Barack Obama had previously said that both Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger were "spiritual" guides and/or advisers and had helped him maintain his "moral compass".
After the Wright fiasco, Barack Obama denounced Wright's words but not the man, saying Wright was "like family" to him. Then Wright went public claiming that Obama was only distancing himself from him because it was politically expedient and then Obama went public and denounced the man himself.
The Pfleger made his appearance at Trinity United Church with a sermon you can see below, saying Hilary Clinton only cried because she felt she was "entitled" to win the Democratic nomination for presidency because she was "white".
Text:
"I really don't believe it was put on. I always thought she felt 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife. I'm white. And this is mine. I just got to get up and step into the plate,'" he said. "And then out of nowhere came, 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama.' And she said, 'Oh damn, where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show.'"
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Obama rapidly resigned from Trinity, with some saying he did so to avoid further embarrassment about the the words of those that run or guest speak at the church he has belonged to for almost 20 years.
Michael Pfleger has also told his congregation at St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church that his life had been threatened after his sermon was highly publicized.
The Archdiocese of Chicago released a statement that says:
To put recent events in some perspective, I have asked Father Michael Pfleger, Pastor of St. Sabina’s Parish, to step back from his obligations there and take leave for a couple of weeks from his pastoral duties, effective today. Fr. Pfleger does not believe this to be the right step at this time. While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the Church’s regulations for all Catholic priests. I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns.
I hope also that the life of St. Sabina’s parish may continue in uninterrupted fashion. Fr. William Vanecko, Pastor of St. Kilian’s parish, will be temporary administrator of St. Sabina’s and will assure the full complement of ministerial services during this period. I ask the members of St. Sabina’s parish to cooperate with him and to keep him and Fr. Pfleger in their prayers. They are in mine.
Before this latest statement, the Archdiocese of Chicago, had issued another statement, on May 30, 2008, which addressed Pfleger's politically motivated speech, saying that "The Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates. Consequently, while a priest must speak to political issues that are also moral, he may not endorse candidates nor engage in partisan campaigning.
Racial issues are both political and moral and are also highly charged. Words can be differently interpreted, but Fr. Pfleger’s remarks about Senator Clinton are both partisan and amount to a personal attack. I regret that deeply.
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."
The Archdiocese of Chicago did what they thought was best and the questions I am seeing asked in many articles is how Barack Obama could allow himself to be led "spiritually" for so many years by religious figures as divisive and filled with what many consider to be offensive racially charged sermons.
That is a question that only Barack Obama can answer.
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