Sen. Barack Obama resigned his membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ, which he's attended for more than two decades.
The resignation came days after the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a visiting Catholic priest, mocked Obama's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during a sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois.
"That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause," Obama said in a statement Thursday.
In another case, Obama's 20-year minister Wright, suggested that the U.S. government may be responsible for the spread of AIDS in the black community and equated some American wartime activities to terrorism. Mr. Obama forcefully broke with him.
Obama has condemned comments by both Pfleger and Wright, but the controversy has persisted. Some Obama supporters, including U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida, said that disconnecting from the church signaled a chance for the campaign to move on.
Source: Xinhua/Agencies
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