{"id":36020,"date":"2026-07-16T08:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/activist-catholic-priest-michael-pfleger-again-accused-of-sexual-abuse\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:20:11","slug":"activist-catholic-priest-michael-pfleger-again-accused-of-sexual-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/activist-catholic-priest-michael-pfleger-again-accused-of-sexual-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Activist Catholic priest Michael Pfleger again accused of sexual abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_abyJH229bLK?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.2.3\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(RNS) \u2014 The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a well-known anti-gun activist priest, has been accused of child sexual abuse and removed from ministry while the allegation is investigated, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced on Saturday (July 11). <span>Pfleger \u201cstrongly denied\u201d the allegation, which comes after archdiocesan reviews with outside investigators cleared him of four previous accusations of decades-old abuse, which were all found in the last five years to be unsubstantiated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Pfleger, 77, is the longtime pastor of St. Sabina Parish, a predominantly African American parish, and he has been at the helm of several prominent, sometimes controversial, activism campaigns. Last month, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/chicago-priest-tells-trump-shut-restore-gun-violence-prevention-funding-deadly-weekend\">called<\/a> on President Donald Trump to restore gun violence prevention funding to the City of Chicago and told Trump to \u201cshut up,\u201d referring to a social media post in which the president claimed he could fix violence in Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>In a July 11 Facebook post, Pfleger said Chicago\u2019s vicar for priests told him the recent allegation was made by a woman who said she went to elementary school at St. Sabina and that she was abused by Pfleger \u201cat some time\u201d between 1993 to 1995.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an absolute lie,\u201d Pfleger wrote. \u201cI have no memory of this girl nor do countless others who have been at St. Sabina for those years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a letter to parishioners, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich wrote, \u201cIn keeping with our child protection policies, I have asked Father Pfleger to step aside from ministry and live away from the parish while the allegation is investigated,\u201d announcing that the Rev. Thulani Magwaza will continue to serve as pastor of the parish.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Cupich stressed that the wellbeing of children is the \u201cparamount concern\u201d of the archdiocese and encouraged anyone who has experienced abuse to come forward to the archdiocese\u2019s Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, where he said they would be treated with \u201ccompassion and respect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the cardinal also acknowledged that the allegation would be upsetting to the parish, where several parishioners have spoken to local media to denounce the allegation and Pfleger\u2019s suspension. \u201cAs your parish has been through this before, I can well understand your distress in learning of this development,\u201d he wrote, asking for their patience.<\/p>\n<p>Cupich emphasized that the archdiocese was not presuming either truth or \u201cfalsity\u201d from the allegations until the investigation and process is complete.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly by conducting a thorough and impartial review can we ensure fairness to all concerned,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAs is also required by our child protection policies, the allegation was reported to law enforcement authorities and the person making the allegation has been offered the services of our Victim Assistance Ministry,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>In his July 11 Facebook post, Pfleger said that the current policies dealing with sexual abuse are \u201cwrong\u201d and \u201cunfair,\u201d while acknowledging that the church had historically not dealt with accusations appropriately.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u201cThe presumption of innocence does not exist for priests,\u201d Pfleger wrote. \u201cBefore an investigation or even a conversation has taken place a priest is removed and told to remain silent during their process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kathleen McChesney, who was the first person to lead the U.S. Catholic bishops\u2019 Office of Child and Youth Protection, told RNS that Cupich appears to be appropriately responding to the allegation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere should be an independent, professional investigation over all allegations,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just too important to not do an investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pfleger attributed the allegation to a campaign to \u201cdestroy\u201d and \u201csilence\u201d him. He wrote, \u201cFor the 51 years of my ministry, I have been threatened, slandered, and attacked\u201d due to his activism, he wrote, saying he gets weekly hate calls and emails.<\/p>\n<p>Pfleger has taken prominent roles in <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/news\/2025\/06\/19\/faith-leaders-hold-vigil-outside-ice-office-ice-is-not-the-last-word-god-is\">multiple<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2025\/11\/07\/feds-tell-faith-leaders-no-more-prayer-outside-broadview-facility\/\">prayer vigils<\/a> outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Chicago in the past two years, saying last November, \u201cThis administration of an incompetent, narcissistic, wannabe dictator has chosen to invoke fear, pain and terror on the city of Chicago and its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Sometimes Pfleger\u2019s activism has landed him in hot water or stirred controversy. In 2019, Cupich <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archchicago.org\/cardinal-cupich-s-statement\/-\/article\/2019\/05\/11\/statement-of-cardinal-blase-j-cupich-on-the-appearance-of-minister-louis-farrakhan-at-st-sabina-church\">released<\/a> a statement apologizing to the Jewish community after Pfleger invited the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan \u2014 known for extreme rhetoric about Jews \u2014 to speak at St. Sabina, where Farrakhan made antisemitic statements. In 2008, Cardinal Francis George <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/06\/04\/us\/04priest.html?_r=1&amp;scp=1&amp;sq=pfleger&amp;st=nyt&amp;oref=slogin\">suspended<\/a> Pfleger from St. Sabina after he mocked then-candidate Hilary Clinton in a sermon, calling her \u201centitled.\u201d Pfleger was an ally\u00a0of Barack Obama, who was then rivaling Clinton for the presidential primary nomination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since he became pastor at St. Sabina in 1981, Pfleger has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/05\/16\/chicagos-rev-michael-pfleger-reflects-on-50-years-in-the-priesthood-you-dont-bow-down-to-the-hater\/\">led<\/a> a successful campaign to remove liquor and tobacco billboards in his parish\u2019s neighborhood, many anti-gun violence protests and several gun turn-in events.<\/p>\n<p>In a July 13 Facebook post, Pfleger wrote that he had heard that the investigation would be \u201cexpedited\u201d but said that \u201cthe policy is so broken I am very leery of this process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With over 400 comments largely flooded with support for Pfleger, the July 13 post seemed to hint at a drastic decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it is not over very soon, I will make a decision. I will not allow this to destroy and distract from the real issues we and our community have of poverty, homelessness, violence, economic development, racism, better schools for our children, etc,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThis battle is the Lord\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/07\/15\/activist-catholic-priest-michael-pfleger-again-accused-of-sexual-abuse\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a well-known anti-gun activist priest, has been accused of child sexual abuse and removed from ministry while the allegation is investigated, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced on Saturday (July 11). Pfleger \u201cstrongly denied\u201d the allegation, which comes after archdiocesan reviews with outside investigators cleared him of four previous accusations [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}