(24 May 2021) Nationally known activist Chicago priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger will be reinstated as the leader of his parish after an investigation found "no reason to suspect" he sexually abused children.
Pfleger was surrounded by dozens of supporters as he held a press conference outside the church Monday afternoon following an announcement by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
The archdiocese said in January that leaders asked Pfleger to step aside after its Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review received an allegation that Pfleger sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago.
Cardinal Blase Cupich said he had accepted the finding of the office and the archdiocese's Independent Review Board and was reinstating Pfleger as the South Side parish's pastor.
Pfleger told reporters "I'm a man of faith, but I'm also a human being who hurts and who bleeds. I've been discouraged at times. I wanted to give up," adding "but I love this church too much to walk away from it."
Leaders and parishioners at St. Sabina fiercely supported Pfleger after the allegations first surfaced in January.
Three men accused Pfleger of sexually abusing them decades ago. Parishioners tied up the archdiocese's phone lines, held rallies, sent letters and threatened to withhold $100,000 in monthly dues.
Pfleger was ordained in 1975 and was assigned to St. Sabina Church that same year.
He became pastor six years later and has been credited with reviving the parish.
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