Father Michael Pfleger, a senior pastor at Saint Sabina Parish in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood, has been removed from his leadership position amid a new accusation of child sex abuse. The Archdiocese of Chicago is investigating the claim, which alleges that Pfleger abused a girl when she was a student at Saint Sabina School between 1993 and 1995.

Pfleger has denied the accusation, calling it an “absolute lie” and suggesting that it is an attempt to silence him due to his social and political advocacy. He has faced four previous accusations of sexual abuse during his time at Saint Sabina.

Previous Accusations

In October 2022, Pfleger was temporarily removed from his role as investigators looked into a claim that he had sexually abused a boy while the boy was a minor more than 30 years ago. In January 2021, two brothers came forward alleging that Pfleger had groomed and sexually abused them for years, beginning when they were around 12 and 13 years old. A third man accused Pfleger of abusing him in the 1970s when the man was 18 years old.

Pfleger was reinstated after the previous allegations were investigated, with the archdiocese finding no evidence of wrongdoing. His return to the pulpit in 2021 was met with huge crowds of supporters.

The current investigation is ongoing, and the archdiocese has asked Pfleger to step aside from his role at the parish and live off campus while the accusation is being investigated.

Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.