CHICAGO (AP) An activist Roman Catholic priest cleared by an Archdiocese of Chicago investigation into claims that he sexually abused several boys decades ago returned to the pulpit of his longtime church on Sunday for the first time in five months.
Chicago Priest to Be Reinstated After Inquiry Finds Proof of Sex Abuse Lacking
There is “insufficient reason to suspect” that the Rev. Michael Pfleger is guilty, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger delivering a sermon in 2016 at St. Sabina in Chicago. He is being reinstated to the parish next month.Credit.Whitney Curtis for The New York Times
May 24, 2021
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, an influential Roman Catholic priest who temporarily stepped aside from his parish on the South Side of Chicago in January after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor more than 40 years ago, will be reinstated after an internal investigation found “insufficient reason to suspect” he was guilty, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced on Monday.
Cardinal Blase Cupich is reinstating the Rev. Michael Pfleger to his post as senior pastor at St. Sabina Catholic Parish after an archdiocesan board found that “there is insufficient reason to suspect” Pfleger is guilty of allegations of sexual abuse, according to a letter from Cupich.
Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago reinstates Rev. Michael Pfleger after past sex abuse allegations
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, 71, will return to his position as senior pastor of the Faith Community of St. Sabina in Chicago on June 5, according to a letter from the Cardinal Blase Cupic.
In this July 7, 2018, file photo, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church on Chicago’s South Side, speaks to protesters before marching on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. In a letter written to the St. Sabina community, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich announced Jan. 5, 2021, that he has asked Pfleger to step aside from his ministry after receipt of a sexual abuse allegation of a minor by Pfleger more than 40 years earlier. (AP Photo/Annie Rice, File)