Pfleger sorry style trumped substance of message

WASHINGTON -- The Roman Catholic priest who mocked Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's former church says he regrets that his passionate delivery may have detracted from his message. But he stands by the message.

In a guest sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago last month, the Rev. Michael Pfleger pretended he was Clinton crying over "a black man stealing my show."

"I was giving a talk about race. And is entitlement one of the things about race that I believe in? Is an unequal playing field one of the things I believe in? Yes, so I don't apologize for being passionate, I don't apologize for being free," Pfleger told ABC's "Good Morning America" in an interview aired today.

"I apologize when my passion or my freeness and my flawness of character get in the way of the content, which is much more important to me -- that people hear the message. And when I am in the way of the message then I'm not only apologetic, but I have to change."

Pfleger, who was asked by church officials to temporarily step down from his pastoral duties at St. Sabina Church in Chicago after videos of his sermon caused in uproar, said he understands that some people might be offended by his comments on entitlements based on race.

"I understand it. Like I said, I apologize for my mannerism of what I said -- I don't apologize about (that), I think entitlement is a reality in this society," Pfleger said.

Pfleger's sermon, along with past controversial statements by Trinity's former longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, led Obama to leave Trinity.