Father Michael Pfleger, the fiery Catholic priest of Saint Sabina Church on Chicago’s South Side,
CHICAGO:
Father Michael Pfleger, the fiery Catholic priest of Saint Sabina Church on Chicago’s South Side, has once again stepped into the national spotlight. This time, he is sounding the alarm over what he calls a moral and political emergency in the United States.
In a striking act of protest, Pfleger hung an upside-down American flag outside Saint Sabina, a traditional signal of distress. He said the gesture was not about disrespect but about urgency. “America is in distress,” he told reporters. “We are watching the dismantling of democracy, the assault on truth, and the targeting of the most vulnerable.”
Pfleger’s critique of President Donald Trump is sweeping. He has condemned the administration’s efforts to cut Medicaid and Medicare, its rollback of gun safety laws, and its attempts to suppress Black history education. He has also denounced the deployment of federal agents to cities like Chicago, calling it a militarized response to social unrest that threatens civil liberties.
At a recent rally in Daley Plaza, Pfleger stood before a crowd of faith leaders and activists and declared, “Mr. Trump, you have met your match.” He called on communities of faith to unite across racial and religious lines, urging them to resist policies that he believes are rooted in fear and division. “We will not be silent. We will not be intimidated. We will not be complicit,” he said.
The people of faith who are gathered here and rising up across this country want you to know you have met your match,” he told a cheering crowd on Monday, September 8.
“Your threats to invade Chicago, Illinois and to declare war on the rights and freedoms of citizens by ordering masked men in unmarked cars and kidnapping men, women and children and harassing people in our streets without representation or due process by naming them criminals without evidence or proof,” said Pfleger, will be challenged.
“Well, the real criminal with 34 felonies is sitting behind a golden desk ordering chaos. Mr. Trump, you have met your match,” he told an integrated, cheering crowd.
“We want you to know your insanity and intimidation will not intimidate us or frighten us; rather, it’s stirred up our faith and it’s rallying us together like the valley of dry bones.
“It’s connecting Black and white, brown and yellow, Muslims, Christians and Jews, young and old. We’re coming together as an army of faith, and we will not sit still, and we will not sit down.'
“We will rise up, stand up and speak up for the most vulnerable and those at risk,” vowed Pfleger. “Yes, Mr. Trump, you have met your match.”
Using a biblical reference Pfleger warned Trump, “Just as God destroyed the golden calf of our ancestors…he destroyed the golden calf of tyranny and fascism, Mr. Trump, you may control your incompetent cabinet that you appointed.
“You may control the pawns and weak-minded members of Congress and the Senate, and you may even control the spineless Supreme Court Justices, but you do not control the God we serve,” Pfleger said.
Looking across the crowd where protesters chanted, “Faith Over Fear,” and Peace is Unity,” Reverend Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, executive director for Live Life Illinois, said, “We have to walk away from here knowing that we are sisters and brothers in this struggle.
“When they come to attack or terrorize one, they come after all of us,” she said.
“And people that believe in truth and believe in justice and believe in democracy, we’re coming to let him know, not here. You’ve met your match, Trump,” Pfleger said.
Pfleger declared that the real violence comes from the White House, not the streets of Chicago. He pointed to Trump cutting food aid, Medicaid, and violence prevention funds while trying to militarize Black communities for political theater. Pfleger’s message: stop exploiting troops, stop the takeover plot, and confront the real violence of Trump himself.
Father Pfleger has long been known for his activism. Ordained in 1975, he became pastor of Saint Sabina in 1981 and quickly transformed the parish into a hub for social justice. He has led campaigns against gun violence, police brutality, and systemic racism. His work has earned him both praise and controversy, including clashes with church hierarchy and political leaders.
He does not see the pulpit as a place for comfort but as a platform for confrontation. “Faith is not passive,” he said. “It demands that we speak truth to power, even when it is unpopular.”
Father Pfleger rejects Trump’s Guard stunt: “Chicago is not in a state of emergency.”
“The real violence comes from the White House” — Pfleger flips the script on Trump.
Exposes hypocrisy: Trump cuts SNAP, Medicaid, and violence prevention while pushing militarization.
Calls it what it is: a political stunt and a takeover plot targeting Black America.
Pfleger’s message remains consistent. He believes the soul of the nation is at stake and that silence is complicity. “This is not about party,” he said. “It is about principle. It is about people. And it is about the promise of America that is being betrayed.”
Father Michael Pfleger continues to be a moral force in American public life.
