Talk:Michael Pfleger

Pfleger calling America a sin
There's objection to including this information, despite it receiving broad attention on the blogosphere and some in traditional media markets. I think that it warrants inclusion and would like to get additional opinions. Trilemma (talk) 02:15, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm still hesitant to include it. This is a BLP, so I don't want to flood it with negative information unless that information is extensively documented by the mainstream media. There are only a handful of Google News hits at the moment: . Besides, he said in a statement that he misspoke: . Zagalejo^^^ 02:27, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Doesn't the fact that he had to later amend his statement suggest that it was noteworthy enough to include, to begin with? ;) Trilemma (talk) 02:28, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Heh. Well, it's borderline notable. I'll give you that. If you reintroduce the material with more context (ie, include Pfleger's explanation), I probably won't remove it. But my personal philosophy when watching this article has been to limit the "Criticism" section to incidents in which Pfleger was censured by the cardinal (or someone even more famous, like Obama). I don't want the article to turn into a list of every little thing Pfleger has ever done wrong. We should just stick to the important stuff, the events that will define his legacy. Zagalejo^^^ 02:40, 3 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Well, what type of contextualizing do you have in mind? Trilemma (talk) 13:08, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Explain that it was part of a discussion on racism. Also, provide some more information on the reaction to his statement, and Pfleger's response to that reaction. Zagalejo^^^ 17:58, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

To not include the fact that he gained 15 minutes of fame due to his Hillary Clinton impression and remarks would be irresponsible. He is now best known for these remarks. The speech he gave is what brought him to the national scene, in all honesty. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.94.42.235 (talk) 20:45, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The article does mention the Hillary remarks. They aren't his only claim to fame, though. If you look through the refs, you'll see that he was the subject of articles in the New York Times and National Catholic Reporter long before the current controversy. Heck, the guy was mentioned in a Canadian newspaper five years ago for his work on the south side of Chicago. Zagalejo^^^ 20:51, 3 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Ok, so how about: Additionally, in a sermon discussing racism, Pfleger said, "I also believe that America is the greatest sin against God." He went on to say, "If the greatest command is to love, than the sin against love must be the greatest sin against God who IS love and who calls us to love one another. So that this greatest sin against God, racism, it's as natural as the air we breath." Trilemma (talk) 23:10, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
 * OK, that's a start. But we should also mention something about the reaction to his quote; otherwise, it's not clear why the quote would be worth mentioning in the Wikipedia article. Zagalejo^^^ 03:03, 4 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Do you mean the reaction in the blogosphere, or the response from the Obama camp and the such? Trilemma (talk) 13:39, 4 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, any reaction that was recorded in a reliable source would do. If there's a newspaper article talking about the blog comments, then you could say that the comments caused a stir in the blogosphere, or something like that. I'd be hesitant to cite a blog directly (especially a partisan blog). Zagalejo^^^ 18:00, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Pastor v priest
Since when are Catholic priests pastors? This is a Protestant word. Does he use it himself? Intelligent Mr Toad (talk) 06:56, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
 * It's not exclusively Protestant. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, at least, parish priests are called "pastors". Pfleger is referred to as "pastor" in this statement from Cardinal George: . Zagalejo^^^ 07:35, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The creeping protestantisation of the American Catholic Church continues...
 * Catholic priests have been referred to as pastors for decades. Zagalejo^^^ 18:04, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The creeping protestantisation of the American Catholic Church has been happening for decades. Intelligent Mr Toad (talk) 20:49, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
 * A pastor is the head of a church in a diocese. Not all priests are pastors, many parishes have more than one priest, and only one is the pastor (the others are called associate pastors or parochial vicars).  The pastor is responsible for his parish.  This is not any sort of "protestantisation".  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.173.127.112 (talk) 14:13, 26 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Growing up Catholic I only heard it used as an adjective to describe clergy, e.g. a bishop's work with his cathedral's congregation as his "pastoral ministry". But personally I think the word sounds stupid and I don't even use it in reference to low-church Protestant clergy, I call them ministers like a normal person.  "Pastor" is to minister as "pop" is to soda, IMO. Wormwoodpoppies (talk) 20:53, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Redirect link for misspelling
Someone should set up a redirect for "Father Flager" to this page. Many people who have only heard the name would never guess its actual spelling.

It's kind of strange, a half hour ago I typed in Rev. Michael Pfleger was directed to this page, now all the sudden the "Rev." has been removed. Rev. Michael is still a Reverend despite being suspended, therefore the "Rev." should be put back.

Chi-Raq
Rev. Pfleger is official advisor on the movie 'Chi-Raq,' and an important character is the movie played by John Cusack is based on Rev. Pfleger. The director Spike Lee just made a big deal on Meet The Press about Rev. Pfleger's role with the movie. Jrgilb (talk) 17:19, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

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Occultism evidence?
Twice in the article it says Pfleger was suspended after evidence showed him "practicing occultism" but no sources are cited. I haven't been able to find any reporting about this. The claim should be substantiated or removed. 143.229.44.177 (talk) 18:27, 21 March 2023 (UTC)