Activist Catholic priest Michael Pfleger again accused of sexual abuse

(RNS) — The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a well-known anti-gun activist priest, has been accused of child sexual abuse and removed from ministry while the allegation is investigated, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced on Saturday (July 11). Pfleger “strongly denied” the allegation, which comes after archdiocesan reviews with outside investigators cleared him of four previous accusations of decades-old abuse, which were all found in the last five years to be unsubstantiated.

Pfleger, 77, is the longtime pastor of St. Sabina Parish, a predominantly African American parish, and he has been at the helm of several prominent, sometimes controversial, activism campaigns. Last month, he called on President Donald Trump to restore gun violence prevention funding to the City of Chicago and told Trump to “shut up,” referring to a social media post in which the president claimed he could fix violence in Chicago.

In a July 11 Facebook post, Pfleger said Chicago’s vicar for priests told him the recent allegation was made by a woman who said she went to elementary school at St. Sabina and that she was abused by Pfleger “at some time” between 1993 to 1995.

“This is an absolute lie,” Pfleger…