Chicago priest Pfleger reinstated after abuse investigation
by The Associated Press
Last Updated May 24, 2021 at 1:28 pm EDT
CHICAGO (AP) Nationally known activist Chicago priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger will be reinstated as the leader of his parish after an investigation found “no reason to suspect” he sexually abused children, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday.
The archdiocese said in January that leaders asked Pfleger to step aside after its Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review received an allegation that Pfleger sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago.
In a letter to the Faith Community of Saint Sabina, Cardinal Blase Cupich said he had accepted the finding of the office and the archdiocese’s Independent Review Board and was reinstating Pfleger as the South Side parish’s pastor. Cupich said the change is effective the first weekend of June.
Chicago priest Michael Pfleger reinstated after abuse investigation
Top Searches
Chicago priest Michael Pfleger reinstated after abuse investigation
AP / Updated: May 25, 2021, 02:36 IST
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEMail
Michael Pfleger. AP Photo
CHICAGO: Nationally known activist Chicago priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger will be reinstated as the leader of his parish after an investigation found no reason to suspect he sexually abused children, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday. The archdiocese said in January that leaders asked Pfleger to step aside after its Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review received an allegation that Pfleger sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago.
Pfleger is slated to return the weekend of June 5.
Pfleger was asked to step away from the parish in January after the Archdiocese received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to the 1970s. Two brothers, now in their 60s and living in Texas, told the Chicago Tribune that Pfleger had sexually abused them over a period of several years at three churches. A third person came forward in March, telling NBC Chicago that Pfleger “touched him sexually in an unwanted manner and regularly gave him drugs and alcohol.”
Pfleger denied their accounts and maintained his innocence, and had the strong support of the parish council at St. Sabina. A noted activist on violence, unemployment and the targeting of minors by drug and alcohol companies, Pfleger has been a political force in the city and in the Auburn-Gresham community where he has ministered since 1981 – an unusually long tenure for pastor.
Father Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Church in Chicago, in 2015. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago asked the priest to step aside from ministry Jan. 5, 2021, after the Archdiocese of Chicago received an allegation he sexually abused a minor over 40 years ago. (CNS photo/Jim Young, Reuters)
CHICAGO (AP) Nationally known activist Chicago priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger will be reinstated as the leader of his parish after an investigation found “no reason to suspect” he sexually abused children, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday.
The archdiocese said in January that leaders asked Pfleger to step aside after its Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review received an allegation that Pfleger sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago.