Is this a Catholic priest?

When the whole Rev. Wright issue took over the news, I was relieved to be Catholic and not to have to witness such display of divisiveness during Mass or even outside of it… Well, that was short-lived–this is truly an embarrassment.  There is definitely a good case for priests to stay out of politics.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 8:29 am and is filed under Election, Katerina Ivanovna, Orthodoxy, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

24 Responses to “Is this a Catholic priest?”

  1. Todd says:
    May 30, 2008 at 9:26 am

    I used to live in Chicago for many years. He has done things like this for years. It just now happens to be on a national stage.

  2. Morning's Minion says:
    May 30, 2008 at 9:54 am

    Pfleger is a peculiar character. He’s stubborn, egotistical, and his liturgies seem more protestant than Catholic. On the other hand, he has done great things for inner city Chicago.

  3. Nick says:
    May 30, 2008 at 10:38 am

    By their fruits ye shall know them. Or is that fruitcake?

  4. Irenaeus says:
    May 30, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    I wouldn’t say it’s a reason for staying out of politics. Abusus non tollit usum, right? Rather, I think it’s an example of being involved in politics poorly.

  5. Christopher says:
    May 30, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    Apart from the content of his political rant, he seems to have adopted the mannerisms and characteristics of Black preaching — unusual for a Catholic priest (in a “Catholic” parish; one can only speculate what their Masses look like) but I can see how it would happen if he were ministering to a predominantly black audience.

    Another example might be Catholic priests in India whose outward appearance or behavior mimic their surroundings, or Jesuits who behave like Buddhists.

  6. Alice Roddy says:
    May 30, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    He may have “done great things for inner city Chicago” but at what price. When people speak in stereotypes and prejudice, they perpetuate the evil of racial discrimination.

    If the children in the congregation grow up fearing all whites, and unable to distinguish between those who will give them a fair shake and those who won’t, then the children have been damaged. Prejudice is hurtful whoever it comes from.

  7. Katerina says:
    May 30, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    Alice, you’re absolutely right.

  8. Blackadder says:
    May 30, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    Cardinal George has issued a statement on the matter.

  9. Katerina says:
    May 30, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    Thanks, BA.

    You know what… there is something very interesting about this incident in the sense that people are appalled that it is a CATHOLIC priest that is doing this… I’ve heard morning shows talking about it not being able to believe it. In a sense, there is so much that is expected from the clergy even by those who are not Catholics or do not consider themselves as believers

  10. Sam Rocha says:
    May 30, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    I spent an afternoon listening to Rev Wright’s talk to the press a few weeks ago and I didn’t find it as sexy as the media did… While Cornel West offers a better, albeit still very problematic, account, this priests’ comments sound illogical and grounded in very shaky foundations. Frankly, I think Wrights points should be paid some attention to, but this cleric’s sermon was nothing more than grandstanding in an effort to continue an identity that fuels his ministry and his ego…

  11. Christopher says:
    May 30, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    this cleric’s sermon was nothing more than grandstanding in an effort to continue an identity that fuels his ministry and his ego…

    To his credit, Fr. Plfeger has campaigned against The Jerry Springer Show and “shock jock” Howard Stern for their glorification of debauchery; he runs an outreach program to prostitutes in his area (controversial, in that he encouraged parishioners to “buy their time” — paying off their pimps so they can seek counseling and job-placement programs); he has also campaigned against sexism and violence in rap music.

    On the other hand, Back in June 2007, Cardinal George had to admonish Fr. Pfleger for a remark about a Chicago gun-shop owner: “We’re going to find you and snuff you out. Like a rat you’re going to hide. But like a rat, we’re going to catch you and pull you out.” (Pleger claims he was ignorant of the meaning of the phrase).

    “To avoid months of turmoil in the church, Fr. Pfleger has promised me that he will not enter into campaigning, will not publicly mention any candidate by name and will abide by the discipline common to all catholic priests.”

    Let’s hope Pfleger will abide.

