South Side Church Members Protest "Forced Retirement" Of Priest

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 28, 2012 3:40PM

Members of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish on the South side are up in arms over what they believe is the forced removal of Rev. Daniel Mallette. The 80-year-old priest, who made headlines last December when he was beaten and robbed by thieves who entered his bedroom via the church rectory.

The Archdiocese of Chicago plans to install Mallette's replacement. Father Bill O'Donnell, as the new head of St. Margaret Sunday and move Mallette to a retirement home. Mallette called the move "bullshit," said he had a promise from Cardinal Francis George he could lead the church as long as he wanted, and called O'Donnell "a genius at being a pain in the ass."

And if we were religious we would want Mallette as out pastor.

The Sun-Times article dives into Mallette's history at St. Margaret's, which somewhat parallels that of St. Sabina's Rev. Michael Pfleger. Mallette arrived at the Longwood Manor church in 1977 and managed to transform the congregation into one of the most diverse in the city and marched with Rev. martin Luther King, Jr. The December robbery wasn't the first time thieves broke into the church rectory; it also happened in 2002.

O'Donnell, Mallette's presumptive successor, would only say there are serious issues with Mallette's health and "the bottom line is that Father Dan needs to let go." Mallette told the Sun-Times O'Donnell banned him from performing mass and cut off his phone lines. A small group of parishoners have been meeting separately for mass with Mallette, including Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.