First of all, hi, all! I haven’t posted for a while, because, well, I just haven’t really had a lot of spare time, and this motu proprio thing is dragging on…

Anyhow, I saw this story, and haven’t seen much Catholic blogging on it:

Gun Advocate Wants Priest’s ‘Snuff’ Comments Investigated

(CNSNews.com) - A gun rights advocate wants the Justice Department to investigate a Catholic priest who during a weekend anti-gun rally threatened to “snuff out” a Chicago gun store owner.

As Cybercast News Service reported earlier, Rev. Michael Pfleger said Saturday in comments aimed at Chuck’s Gun Shop owner John Riggio, “we’re going to find out and snuff you out.”

Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina’s Church in Chicago, told the crowd “we’re going to snuff out John Riggio, we’re going to snuff out legislators that are voting … against our gun laws and we’re coming for you because we are not going to sit idly.”

Now, readers of this and of other blogs are quite familiar with Fr. Pfleger and his antics. So, in one sense, this is nothing new. But, in another sense, for a priest to seemingly advocate the murder of a law-abiding citizen…well, it’s shocking, even coming from such a priest as Fr. Pfleger.

If that wasn’t enough, though…it has been compounded by this statement from Fr. Pfleger’s “spokesman” (since when do parish priests have spokesmen…aren’t they supposed to be doing the speaking?):

Vince Clark, a spokesman for Pfleger, told Cybercast News Service Wednesday that the pastor wasn’t aware of the violent connotation of “snuff” and didn’t mean to threaten bodily harm. (Listen to Pfleger’s comments)

“I’ve never heard that compared before with the word murder,” Clark said. “He [Pfleger] was never aware of that. If that was the case he would never have used that language.”

Clark said Pfleger’s use of the word “was meaning ‘to expose’ but to do no bodily harm.” He said the backlash from gun rights advocates is “uncalled for, but they’re going to take the angle that they desire.”

Now, come on…first of all, is there anyone who is not familiar with the common meaning of the word “snuff?” Secondly, Fr. said that he and others were going to “snuff out” the gun shop owner, so the lame denial makes no sense. He also added that the crowd should drag the man out “like a rat” from his store.

But the worst is yet to come…

James Accurso, a spokesman for the Chicago Archdiocese, said he was not aware of the rally or Pfleger’s participation in it until after it took place Saturday.

He told Cybercast News Service that the church had no plans to take disciplinary action against Pfleger.

“If the reports are accurate and he did make a threat - and we’re not certain of that - we feel this should be handled by the civil authorities,” Accurso said.

This priest’s antics have gone on for far too long, and the archdiocese needs at long last to act. But it looks like they are too intimidated by Fr. Pfleger and his political friends.

Please, Cardinal George, do something about this priest. This latest outrage is way over the line.