Priest burns rainbow flag outside Chicago church

A North Side priest who says he "can't sit well" with Cardinal Blase Cupich burned a gay-friendly flag outside his Avondale church last week - against the wishes of the cardinal he claims is trying to minimize the clergy sex-abuse crisis.

The Rev. Paul Kalchik said the banner, featuring a cross superimposed over a rainbow, had been featured prominently in the sanctuary at Resurrection Catholic Church but had been taken down and was forgotten in storage at the parish at 3043 N. Francisco for more than a decade.

Kalchik led seven parishioners in a prayer of exorcism Friday, and the flag was burned inside a portable fire pit placed the schoolyard next to the church. The ashes of the flag now rest in a church compost heap.

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