Chicago, Ill., May 23, 2011 / 14:47 pm
Cardinal Francis George has reinstated controversial Chicago priest Fr. Michael Pfleger. The St. Sabina pastor said he did not intend a public remark to be a threat to leave the priesthood and that he was sorry for how his comment appeared.
“I am committed to the priesthood and the Catholic Church,” Fr. Pfleger said in a May 20 statement. “I believe all who know me know well that I want to be a Catholic priest. I have spent the last 36 years of my life trying my best to preach the Gospel, be a voice for justice and the poor, and build up the Church.”
He said he and the cardinal recognized that the Church has been “hurt.” Fr. Pfleger pledged to do “all in my power to foster healing” for the people of his parish, St. Sabina’s, and for the Church as a whole.
Cardinal George said the statement was “a genuine step toward healing the hurt and clarifying the confusion.”