Pfleger reinstated after abuse investigation

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a nationally known activist priest, will be reinstated as the leader of his South Side parish after an investigation found “insufficient reason to suspect” he sexually abused children, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday.The decision from the archdiocese comes more than four months after it asked Pfleger to step aside and told his parish that its Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review had received an allegation that the priest had sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago. Three accusers ultimately came forward, with one saying he was 18 when Pfleger sexually abused him.Pfleger, who is white, had fierce support from leaders and parishioners at St. Sabina, a Black church in the city’s largely Black and low-income Auburn Gresham neighborhood. Parishioners cheered as he arrived for a news conference outside St. Sabina on Monday afternoon, and Pfleger jokingly said he couldn’t believe how many people had left work to be there.He thanked church leaders and parishioners for supporting him in the “most difficult and challenging time” that made him frustrated, angry, depressed and discouraged.”I’m a man of faith but I’m also a human being who hurts and who bleeds,” he said. “I’ve been discouraged at times. I wanted to give up … but I love this church too much to walk away.”Eugene Hollander, an attorney for the accusers, said his clients were disheartened and were considering whether to file a lawsuit.”You had not one, not two, but three victims of alleged molestation,” he said. “They are of course very, very disappointed with the findings.”In a letter to the parish, Cardinal Blase Cupich said he had accepted the finding of the Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review and the archdiocese’s Independent Review Board.Two brothers, both Black and now in their 60s, alleged in January that Pfleger groomed them as children and abused them at rectories in the Chicago area. They accused the priest of taking advantage of two Black boys who trusted him.A third man later accused Pfleger of grabbing his crotch over his clothes in 1979. The 59-year-old man said he was 18 at the time and pretended to sleep.None of the men have been publicly identified.While the third man, who lives outside Illinois, had been reluctant to tell his story, the brothers felt compelled to speak up, Hollander said.”For them to move forward and complete themselves, make themselves whole, they had to tell their stories,” he said.The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services completed its own review in February, concluding there was no credible evidence of child abuse or neglect by Pfleger. A spokesman said the agency cannot investigate allegations of abuse by an adult victim but focuses on whether children are currently at risk.Attorneys for the accusers and Pfleger have previously acknowledged a police investigation of the abuse allegations. Illinois has no statute of limitations for filing charges in major sex crimes.A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said its investigation is still open. A representative for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said police have not presented any information for the office to review or determine if criminal charges are appropriate.Pfleger was ordained in 1975 and assigned to St. Sabina Church, then became pastor six years later. He has been credited with reviving the parish. Dubbed “Father Mike” by parishioners, he is known nationally for his dramatic approach to activism aimed at chronic problems in the city, including defacement of alcohol and cigarette billboards and paying prostitutes to accept counseling.