‘I will not be silenced,’ Rev. Michael Pfleger vows after fifth abuse allegation cleared

(RNS) — The Rev. Michael Pfleger returned to the steps of his Southside Chicago Catholic parish on Wednesday (Aug. 26) to his flock’s chants of “Father Mike!” and a message for those he believes have tried to silence him: He is not going anywhere.

Two days after Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich announced that an independent review had found no reason to believe Pfleger was guilty of a new sexual abuse allegation, the activist priest held a boisterous news conference to vow that the accusations would not end his decades-long campaign against social injustices.

“I will not be silent, and I will not be silenced,” he said, declaring he would continue to speak against the “genocide” in Gaza, the mistreatment of immigrants, the dismantling of the Voter Rights Act, the war in Iran and a “war on the poor in poverty.”

This is the fifth allegation against Pfleger that archdiocesan investigators have found to be unsubstantiated.

Cupich wrote in an Aug. 24 letter to the faithful of St. Sabina parish, “The Review Board has concluded there is no reason to believe Father Pfleger is guilty of this allegation. After careful consideration I have accepted their conclusion and have reinstated…