The past nights I have watched in great personal pain as the pent-up anger of our people caught fire across our country. I saw the city where I was born, the cities where I have lived, the city I pastor now, catch embers from the city where I was educated and burn. Was I horrified at the violence? Yes. But was I surprised? No.

The attached decree was issued by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, to dispense Catholics from Easter obligations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Catholics are obligated to receive Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Confession during the Easter season which runs from Easter Sunday to the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.

Together with the people of the Archdiocese of Chicago and all people of good will, I mourn and pray for the victims of the horrific stabbings at the home of a Jewish family during a Hanukkah celebration Saturday night in Monsey, NY.

Dear Parishioners of Nativity of Our Lord and St. Gabriel Parish, In July, I informed you of an accusation of sexual abuse against your former pastor, Father William McFarlane. In keeping with our procedures, he was asked to step aside from active ministry until a thorough investigation and process could be completed. He has fully cooperated with civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago during those investigations.

Today the Archdiocese of Chicago mourns and prays for the victims of yesterday’s gun massacres in El Paso and Dayton. We stand with their loved ones demanding an end to this deadly status quo.

Dear Parishioners of Nativity of Our Lord and St. Gabriel Parish, I write to you with some difficult news. I have asked Father William McFarlane, former pastor of Nativity of Our Lord and St. Gabriel Parish, to step aside from ministry following receipt by the Archdiocese of an allegation of sexual abuse that occurred in 1997, before Father McFarlane entered the seminary.

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, In January, I informed you of the accusation against your pastor, Father Patrick Lee, and that, in keeping with our procedures, he was asked to step aside from his pastoral duties until a thorough investigation and process could be completed. He has fully cooperated with civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago during these months.

The passage of Senate Bill 25, eliminating even the minimal limitations on abortions under previous law marks a sad moment in our history as a State. We have worked to make the case for a consistent approach to human dignity in Illinois and will continue to do so even as elected officials single out unborn persons for particular disregard. It remains our hope that Illinois will eventually distinguish itself as a safe place that welcomes not only those seeking a new life or second chance, but also the most vulnerable among us who deserve a chance at life.

On May 15th, Cardinal Blase Cupich hosted a conversation with representatives of Jewish community organizations with which the Archdiocese of Chicago has formal relationships. The Cardinal invited these representatives so that he might hear directly how the Jewish community is experiencing the public re-emergence of antisemitism and the associated increase in violence. He asked the group what we could do together to address antisemitism and other forms of speech which incite hatred.

Without consulting me, Fr. Michael Pfleger invited Minister Louis Farrakhan to speak at St. Sabina Church in response to Facebook’s decision to ban him from its platforms. Minister Farrakhan could have taken the opportunity to deliver a unifying message of God’s love for all his children. Instead, he repeatedly smeared the Jewish people, using a combination of thinly veiled discriminatory rhetoric and outright slander. He suggested that “Talmudic thought” sanctioned pedophilia and misogyny. He referred to Jewish people as “satanic,” asserting that he was sent by God to separate the “good Jews” from the “satanic Jews.”