02/06: Father Pfleger's Left-handed Contrition
Category: Politics
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
The headline in the Chicago Sun-Times calls this an apology:
"The last few days have been the most painful days of my life, even more so than the murder of Jarvis, my foster son," Pfleger said.
"When the world is meeting you for the first time from a dramatization in a sermon that I felt was in the sacredness of a sanctuary, among people who know me, and then find a YouTube that in no way defines the sermon or the message that I preached, nor the person or pastor that I am, it is painful.
"It is also grieving to me when a 1.5-minute YouTube video becomes the headlines across the world of papers and news stations, while the tragedy and death of earthquakes, cyclones and tornadoes that have taken the lives of people around this world, while the killing of our children across this country and here in Chicago and the easy access to guns have become stories on page 18 and 19, and while people are at my front door, looking for food to eat or gas to get to work, indeed that grieves me," he said.
Perhaps, if by apology they meant this definition: "a defense, excuse, or justification in speech or writing, as for a cause or doctrine."
Actually, it was more "victimology" than apology by any definition. Poor Father Pfleger.
UPDATE: One last thought. Enough with the "woe is me; I received umpteen death threats and scores of hate-emails" routine.
If you make it into the public eye, inevitably, there is going to be some loon someplace sitting at his computer feeling brave and anonymous writing some kind of "I'm gonna get you, sucker" note.
Stop crying, Father Pfleger, and take your medicine.
"The last few days have been the most painful days of my life, even more so than the murder of Jarvis, my foster son," Pfleger said.
"When the world is meeting you for the first time from a dramatization in a sermon that I felt was in the sacredness of a sanctuary, among people who know me, and then find a YouTube that in no way defines the sermon or the message that I preached, nor the person or pastor that I am, it is painful.
"It is also grieving to me when a 1.5-minute YouTube video becomes the headlines across the world of papers and news stations, while the tragedy and death of earthquakes, cyclones and tornadoes that have taken the lives of people around this world, while the killing of our children across this country and here in Chicago and the easy access to guns have become stories on page 18 and 19, and while people are at my front door, looking for food to eat or gas to get to work, indeed that grieves me," he said.
Perhaps, if by apology they meant this definition: "a defense, excuse, or justification in speech or writing, as for a cause or doctrine."
Actually, it was more "victimology" than apology by any definition. Poor Father Pfleger.
UPDATE: One last thought. Enough with the "woe is me; I received umpteen death threats and scores of hate-emails" routine.
If you make it into the public eye, inevitably, there is going to be some loon someplace sitting at his computer feeling brave and anonymous writing some kind of "I'm gonna get you, sucker" note.
Stop crying, Father Pfleger, and take your medicine.
photognome wrote:
I wish (but dare not hope) that a way could be found to promote a general understanding of what an apology is:
A statemetn describing/naming what I did which acknowledges that I DID WRONG;
A sttement of remorse / an appeal for forgiveness;
A statement that I will try to make ammends (with some description of what this will involve)
How is it that public "apology" hardly ever includes these elements?