Archbishop Burke actions in St Louis

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Archbishop Burke is a Bishops Bishop and a Godly man. Whatever the disagreement the parisheners are bound by their Catholic Faith to obey the Bishop.
 
For those of us who live in the area, this is a difficult thing to watch. This parish has worked this way for over 100 years. This bishop comes to town in January 2004 and within six months wants this parish to change the way it has worked for more than a century. Let’s just say a little patience and discussion and a lot less “obey me now!” may have been a more prudent way to act. St. Louis has recently had a lot of parishes close, especially those with smaller congregations. This parish is located in an area where many parishes have closed and consolidated. This Archdiocese has also been hit with some financial problem due to the sex abuse problems. St. Stanislaus has 9 million in assets. These parishioners’ fears are that the Archdiocese will close their parish to get it’s hands on the assets. The bishop had only met with these parishioners once. Now instead of working through this difficult situation peacefully, it will be a battle. We can laud the bishop for standing up for what is expected, but it is also important to remember the faithful people who have worked so hard to keep their parish open and financially sound. This is quite an accomplishment considering St. Louis no longer has a large population of Polish immigrants.
 
God bless the Bishop…its sad to think that a Diocese has possibly been “working in error” for 100 years… 😦
 
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mom2boyz:
This bishop comes to town in January 2004 and within six months wants this parish to change the way it has worked for more than a century. Let’s just say a little patience and discussion and a lot less “obey me now!” may have been a more prudent way to act.

The bishop had only met with these parishioners once. Now instead of working through this difficult situation peacefully, it will be a battle.
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With all due respect I must point out that the above statement is incorrect.

Former Archbishop Justin Rigali last year began negotiating
Year long feud between parishioners and the archdiocese:
The lay board’s and Archbishop’s decisions are the latest actions in a nearly year long feud between many parishioners and the archdiocese over its request that the North Side parish dissolve its lay board of directors and agree to archdiocesan governance. The 124-year-old St. Stanislaus, 1413 N. 20th St., is the only parish in the archdiocese to have an independent governing board, a concession made to some ethnic parishes in the 19th century.

In his letter to parishioners this past week, Archbishop Burke stated that a letter from board chairman Bill Bialczak about the financial authority changes is “in direct violation of universal Church discipline” and shows “a profound lack of respect for legitimate Church authority.”
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It’s a 100 year long change that is expected to change in 1 year. Look how long it has taken to work the kinks out of Vatican II and we still have problems with that. Yes, this had been in the works with the former archbishop, but this is the new guy. He hasn’t built up a relationship with this Archdiocese.

It’s not human nature to change quickly. We can lambast these people because they are having trouble changing or we can show them some mercy while they work through this difficult situation. They will come around, because they really don’t have a choice. The Archbishop should also be concerned about their souls, not just the day to day operation of one parish among many. The Archdiocese isn’t going to suffer if some time is taken to work this out.
 
I support the Archbishop’s action. In fact that is one minor reason that I am going soon to RCIA.

It is quite illogical to me that God would structure His Church in a disorganized way (especially bottom up, sheep tell the shepherds where to lead them). When nearly all productive human institutions are hierarchical (because the human institutions are more consistent, efficient and productive that way).

We rejoice in living in a Democracy (USA) and having great freedom as Americans. But it comes at a cost. Theoretically, our American government is inherently less efficient than a well-run dictatorship, so we must all work harder (our economy) to make it work and to keep it working.

If the Priests are good I hope they can be rehabilitated and re-assigned instead of just being let go. Obviously I’m too new to know many of the technical terms.

One thing is quite clear to me. Obedience to the upper chain of command is important. That is where the authorization comes from (keys of St. Peter). God expects obedience to His laws as well. That is my daily struggle.
 
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jmm08:
I support the Archbishop’s action. In fact that is one minor reason that I am going soon to RCIA.

It is quite illogical to me that God would structure His Church in a disorganized way (especially bottom up, sheep tell the shepherds where to lead them). When nearly all productive human institutions are hierarchical (because the institutions are more consistent, efficient and productive that way).
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Amen to that. I for one never can understand all the molly coddling that many Bishops do towards such people. 100 years they have been molly coddled so it is far from correct to say it has only been a short time.The church does suffer from their ilk and it is time to stop letting them get by with it.

Good for Archbishop Burke saying , “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
 
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jmm08:
If the Priests are good I hope they can be rehabilitated and re-assigned instead of just being let go. Obviously I’m too new to know many of the technical terms.
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It is not the priests whose reconciliation is required here, jmm. It is the lay-run corporation’s view of the priests as employees rather than shepherds that has resulted in this action. The priests have simply been relocated to another residence until the matter is resolved.

Hope that helps.
 
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Servulus:
It is not the priests whose reconciliation is required here, jmm. It is the lay-run corporation’s view of the priests as employees rather than shepherds that has resulted in this action. The priests have simply been relocated to another residence until the matter is resolved.