  12. Morning's Minion says:
    May 30, 2008 at 3:31 pm

    Actually, Pfleger’s campaign against gun stores is also something to be commended.

  13. Christopher says:
    May 30, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    Actually, Pfleger’s campaign against gun stores is also something to be commended.

    Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale has been the frequent site of anti-gun protests.

    In fact, statistics from an anti-gun advocacy group showed that from 1996-2000 Chuck’s sold at least 2,000 weapons that were recovered in crimes, but that gun shop and its owner haven’t faced prosecution because of the difficulty of figuring out who is a straw purchaser and who is legitimate.

    “If all of the records, books and records and acquisitions are in place, we’re limited to what we could do other than to educate them as far as the sale of weapons to maybe a straw purchaser,” Ahern said.

    If the customer has met all the legal requirements for purchase, the gun owner cannot be faulted for selling — IMHO, it speaks more of a problem with the laws that are currently in place:

    Thomas Mannard, of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, said he would like to see changes including licensing of all gun sellers and criminal background checks on all gun purchasers.

    Amusing, however, that a priest campaigning against violent lyrics in rap music would himself resort to violent speech against a gun owner. Hard to believe that one hailing from a city like Chicago would not know the phrase “snuff out”. ;-)

  14. Morning's Minion says:
    May 30, 2008 at 4:30 pm

    What about actually banning the sale and ownership of hand guns?

  15. Christopher says:
    May 30, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    What about actually banning the sale and ownership of hand guns?

    No thanks.

  16. tanyajomiller says:
    May 30, 2008 at 9:18 pm

    Maybe he was jealous of Wright soaking up all the love & wanted his day in the sun (or is that spotlight)

  17. Michael J. Iafrate says:
    May 30, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    I have a blog post in the works on this topic, and on Wright, and on priests “being too political.”

  18. Morning's Minion says:
    May 31, 2008 at 1:11 am

    Christopher: do you oppose the USCCB position on gun control?

  19. Christopher says:
    May 31, 2008 at 2:57 am

    You mean this?:

    In Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration, the bishops reiterated their support for legislative efforts that seek to protect society from the violence associated with easy access to deadly weapons. “As bishops, we support measures that control the sale and use of firearms and make them safer (especially efforts that prevent their unsupervised use by children and anyone other than the owner), and we reiterate our call for sensible regulation of handguns.”

    Which is not an outright ban on civilian ownership and use of firearms per se and seems perfectly reasonable to me.

  20. Don’t stay out of politics, Father « Vox Nova says:
    May 31, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    [...] communion to “pro-choice” politicians. The latest target of this charge, of course, is Fr. Michael Pfleger, whose ministry has been criticized for being “too political” for a variety of reasons, [...]

  21. Alice Roddy says:
    May 31, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    Are those of you who favor banning or greatly restricting hand guns aware that jurisdictions allowing concealed carry have lower rates of violent crime? Criminals unable to determine who may be carrying are deterred from assaulting because their victim may prove to be armed. For all the gun regulation now on the books, and honored only by the law abiding, there is precious little evidence it achieves its end or that more would be helpful.
    Gun free zones attract the violently inclined because they know no one else is likely to be armed. An armed marksman on the VA Tech Campus could have saved a number of lives last year.

  22. Michael J. Iafrate says:
    May 31, 2008 at 8:04 pm

    An armed marksman on the VA Tech Campus could have saved a number of lives last year.

    That’s exactly the kind of society I want to live in: snipers everywhere.

  23. catholicanarchy.org » Don’t stay out of politics, Father! says:
    May 31, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    [...] communion to “pro-choice” politicians. The latest target of this charge, of course, is Fr. Michael Pfleger, whose ministry has been criticized for being “too political” for a variety of reasons, [...]

  24. L Weiss says:
    June 9, 2008 at 1:16 pm

    to file a complaint to the Vatican, contact:

    The St Joseph Foundation
    11107 Wurzbach Suite 601B · San Antonio, Texas 78230-2570
    Telephone: (210) 697-0717 · Fax: (210) 699-9439