Father Michael Pfleger, the longtime pastor at St. Sabina Church and one of the most prominent priests in Chicago, has been removed from the Auburn Gresham parish following revelations of a decades-old sexual abuse allegation against a minor.
Cardinal Blase Cupich announced “the difficult news” in a letter to the St. Sabina community Tuesday, saying he has “asked Father Pfleger to step aside from ministry following receipt by the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor more than 40 years ago.”
Cupich said Pfleger agreed to his request and will live away from the parish during the course of the archdiocese’s investigation. The allegation has also been reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, Cupich said.
Pfleger did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
Pleger, an outspoken anti-gun violence advocate, has served as pastor at St. Sabina Church since 1981. In the decades since his appointment, he has become one of Chicago’s most well-known voices against gun violence, leading annual “peace marches” that routinely draw hundreds of attendees, including the likes of Chance the Rapper and survivors of the Parkland school shooting.
His latest march came as recently as New Year’s Eve, when he led about 150 people down Michigan Avenue to plead for city leaders to recognize the “virus of violence.”
Father Thulani Magwaza will take over the administration of St. Sabina Church while authorities investigate the allegations against Pfleger, Cupich said.
