By Tai Saint Louis
Chicago rapper Twista is speaking out against Father Michael Pfelger, commenting on the irony of the controversy created by Pfelger’s recent comments.
The Catholic priest came under fire for controversial comments made during a sermon at Democratic Nominee Barack Obama’s former church.
While speaking to the congregation at Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ last month, Pfelger delivered a sermon that insinuated Hilary Clinton felt she was entitled to the Democratic nomination simply because she is white.
During the speech, which was posted on YouTube several times and seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers, Pfelger went on to say that “America is the greatest sin against God.”
A year ago, Pfleger was at the forefront of a campaign that criticized Hip-Hop music, specifically targeting Twista, who at the time had been selected to participate in a high-profile McDonald’s tour.
The rapper maintains that McDonald’s decision to drop him from an August 2007 lineup was a result of Pfelger’s protest.
“Just last summer Father Pfleger said my words was trash to the community and I didn't deserve to be on the McDonald’s tour,” Twista told AllHipHop.com. “It's crazy how the tables turned in just under a year. Father Pfleger's own words and opinions of Mrs. Clinton came in the worst way and now he expects for the world and his church to give him a full acceptance.”
On Monday (June 1), after his words began spreading across the internet, Pfelger issued a statement in which he blamed the controversial statement on an error in wording, and he actually had meant to say “Racism” was the greatest sin against God.
“I inadvertently inserted the word ‘America’ in the wrong place and was not even aware of it until now,” Pfelger said. “If you hear the whole phrase, it is evident what I meant and that it was a mix-up of words. Because things are so quickly judged right now and easily misinterpreted, I thought I would put this out to provide clarity.”
The backlash created by most recent Pfelger’s words prompted Senator Obama to officially issue a statement of resignation over the weekend, effectively leaving the embattled church where he had worshiped for over 20 years.
On Tuesday (June 3), Pfelger was asked to “take leave for a couple of weeks “ and “step back from his obligations” at the predominantly Black South Side Chicago parish he has led since 1983.
“All it took was the young generation to expose him of his true colors, big shout out to Youtube.com, for putting him on blast,” Twista added. “Mr. Pfleger is in a much stronger position than I am. I represent the streets and Hip-Hop while he is a representative of God and I feel like he should have been a little more careful of his words too. I don't look for any apologies from him, McDonald’s, or even little Bill O'Reilly. I keep it street and 100 by saying 'Look who’s calling the kettle black'.”