Jun 5, 2008 6:27 pm US/Central
Parishioners, Cardinal Discuss Pfleger Suspension
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Father Michael Pfleger, pastor of Chicago's St. Sabina church.
CBS
Saint Sabina parishioners are demanding their pastor back, and Thursday evening met with Francis Cardinal George to try to convince him to reverse his decision suspending Fr. Michael Pfleger.
Pfleger was forced to step down earlier this week. As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, the 2 ½ hour meeting broke up just before 6 p.m., with neither side having very much to say about the outcome.
The parishioners had gone to the Archdiocese to demand Pfleger's reinstatement, arguing all the good he was doing at Saint Sabina far outweighed what he said one Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ.
They wanted him back to preside over graduations and weddings. His absence, they said, would punish them as much as it would him.
Arriving for the meeting, the parishioners took a low-key approach. The meeting was with Cardinal George; accompanied by Bishop William Perry, who handles the South Side; and Fr. William Vanecko, the priest named temporary administrator at Saint Sabina when the Cardinal asked Fr. Pfleger to step aside.
It is still unknown how long that sabbatical will last; a few weeks, the Cardinal said.
Pfleger has moved out of the church's rectory.
It is doubtful that the Cardinal would give in on the issue, but whether some middle ground was reached is not yet clear.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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