Mrs. Pfleger leads the first mass since his reinstatement

CHICAGO – “Keep fighting. Keep believing. Keep trying. Keep getting up.”

That was Father Michael Pfleger’s message to parishioners at Saint Sabina Catholic Church on Sunday morning, commemorating the pastor’s return after he was released Saturday by the Archdiocese of Chicago following a second round of child sex abuse allegations in as many years had been reinstated.

“Why do you keep coming back?” Ms. Pfleger on the allegations. “What I said when I preached today, the enemy keeps coming to bring you down. What is interesting is that it is the same lawyer.”

Attorney Eugene Hollander, who represented all three clients who brought sex abuse claims against the head pastor, said he and his clients had a solid case against Fr. Pfleger.

“I think it’s extremely important to look at all the evidence together and not just at my current client,” Hollander said. “My two former clients presented a third corroborating witness last year. I think the amount of evidence we had regarding Father Pfleger’s abuse was extraordinary.”

An archdiocesan independent review panel investigated the allegations and in a letter following the completion of their investigation, Cardinal Blase Cupich said, “The panel concluded that there is no basis for Father Pfleger to be guilty of these allegations.”

Ms. Pfleger was reinstated immediately afterwards.

Hollander said he would like an explanation as to why the archdiocese believed his clients’ allegations to be unfounded.