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	Punishing Pfleger, Protecting Law By Carol Marin Chicago Sun-Times May 1, 2011 http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/5092582-417/punishing-pfleger-protecting-law.html The Rev. Michael Pfleger is in big trouble. And there is a madness and sadness to it all. Last week, Chicago Cardinal Francis George publicly suspended Pfleger for what amounts to insubordination. Pfleger is being punished for pushing back against the cardinal's control and authority as George tries to move him out of St. Sabina parish on the South Side. And reassign him elsewhere. Although pastors are often moved from parish to parish in 12-year cycles, there have always been some exceptions. Moreover, if you consider the astounding level of special treatment the Catholic Church has conferred on certain members of its hierarchy, the Pfleger "problem" pales in comparison. One of the most egregious examples is Cardinal Bernard Law. Law, a close colleague and friend of George, is an indelible symbol of the calamity and internal corruption of the pedophile crisis. As the head of the Boston diocese until 2002, Law protected clerical sex offenders, failed to protect innocent victims and willfully obstructed justice. He resigned and ran to Rome, where two Holy Fathers, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, provided him with a lovely life. Law will be in attendance with George and the rest of the College of Cardinals for the beatification of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square on Sunday. Meanwhile Pfleger, who has had no scandal attached to his name, gets suspended. For what? Working tirelessly for 30 years in the Auburn-Gresham community? Building a vibrant parish, school and residence for the elderly? Creating a business climate that caused Walgreens to come in and anchor a commercial corridor that once was dominated by shuttered storefronts and heroin markets? Pfleger's presence has been transformative. The Catholic Church has a strict standard by which to judge miracles and believes the soon-to-be-saint John Paul II performed them. African Americans on Chicago's South Side would be quick to argue that what Pfleger has done to fight violence, guns and the exploitation of the young by tobacco and alcohol distributors looks pretty darn miraculous to them. Pfleger, 61, has officiated at more than a dozen funerals of children and adults caught in the crossfire. The body count includes his own foster son, Jarvis Franklin, who was hit by a stray bullet in 1998. And Officer Michael R. Bailey, who was gunned down last July after finishing a shift guarding Mayor Daley's house. If only Cardinal George had shown up at one of those sorrowful services. And stood with Pfleger before the St. Sabina congregation as a shepherd come to comfort a grieving flock. The saga of Cardinal George and Father Pfleger is a series of squandered opportunities. Mike Pfleger, however vexing and controversial he has been, has been a faithful servant. Monsignor Ken Velo, who has known Pfleger since junior high school, calls him "a great priest and the face of the church to the black community." Transferring or punishing Pfleger serves only one purpose: to prove that even when a bishop is dead wrong, he still demands to be obeyed. I keep asking myself how in heaven's name a church that can accommodate an outlaw like Bernie Law can't do the same for Mike Pfleger. Contact: cmarin@suntimes.com
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