Hope that helps.
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Glad you noticed that part Servulus. I must have missed it in his/her post. Speed reading just like jmm I guess. 😉 LOL! jmm, it is the recaliant lay people in this instance as Servulus mentioned. There is nothing wrong with the priests.
 
We had a similar situation here in Pittsburgh when the diocese re-organized parishes about 10 years ago & closed several churches. There were numerous lawsuits (one of which was either instituted or joined by one of my former law school classmates) & a lot of ugly language hurled at the bishop. There were organized protests on church steps during Masses, and just a lot of nasty, decidedly non-Christian behavior in general. The heart of these problems was that people acted as though they personally owned the churches & all of their assets and had authority over their matters. Whether people like it or not, the local bishop has the authority here (I believe this is spelled out in the Code of Canon Law but I don’t know the particular reference). Certainly the bishop should take feelings into account in these difficult matters, but he cannot capitulate to everyone who disagrees with him when he is exercising his legitimate authority. Things did eventually settle down here, but it took a long time.
 
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mom2boyz:
For those of us who live in the area, this is a difficult thing to watch. This parish has worked this way for over 100 years. This bishop comes to town in January 2004 and within six months wants this parish to change the way it has worked for more than a century. Let’s just say a little patience and discussion and a lot less “obey me now!” may have been a more prudent way to act. St. Louis has recently had a lot of parishes close, especially those with smaller congregations. This parish is located in an area where many parishes have closed and consolidated. This Archdiocese has also been hit with some financial problem due to the sex abuse problems. St. Stanislaus has 9 million in assets. These parishioners’ fears are that the Archdiocese will close their parish to get it’s hands on the assets. The bishop had only met with these parishioners once. Now instead of working through this difficult situation peacefully, it will be a battle. We can laud the bishop for standing up for what is expected, but it is also important to remember the faithful people who have worked so hard to keep their parish open and financially sound. This is quite an accomplishment considering St. Louis no longer has a large population of Polish immigrants.
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Well said, Mom. I am also a St. Louisan (I was born and raised there, and despite the fact that I live presently in Ann Arbor, I feel strongly connected to my native city; I will be moving back there in a few months as well). I feel nothing but pride when I think of the way that Archbishop Burke has clearly and forcefully spoken about the Catholic teachings concerning the immorality of deliberate murder, the true nature of marriage and the power of the Holy Eucharist. I am also heartened by the rumors I have heard that Archbishop Burke is expanding the Tridentine indult in St. Louis. In other words, I think that there is a lot of good things to be said about the Archbishop.

That said, I think his aggressive approach to the problem of St. Stan’s is regrettable. As mom said, this parish has been opperating in an irregular fashion for many, many years now, and it cannot be made regular again quickly without unnecessarily alienating a number of otherwise faithful Catholics. This is scandal, and it is sad that it should come from the bishop.

Moreover, there are some really tricky legal issues which must be resolved before the situtation can be resolved. For instance, St. Stan’s runs a Polish Heritage center. Much of the money in St. Stan’s trust was given by non-Catholics (especially Polish Jews) for this heritage center, and they do not want their funds turned over to the Archdiocese. It will take some considerable time to separate (likely in a secular court-of-law) such non-Catholic funds from the funds which really ought to belong to the Archdiocese. Given that the situation is so dense and difficult, it seems uncharitably “hard-ball” of the Bishop to deprive the parish of a priest until it is resolved.
 
I love Archbishop Burke, he needs to be made Cardinal. Long Lives Archbishop Burke!
 
That said, I think his aggressive approach to the problem of St. Stan’s is regrettable. As mom said, this parish has been opperating in an irregular fashion for many, many years now, and it cannot be made regular again quickly without unnecessarily alienating a number of otherwise faithful Catholics. This is scandal, and it is sad that it should come from the bishop.
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Actually, your use of the word scandal is incorrect. What is scandalous is that this parish board has no respect for the authority of the bishop or the priests under him. Disolving the lay committee has nothing to do withhow the finances of the Church are handled. Instead of being in the hands of the lay board, the pastor would have final say in the matters. There is nothing complicated about it. It is purely the love of the power that these people have which is driving them to cling to authority that isn’t rightfully theirs. THAT is scandal.
Moreover, there are some really tricky legal issues which must be resolved before the situtation can be resolved. For instance, St. Stan’s runs a Polish Heritage center. Much of the money in St. Stan’s trust was given by non-Catholics (especially Polish Jews) for this heritage center, and they do not want their funds turned over to the Archdiocese.
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No one mentioned transfering funds to the diocese. In fact the archbishop stated the exact opposite.
Given that the situation is so dense and difficult, it seems uncharitably “hard-ball” of the Bishop to deprive the parish of a priest until it is resolved.
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It isn’t complex or difficult. What it is, is entrenched. The law is cleary laid out in canon law and the archbishop is doing what is in the best intrest of the souls in his diocese.
 
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