What a DISGRACE!! They just said on MSNBC that father Pfleger is no longer a priest. I don't agree

[oviedodem]

with what he said. But what a joke the catholic church is. I come from a catholic background (now Lutheran), but this is the same church that knew damn good and well what was happening with the molesters and swept it under the rug. THey now make a public flogging of sorts for Pfleger; JOKE.

[endarkenment]

1. MSNBC: Bullshit

The firebrand pastor of St. Sabina parish was effectively removed from his duties there Tuesday, according to a statement released by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

In the statement, Cardinal Francis George says he asked the Rev. Michael Pfleger, 59, to "take leave for a couple of weeks from his pastoral duties." The statement said Pfleger "does not believe this to be the right step at this time." "While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the Church's regulations for all Catholic priests," George said.

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/985091,pfleger060308.article

[Ian David]

2. If he'd molested a few children, they'd just transfer him to another parish. n/t

[Why Syzygy]

6. Child molesting is tax exempt.

[Coexist]

13. and something forgivable by tossing out a few "Our Fathers"

unlike this more grievous offense.

[Inuca]

3. Update on MSNBC

temporarily removed of his duties or something like that. Not excomunicated or defrocked as another post said. Bad enough, but much more acceptable than the what initially reported.

[Eurobabe]

4. WRONG, suspended, Shuster just updated, he was misled.

[Ian David]

5. But you know... wouldn't it be funny if this lost the Catholic "Church" their tax-exempt status?

I mean the WHOLE Catholic "Church," not just one parish or archdiocese.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. IT IS A CHURCH... whether you like it or not

and I am Jewish for crying out loud!

[Ian David]

16. There is the Church and then there is the "Church" which is a multinational political lobbying corp.

[darue]

7. amazing. so much for free speech n/t good bye america, it was nice having known you so long ago n/t

[noel711]

8. "Once a priest, always a priest."

The mark of ordination is indelible. You can 'defrock' a priest, but he is always a priest.

He was 'relieved' of duties, obviously because of the media. Which is a shame; from what I hear about him, apart from this incident, is that he is a concrete, hands-on, local priest devoted
to social justice issues on Chicago's south side. The local arch-bishop (Bernadin?) is strongly
conservative, and I'm sure he got a lot of heat..

I'm sure nothing would have happened, had the comments not been videotaped.

We are living in perilous times... with scrutinization of everything and everyone.

I joke with my parish in my sermons: "If you plan on running for president,
you might want to leave the room for this next sermon.. in case you'll held accountable."
They laugh; But I wonder how far this fascistic scrutiny will go...

(Hi back to a fellow Lutheran! Hey Ovie! )

[SteveM]

9. I have no faith in the Catholic hierarchy, and less in Pfleger...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5kQ5zR19iw

Here, Father Pfleger expresses his desire to find and "snuff out" a gun shop owner "like a rat." This, during a demonstration at Chuck's Gun Shop. Whether or not this constituted an assaultive threat to the owner is debatable, but Pfleger's poisonous rhetoric belies his Christian sensitivity to others. "Compassion" should not be a mask for intolerance and hatred.

[vaberella]

10. This surprised me a great deal. I'm Catholic and I've never seen the

Church work this way. Actions and words don't mean th same thing. The amount of good he has done oversteps a few words he's said about Clinton. Of course the publicity isn't good, I think this is just a sort of publicity stunt to take action and show thath Catholic Church is on top of it. It won't go anywhere. They should have just left it alone because people don't really care about Father Pfleger.

What he said was nothing in comparison to what the Daily News of New York and the New York Times and every single newspaper in New York did to her when she cried. That was when I had to agree with the Clinton camp of sexism. The media in my city were relentless and mentioned "entitlement" and the fact she was a woman as damning her candidacy. So a small time priest is nothing in comparison to huge media hounds who are projecting an idea.

[ellacott]

11. It's a disgrace that MSNBC went on the air with a false report

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. This is over separation of church and state... this is the calculus

I can bet on it

[izzybeans]

15. Meanwhile abused children weep.

The same abused children Father Pflegler made it his life's mission to help.

I don't agree with what he said either, but his life's deeds speak louder to me than those words.

[JerseygirlCT]

17. He's been asked to step away for a few weeks to think about

his actions.

Not leaving the church as in leaving the priesthood. Just being sent to his room for a while, as it were.

[Tippy]

19. I heard the same thing as you........

Now who is right and who is wrong......Two very different stories More disinformaion by the media?

[AllentownJake]

18. He's been pissing off the Arch Bishop for years

Read his wikipedia page. The Arch Bishop is just taking this as an opportunity to remove a vocal opponent. This has nothing to do with so much his comments as it has to do with inner politics of the Chicago Arch Dioces and the Arch Bishop having the excuse now to rid himself of this meddlesome priest.