Cardinal Francis George asked a Chicago priest on Tuesday to temporarily step down from his post to “reflect on his recent statements” regarding Sen. Hillary Clinton and her bid for the White House.
Last week, the Rev. Michael Pfleger mocked Clinton at Sen. Barack Obama’s former church, saying the New York senator felt "entitled" to the Democratic nomination for president. George asked Pfleger to take leave from pastoral duties at St. Sabina Church in order to "reflect on his recent statements and actions in light of the church’s regulations for all Catholic priests," according to a statement Tuesday from the Archdiocese of Chicago. Officials have said the Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates. "The leave was effective Tuesday and was scheduled to last about two weeks," said Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt. "This is the Cardinal’s way of hopefully relieving some of the pressure, to step away and reflect a little bit. That is the intent here," she said. "This has been a difficult week in light of everything that’s happened." Pfleger, who has apologized for the comments and promised George he would no longer mention any presidential candidates by name, did not believe "this to be the right step at this time," according to the statement. "While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect …" George said in the statement. "I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns." Hundreds of parishioners crowded a service at St. Sabina Tuesday evening, asking George to reinstate Pfleger and requesting a meeting with the cardinal. They chanted "We love our pastor" and a smaller group sat around the base of the church’s altar and prayed. Pfleger was not at the service, but Obama’s embattled former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, did attend. Obama recently broke with Wright after video of his sermons blaming U.S. policies for the Sept. 11 attacks and his calls of "God damn America" became fixtures on the Internet and cable news networks and created a political problem for the candidate. "We love and respect our pastor, as imperfect as he may be," a statement issued by church leadership said. "He is the person that has baptized us, married us, buried us, shared in the Eucharist and Word with us, prayed with us and for us, laughed with us and most recently cried with us." Pfleger supporter Mary Thompkins of Chicago said she was saddened to learn of his suspension. "Father Pfleger loves this church and his people," Thompkins said after the service. "He’s a very dynamic Christian, and I believe that the Lord will restore him." A message seeking comment was left Tuesday for Pfleger. The Archdiocese said Pfleger’s temporary replacement would be the Rev. William Vanecko, 68, pastor of Chicago’s St. Kilian Catholic Church, where he has served for almost 12 years. On Sunday, Pfleger apologized for his comments, saying he received more than 3,000 enraged e-mails since he gave a guest sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ. In that sermon, Pfleger pretended he was Clinton crying over "a black man stealing my show." Pfleger’s sermon, along with Wright’s statements, led Obama to resign his membership at Trinity. Pfleger, a 59-year-old white priest at a largely black parish, has gained a reputation for impassioned sermons and activism.
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