Chicago Cardinal silences priest who mocked Clinton (RNS) The Chicago priest who mocked Hillary Clinton by saying she cried on the campaign trail because “there’s a black man stealing my show” has been told by Cardinal Francis George not to speak about politics. The Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina’s Catholic Church on the city’s South Side apologized after a May 25 appearance at Sen. Barack Obama’s former church in which he said Clinton thought she was “entitled” to become president because she’s white. “I apologize for anyone who was offended and who thought it to be mockery,” Pfleger, who is white, said in a statement on Sunday (June 1). “That was not my intent, nor my heart.” Regardless, George, who has tangled with Pfleger’s controversial statements in the past, called Pfleger’s words “both partisan and … a personal attack” and ordered him to keep quiet. “To avoid months of turmoil in the church, Fr. Pfleger has promised me that he will not enter into campaigning, will not publicly mention any candidate by name and will abide by the discipline common to all Catholic priests,” George said on Friday. The controversy over Pfleger’s remarks at Trinity United Church of Christ prompted Obama to end his 20-year church membership. He said the media attention on his membership was a distraction for both his campaign and other parishioners. Obama had worked with Pfleger on community development and called his remarks about Clinton “divisive, backward-looking rhetoric.” Last year, George chastised Pfleger for vowing to “snuff out” the owner of a local gun store. According to the Chicago Tribune, he has also wrestled with Pfleger over his long-time tenure at St. Sabina’s and rules that traditionally rotate clergy ever 12 years. _ Kevin Eckstrom Missionaries accused of �hate crime’ in Muslim neighborhood LONDON (RNS) Two U.S. Christian preachers say there were accused by police of a hate crime after they handed out evangelical tracts on the streets of a predominantly Muslim area in Britain. The two, Arthur Cunningham and Joseph Abraham, complained to police in Birmingham that a Muslim community police officer told them, “If you come back here and get beat up, well, you have been warned.” Cunningham and Abraham, backed by the activist group Christian Institute, said Officer Naeem Nagutheney stopped them in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, told them they could not preach there and accused them of committing a hate crime by trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. “He was very intimidating, and it concerns me that somebody holding his views can become a police officer, albeit at PCSO level,” said Abraham. A PCSO is a police constable support officer, a relatively low-level member of the police force recruited to help authorities patrol communities. Abraham was born a Muslim in Egypt but became a Christian after he gained U.S. citizenship. Cunningham was identified as an American Baptist missionary. Nagutheney joined the West Midlands Police after eight months on unemployment rolls. West Midlands Police authorities in Birmingham said in a statement that the officer “has been offered guidance about what constitutes a hate crime and advice on communications style,” although they insisted that he had acted “with the best of intentions.” Cunningham, however, said he was “dumfounded that the police seem so nonchalant … This is a free country, and to suggest that we were guilty of a hate crime for spreading God’s word is outrageous.” _ Al Webb Ohio mosque finally gets new leader PARMA, Ohio (RNS) The imam who was hired to head one of Ohio’s largest mosque after his two predecessors were pushed out of the job said he plans to make interfaith outreach and youth education a top priority. In his first Friday sermon at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Imam Sayed Abouabdalla spoke about the need for individuals to do good as they are able and to seek forgiveness with a sincere heart when they do wrong. “Ask Allah directly for forgiveness, and you will be forgiven,” he said on Friday (May 30). Abouabdalla is the mosque’s first full-time leader in more than two years since Imam Fawaz Damra was convicted of falsifying his citizenship application by failing to disclose ties to extremist groups. He was deported to the Middle East in January 2007 after more than a year. Well-wishers surrounded the affable Egyptian-born cleric after the service. Mosque leaders and the new imam said they hoped this will be the start of a bright new chapter after years of turmoil that included Damra’s deportation and increased scrutiny that led the man hired to be his successor to turn down the position. “First and foremost, I want to serve the congregation and make people aware of God and do what I can to bring peace and tranquility to the community,” Abouabdalla said with the help of a translator in an interview. “I have started with an open page, a blank page, an open heart,” he said. “It doesn’t concern me what others have done. It matters what I do in the community.” Before coming to Cleveland, Abouabdalla, a 43-year-old father of five, served as part-time imam at the Islamic Cultural Institute, a 200-member mosque in suburban Detroit. Before that, he was imam of the Islamic Center of Flint for four years. One of the main challenges facing Abouabdalla is gaining a better command of English. He is enrolled in English classes and asked the community Friday to be patient with him. “And I will be OK in the future,” he said. _ David Briggs Quote of the Day: New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes (RNS) “They’re hurt; I’m hurt. But that’s to be expected. I think it would be a bad thing if it didn’t hurt.” _ Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans, after he was confronted by angry parishioners of a church he has ordered closed as part of a massive post-Hurricane Katrina downsizing plan. He was quoted by the Times-Picayune of New Orleans.