyboardist, or were both of them working off semi-eternal scripts deriving from black Christian culture?


That's the third thing to remember about St. Sabina's: it's a very black thing, even as it's very genteel. One might have been in the St. Giles-Oak Park parking lot, to judge by the cars and fur coats. That $36,000 didn't come from nowhere last week. This is a very attractive congregation, upscale in appearance and friendly to the white stranger. The climate was cheery and friendly. Very warm. Seductively so.


At the same time, the people embrace a virtually nonsensical worship service, full of loud music, and emotive display. Joy reigns, though a dance and choral presentation at the end featured maybe 20 black-clad young people and a white-clad dancer in a "slave song" performance whose whole purpose was to raise for loving embrace the memory of being a slave, or of holding up under the dreadful experience. It was a daunting, depressing show that apparently met deep yearnings of the congregation, which apparently wants to be reminded of and dwell upon the horrors of old. Lest they forget.


But even Sharpton had room in his talk for shooting down the acting-white accusation leveled by home boys and girls at academic achievers, this too to the delight and approval of his listeners. (So much for denial of such anti-achievement attitudes by Oak Park High parents a few years back. Sharpton had only to bring it up, and they applauded, knowing what he meant.)


Finally, let it be said that for those who stayed the whole three hours Sharpton was a sideshow. The "Yes indeed" experience was the thing, with Pfleger at the center of it -- but not -- surprisingly in view of his headline-grabbing proclivities, as distraction. He fit in, part of a seamless garment of devotional fury.


Pastor since 1981, Pfleger has achieved a lot. The church is magnificent, in excellent shape, down to cushioned pews and center-of-nave glorious baptismal font. Ushers in black suits wear white gloves. They and ladies in colorful dresses, some Afro-style, some not, hand out programs and meet you as you enter. If you ask for the weekly bulletin, you are told politely that they are given out as you leave church, which they were.


The basement hall, named after Pfleger's much loved and respected predecessor, Msgr. John McMahon, is full and bustle before and after the 11:15 service. Kids and adults sit over nachos gotten at a cafeteria counter with tickets bought in the next room by people standing in line to buy them. Clothing and other items are sold at various stalls. The room, the wash rooms are clean and adequate. (Churches are not always good about that.)


On 79th Street a block away is a senior citizens residence with St. Sabina's name on it, and Catholic Charities'. Parish-sponsored programs range from how to buy a house -- "Property is power," Pfleger said Sunday -- to movies for engaged and newlyweds. The vitality is palpable. In short, Pfleger has a going operation that packs them in on Sunday and pays its own way. "Twinning" was and maybe still is an archdiocesan program of joining of rich and poor parishes, to the supposed benefit of both. Does St. Sabina twin with a Cicero parish that needs some help?


That's a bad joke. Point is, there's not a priest or bishop that wouldn't take his hat off to Pfleger for the St. Sabina success story (parish school and all). If he has over-identified with his people, he's not the first. If Cardinal George were to put clamps on him for his flouting of church laws and regulations, for his brazen embrace of his community's prejudices, he would probably find it more trouble than it's worth, because while building his community of faith, Pfleger has built himself a fortress beyond which the Gentiles may rage but to no avail.


####


Jim Bowman is a veteran newsman, who for years served as Religion writer for the old (and missed) Chicago Daily News, one of the great afternoon daily papers. Jim and I don't see eye to eye on every issue, but his insights into the recent events at St. Sabina are valid, well reasoned and pretty much right on. Other stories by Jim are at his web site, www.blithe-spirit.com


26 posted on 02/12/2003 8:39:47 PM PST by victim soul
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To: victim soul
>> He and Pfleger differ on the pro-life, pro-choice spectrum <<

Pfleger disagrees in words only. In practice, Pfleger is 100% pro-abortion and fully supporters the geniocide against the black community at "his" church. Show me where he has acted elsewise.

>> he said, but they agree on another point, the need to protect children after they are born. <<

So the "Rev." is now endorsing the BORN alive infant protection act? That would certainly be news. Too bad the "Rev." is such a pro-abortion extremist he even promotes partial-birth abortion.

Not to worry, "Father" Pfiger, I'll probably vote for your boy Al in the DemocRAT primary. It will be a good step towards destroying the evil party you and other Christians-in-name-only support.

27 posted on 02/15/2003 5:14:51 PM PST by BillyBoy (George Ryan deserves a long term....without parole.)
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To: Mr. Silverback
http://www.bondinfo.org/

http://www.blackgenocide.org/negro.html

http://blackgenocide.org/planned.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/612636/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a1204015ab1.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/808590/posts
http://www.cwfa.org/library/life/2001-05_pp_n-project.shtml

Eugenics
http://www.pop.org/reports/pathfind.txt
http://www.trunkerton.fsnet.co.uk/Eugenics.htm
http://www.learninc.org/articles/eugenics.html
http://www.eugenics-watch.com/roots/chap12.html
http://www.africa2000.com/ENDX/aenames.htm
http://www.africa2000.com/endx/aememd.htm
http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/~rauch/no-violence/consistent/star-tribune_eugenics.html
http://www.pregnancycenters.org/batonrouge/abortionafican.html
http://www.abortionfacts.com/learn/history_of_blacks_and_abortion.asp

http://www.dailycatholic.org/hhsengov.htm

28 posted on 02/16/2003 7:37:56 PM PST by Coleus (RU 486 Kills Babies)
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To: Mr. Silverback
Sign the petition:

http://www.cathfam.org/cfexcom/Excom.html

Herod's Heroes:

http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/2001May/2001hh.htm

http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/2002Mar/house.htm

Pray the Rosary:
http://www.rosariesforlife.org/information.asp

Very Important Thread for Catholics
Living the Gospel of Life:
A Challenge to American Catholics
A Statement by the Catholic Bishops of the United States

http://www.nccbuscc.org/prolife/gospel.htm

Vote Catholic and get on their e mail list, larryvote@aol.com
http://www.catholicvote.org

Catechism
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm#2270 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm
Canon Law
http://members.aol.com/abtrbng/canonl.htm
Humanae Vitae
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Paul06/p6humana.htm

VERITATIS SPLENDOR
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor_en.html
OCTAGESIMA ADVENIENS
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Paul06/p6oct.htm
Evangelium Vitae
http://www.newadvent.org/docs/jp02ev.htm
End Socialism
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius11/P11QUADR.HTM
The Bible's Teaching Against Abortion
By: Fr. Frank A. Pavone
http://www.priestsforlife.org/brochures/thebible.html
Catholic Activism
http://www.diocesereport.com/guest_col/kopp_activism_march01.shtml
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/780464/posts
29 posted on 02/16/2003 7:40:04 PM PST by Coleus (RU 486 Kills Babies)
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To: All

30 posted on 02/16/2003 7:41:56 PM PST by Coleus (RU 486 Kills Babies)
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