The Rev. Michael Pfleger, the senior pastor of the St. Sabina Parish in Chicago, has stepped aside from his ministry after another allegation of sexual abuse against him surfaced. 

“The abuse is alleged to have occurred more than 30 years ago. In keeping with our child protection policies, Father Pfleger has been asked to step aside from ministry and live away from the parish while the allegation is investigated. He has agreed to cooperate fully with this request,” Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, said in a letter to the St. Sabina Parish community.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the 73-year-old priest’s accuser is a man in his late 40s who claims Pfleger sexually abused him twice in the late 1980s during choir rehearsals.

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Pfleger denied the allegation, saying, “Let me be clear – I am completely innocent of this accusation. While I am confident that the new allegation will also be determined to be unfounded, this process is so unfair and painful to me and to the community I serve.”

Who is Michael Pfleger?

Michael Pfleger is a German American from the South Side of Chicago who attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Loyola University and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago on May 14, 1975.

Since 1981, he has been pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, a Black parish in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood. He has been an outspoken advocate against gun violence, gangs, poverty and racism.

Pfleger has been one of the best known critics of The Jerry Springer Show, a controversial TV program. In 1998, he had organized a boycott of the show’s advertisers.

“[Springer is] glorifying violence every day…. Calling a woman a ho and a bitch is sick. This is not normal behavior”, he declared. 

He has been the subject of a number of controversies, mostly involving his public comments and allegations of sexual abuse.

On January 5, 2021, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that Pfleger was removed from active ministry due to an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor which took place over 40 years ago. The same year, several other accusers came forward. 

On May 24, 2021, following an investigation, the Archdiocese of Chicago said Pfleger would be reinstated as pastor. Cardinal Cupich wrote: “The review board has concluded that there is insufficient reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations.”

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Currently, an investigation is underway over the latest accusation that surfaced.

In 1981, Pfleger adopted an eight-year-old son, Lamar. In 1992, he adopted another son, Beronti, who attended the University of Central Florida before his sudden death on May 20, 2012.

In 1997, Pfleger became the foster father to Jarvis Franklin, who was killed by stray gunfire on May 30, 1998.