“Now let’s hear from the man,” Walsh said, before having Lymore come up to read a letter from Pfleger.
After reading Pfleger’s letter, in which the priest criticized the archdiocese for treating accused priests as “guilty until proved innocent,” Lymore said the parish remained loyal to its pastor and committed to its ongoing ministry.
“Just as last time, we are going to continue to stand on faith,” she said, adding, “we are going to pray that this process will be quick.”
In an email to RNS, Lymore said she did not see Walsh crumple the cardinal’s letter and could not speak to his intentions. She also said in a phone interview that the church does not believe the allegations are credible.
During the service on Sunday, church member Glenda Lashley prayed for the person making the allegations of abuse, that they would be released from “whatever manipulation spirit is controlling them.”
Lymore said the church believes the allegations are part of a spiritual attack. She said the person making the allegation is made in God’s image and loved by God — and the church bears them no ill will but wants to see the person released from whatever prompted them to accuse Pfleger.
A statement on behalf of Walt Whitman Jr., director of the Soul Children of Chicago, a choir that rehearses at St. Sabina, was also read at the service, as the allegation of abuse involves someone who had been involved with that choir.
“Dr. Walter Whitman and the Soul Children denounce the recent allegation and support Father Pfleger as a man of integrity,” read the statement, which is posted on the parish’s Facebook page.
Mike McDonnell, a spokesman for SNAP, an abuse survivors network, said religious communities often rally behind popular, high-profile religious figures like Pfleger and fail to take allegations against them seriously. He added that false allegations against clergy are extraordinarily rare.
He was dismayed at the response by St. Sabina to the allegations, adding that church leaders still refuse to hold abusers accountable.
“For any church official, any church administrator to dismiss allegations that have been brought forth or to treat them as a piece of trash shows how ignorant they are toward clergy sex abuse survivors and to the scandal itself,” he said.
During the service Walsh turned his sermon into a full-throated appeal in support of Pfleger, comparing him to the biblical figure Moses. He urged the congregation to continue to pray for their pastor.
Then he had the congregation turn to the web camera at the back of the church and raise their hands in prayer.
“Father Mike, this is your army,” Walsh said. “These are your warriors. This is the persistence of a people who believe in the power of God. Who have faith and who want you to know that you’re not going to go through this alone.”
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This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
