Posted June 2, 2008

On Saturday Presidential candidate Barack Obama announced that he was leaving his church of 20 years - United Trinity Church in Chicago.

"We make this decision with sadness. Trinity was where I found Christ, where we were married and where our children were baptized,’ Obama said in a letter to current pastor Rev. Otis Moss III. "But as you know, our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own view."

The Illinois senator's campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for President has been marred by controversy stirred up by Trinity's former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright and inflammatory statements made from the church pulpit.

After a bit of quiet, the dust around Trinity was recently stirred again when the church had Catholic priest, Father Pfleger as a speaking guest, and the priest made statements about Obama's opponent Hillary Clinton that many found to be mockingly offensive.

"We don't want to have to answer for everything that's stated in the church," Obama said. "We also don't want the church subjected to the scrutiny that a presidential campaign legitimately undergoes."