DCFS closes investigation; Pfleger still not allowed back at St. Sabina
The conclusion of an investigation by Illinois’ child welfare agency into a report of decades-old molestation claims against the Rev. Michael Pfleger does not mean the beloved activist pastor will be returning to his ministry anytime soon, the Chicago Archdiocese confirmed Friday.
In fact, archdiocese officials noted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services review had little to do with the heart of the allegations, saying it simply confirmed that under state law the agency may only make a finding about whether credible evidence of abuse or neglect exists in cases where a child is currently involved.
Both of Pfleger’s accusers are now in their 60s.
His supporters have rallied for his return to St. Sabina Church in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood for several weeks, ever since allegations surfaced in January that he sexually abused two brothers beginning nearly five decades ago.
On Friday, attorneys for Pfleger released a letter he received that day from DCFS confirming its investigation concluded as “unfounded” and that his name will not be added as a perpetrator on the state’s child abuse and neglect central registry.
“This means that no credible evidence of child abuse or neglect was found during this investigation,” the DCFS letter to Pfleger reads. “This does not necessarily mean that an incident did not occur. An incident may have occurred but the evidence did not rise to the level required to indicate for abuse or neglect as dictated by state law and DCFS administrative rule.”
The archdiocese also made public a similar letter it received from the state agency. A spokesperson downplayed the significance of the “unfounded” finding, noting the limitations of the DCFS investigation under the law.
“The Independent Review Board of the archdiocese will conduct its investigation into the allegations and will communicate its findings in due course,” an archdiocese spokesperson said. “Fr. Pfleger will remain away from the parish pending the outcome of that process.”
Pfleger’s attorneys, James Figliulo and Michael Monico, said Friday that he should be allowed to return to the church. Figliulo called the archdiocese response to the DCFS finding “misleading” and “attempts to minimize the significance of the very investigation and report that the archdiocese itself has cited as a reason for delaying its decision to return Father Pfleger to St Sabina’s.”
“The archdiocese knows that Father Pfleger is not a risk to anyone,” the attorney continued, “and that these 45-year-old allegations are not supported by any evidence other than the uncorroborated statements from two brothers from Texas, one of whom started this after sending a blackmail letter to Father Pfleger …”
Pfleger, 71, has remained silent about the allegations except for various comments on social media. His attorneys said the claims are false, concocted out of greed in hopes of receiving a financial settlement.
In his latest social media comments, Pfleger declared his innocence.
“When this is over, which i hope is soon i will have much more to say,” he wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.
In a lengthy January interview, the men told the Tribune that Pfleger molested them dozens of times over several years. They said the abuse began in the 1970s after they joined the choir of Precious Blood Catholic Church near their West Side childhood home. Pfleger was a seminary student at the time.
The brothers, who live in Texas and have asked not to be publicly named, said they were victimized in Pfleger’s rectory bedrooms at three churches including St. Sabina, where the priest has been assigned since his May 1975 ordination.
His supporters have called on the archdiocese to investigate the allegations swiftly so he can return to the church. His supporters and lawyers have referenced a letter the younger brother sent that sought $20,000 from Pfleger, calling it akin to extortion.
Pfleger was a young seminary student, serving as choir director, when the brothers met him in the 1970s. The brothers, who are Black, said they were in their preteens when the abuse began.
The older man, 63, is a former police sergeant and U.S. Air Force veteran. The younger brother, 61, said he struggled with years of drug addiction, leading to several stints in prison, but he is now a licensed substance abuse counselor.
The man said he viewed the request for $20,000 as a potential way to prove Pfleger had abused him. What motivated him to finally come forward, he said, was that he hit his 12-year sobriety mark and wanted to be honest about his own past traumas while counseling others in recovery.
DCFS officials declined to comment on the investigation and its outcome but agency spokesman Bill McCaffrey confirmed the law does not permit DCFS to investigate allegations of child abuse or neglect made by an adult victim.
“DCFS can only determine whether there is a current child victim,” he said.
The men’s lawyer, Eugene Hollander, said neither of the brothers were interviewed by DCFS and the agency’s findings “have no bearing on the legal proceedings involving my clients or whether the Archdiocese of Chicago will remove Father Pfleger from his ministry.”