Sources:
FOX 32 Chicago
Roland Martin Unfiltered
Chicago Crusader
Father Michael Pfleger, the fiery Catholic priest of Saint Sabina Church on Chicago’s South Side, has once again stepped into the national spotlight. This time, he is sounding the alarm over what he calls a moral and political emergency in the United States.
In a striking act of protest, Pfleger hung an upside-down American flag outside Saint Sabina, a traditional signal of distress. He said the gesture was not about disrespect but about urgency. “America is in distress,” he told reporters. “We are watching the dismantling of democracy, the assault on truth, and the targeting of the most vulnerable.”
Pfleger’s critique of President Donald Trump is sweeping. He has condemned the administration’s efforts to cut Medicaid and Medicare, its rollback of gun safety laws, and its attempts to suppress Black history education. He has also denounced the deployment of federal agents to cities like Chicago, calling it a militarized response to social unrest that threatens civil liberties.
At a recent rally in Daley Plaza, Pfleger stood before a crowd of faith leaders and activists and declared, “Mr. Trump, you have met your match.” He called on communities of faith to unite across racial and religious lines, urging them to resist policies that he believes are rooted in fear and division. “We will not be silent. We will not be intimidated. We will not be complicit,” he said.
The people of faith who are gathered here and rising up across this country want you to know you have met your match,” he told a cheering crowd on Monday, September 8.
“Your threats to invade Chicago, Illinois and to declare war on the rights and freedoms of citizens by ordering masked men in unmarked cars and kidnapping men, women and children and harassing people in our streets without representation or due process by naming them criminals without evidence or proof,” said Pfleger, will be challenged.
“Well, the real criminal with 34 felonies is sitting behind a golden desk ordering chaos. Mr. Trump, you have met your match,” he told an integrated, cheering crowd.
“We want you to know your insanity and intimidation will not intimidate us or frighten us; rather, it’s stirred up our faith and it’s rallying us together like the valley of dry bones.
“It’s connecting Black and white, brown and yellow, Muslims, Christians and Jews, young and old. We’re coming together as an army of faith, and we will not sit still, and we will not sit down.'
“We will rise up, stand up and speak up for the most vulnerable and those at risk,” vowed Pfleger. “Yes, Mr. Trump, you have met your match.”
Using a biblical reference Pfleger warned Trump, “Just as God destroyed the golden calf of our ancestors…he destroyed the golden calf of tyranny and fascism, Mr. Trump, you may control your incompetent cabinet that you appointed.
“You may control the pawns and weak-minded members of Congress and the Senate, and you may even control the spineless Supreme Court Justices, but you do not control the God we serve,” Pfleger said.
Looking across the crowd where protesters chanted, “Faith Over Fear,” and Peace is Unity,” Reverend Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, executive director for Live Life Illinois, said, “We have to walk away from here knowing that we are sisters and brothers in this struggle.
“When they come to attack or terrorize one, they come after all of us,” she said.
“And people that believe in truth and believe in justice and believe in democracy, we’re coming to let him know, not here. You’ve met your match, Trump,” Pfleger said.
Pfleger declared that the real violence comes from the White House, not the streets of Chicago. He pointed to Trump cutting food aid, Medicaid, and violence prevention funds while trying to militarize Black communities for political theater. Pfleger’s message: stop exploiting troops, stop the takeover plot, and confront the real violence of Trump himself.
Father Pfleger has long been known for his activism. Ordained in 1975, he became pastor of Saint Sabina in 1981 and quickly transformed the parish into a hub for social justice. He has led campaigns against gun violence, police brutality, and systemic racism. His work has earned him both praise and controversy, including clashes with church hierarchy and political leaders.
He does not see the pulpit as a place for comfort but as a platform for confrontation. “Faith is not passive,” he said. “It demands that we speak truth to power, even when it is unpopular.”
Father Pfleger rejects Trump’s Guard stunt: “Chicago is not in a state of emergency.”
“The real violence comes from the White House” — Pfleger flips the script on Trump.
Exposes hypocrisy: Trump cuts SNAP, Medicaid, and violence prevention while pushing militarization.
Calls it what it is: a political stunt and a takeover plot targeting Black America.
Pfleger’s message remains consistent. He believes the soul of the nation is at stake and that silence is complicity. “This is not about party,” he said. “It is about principle. It is about people. And it is about the promise of America that is being betrayed.”
Father Michael Pfleger continues to be a moral force in American public life.
Sources:
FOX 32 Chicago
Roland Martin Unfiltered
Chicago Crusader
