Kalchik - who says he was sexually abused by a neighbor as a child, and again by a priest when he began working for the church at 19 - says the sex-abuse crisis plaguing the church is “definitely a gay thing.” Cupich has rejected a connection between the scandal and gay priests but has drawn criticism in recent weeks for comments claiming the church should focus on other priorities instead of being “distracted” by the sex-abuse crisis. Kalchik had initially called on parishioners to burn their donation pledge cards as well during the burning of the flag, while they prayerfully sing Psalm 141, ‘Let my prayer arise before you. The priest says the archdiocese threatened him with “canonical penalties” if he went through with the flag burning, and that Cupich has since blocked Kalchik’s request to transfer to a diocese in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where Kalchik has family.ĭespite the orders from the archdiocese, Kalchik admits he went ahead and destroyed the flag “in a quiet way” on Friday. Video of the incident, in which a group of students filmed themselves. 29 for “the Feast of Saint Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.” But a few days later, the archdiocese told him to scrap the burning after officials were notified of his plans by a reporter for the Windy City Times. The burning of a Pride flag at a school in Mississauga is being investigated as a hate-motivated incident, Peel police say. 2, Kalchik announced that he planned to burn the flag Sept. The interior of the Resurrection Catholic Church on September 18, 2018.
