The recent news of Cardinal Francis George’s rehabilitation of dissident Chicago archdiocesan priest, Fr. Michael Pfleger, after his public refusal to be transferred as the 30-year pastor of St. Sabina’s Church, clearly shows that the Church is awash in a crisis. Indeed, this crisis goes so deep that it renders the bishops impotent to deal with such cases of grossly disobedient and unorthodox priests. The combination of these facts also reinforces the reality that despite certain recent actions in favor of Tradition, a state of necessity clearly still exists.

Perhaps none of these activities or positions should come as a surprise since Fr. Pfleger was ordained in 1975. This was without a doubt one of the worst periods of “priestly” formation throughout the world, particularly in the Chicago archdiocese. He received his training there during a period when the seminaries of Quigley and Mundelein had infamous reputations.

Unfortunately, dissident clergy have been institutionalized in the post-conciliar Church and their harmful actions are often winked at even by their superiors. In fact, is not the recent publication of Universae Ecclesiae a proof of the hierarchy’s disobedience to the Holy Father’s dictates in Summorum Pontificum?

Is it any surprise when a bishop (or cardinal in this case) attempts to discipline one of his wayward priests only to find his episcopal gauntlets shackled and his attempts to extract the virtue of obedience denied? Even sadder is the fact that the ecclesiastical authorities refuse to see that the cause of this universal breakdown of authority in the Catholic Church stems from the error of collegiality as taught by the Second Vatican Council. If one strikes the shepherd, the sheep will naturally scatter.

Footnote

1 A visit to the website of St. Sabina’s Church, so-called “The Faith Community”, will reveal an inability to find—amidst a plethora of social apostolates—how to obtain the sacraments. In fact, there is no mention of the Mass anywhere! But at least this is not a deception, and while we may certainly doubt the legitimacy of the rite used at this parish, we may—echoing the prediction in the Ottaviani Intervention (ff 18)—even doubt its validity: "Will priests of the near future who have not received the traditional formation, and who rely on the Novus Ordo with the intention of "doing what the Church does," consecrate validly? One may be allowed to doubt it".

These videos demonstrate the radical and unorthodox behavior of Fr. Pfleger; are not any of these actions alone enough to warrant some sort of disciplinary action?