The Rev. Michael Pfleger has been removed from his ministry at St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham, according to the Archdiocese of Chicago, as it investigates an accusation of sexual abuse of a minor from more than 30 years ago.
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Pfleger was previously accused of sexual abuse by three men in 2021 and one man in 2022. He vehemently denied the allegations and, after independent investigations, the Archdiocese of Chicago cleared him of wrongdoing.
In a letter to the congregation Saturday, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said that, in line with the Archdiocese’s child protection policies, the allegation has been reported to law enforcement authorities.
“I want to stress that the welfare of the children entrusted to our care is our paramount concern,” Cupich wrote. “The Archdiocese of Chicago takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously.”
Pfleger has served as pastor of St. Sabina Church since 1981. In his time there, he gained a reputation as an outspoken advocate for social justice.
In a statement on Facebook Saturday, Pfleger called the allegations “an absolute lie.”
“Let me be clear, sexual abuse is wrong and I realize that the Catholic Church has a long history of not dealing with accusations and has spent a number of years putting strong policies in place, but I have said countless times I believe the current policy is wrong and unfair to the accused priest,” Pfleger said in the statement.
Pfleger said the Archdiocese informed him of the allegations on Thursday. The accuser is a woman who went to school at St. Sabina, he said, and alleges that he sexually abused her sometime between 1993 and 1995.
“I have no memory of this girl nor do countless others who have been at St. Sabina for those years,” Pfleger said.
“I believe this is another attempt and another attack by those who have sought to destroy me for years and another attempt by someone to get money from the Archdiocese and to silence me,” he added.
In another statement on Facebook Monday, Pfleger said the Archdiocese’s investigation will be expedited.
“If it is not over very soon, I will make a decision,” he wrote.
Emotions ran high at a packed Sunday morning Mass at St. Sabina. As they left the church, parishioners expressed support for Pfleger and called for his return.
“We’re connected to our pastor and he belongs here. Every Sunday he misses is painful,” said Susan Akpede, a parishioner of 33 years. “You’re ripping him away from us, his home, his community.”
“They keep doing the same thing over and over,” she added.
Joyce Maltba, a member of St. Sabina’s Church for 15 years, said she made a point to attend this Sunday to show her support for Pfleger.
“I’m so distraught,” she said. “I just had to be here today because I hurt for him.”
Pfleger has faced allegations of sexual abuse multiple times in the past. In 2021, he was accused of molesting two preteen brothers during the early 1970s while serving as choir director at Precious Blood Catholic Church in the Near West Side. Months later, a third accuser alleged that, when he was 18, Pfleger made an unwanted sexual advance in the priest’s bedroom area at St. Sabina Church in 1979.
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Pfleger was reinstated after an archdiocese panel found “insufficient reason to suspect” that he was guilty of the allegations.
Pfleger was accused of sexual abuse again in 2022, by a man who alleged that the priest sexually abused him at St. Sabina Church in the late 1980s. He was reinstated after an investigation by the diocese determined that the allegations were unfounded.
Mary Ann Watson, a parishioner of 10 years, said she will continue to stand by Pfleger.
“He’s been a very devoted pastor and it’s unfair that they keep doing this,” she said. “God ain’t brought him this far to let him go.”