Priest at St. Stanislaus Kostka creates more turmoil for St. Louis parish

[SwizzleStick]

I’m shocked that it all came to this. Not.

Since last spring, the Rev. Marek Bozek, pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, has been telling his lay board, his congregation and reporters that his interest in aligning himself with bishops outside the Roman Catholic Church was merely research for a hypothetical future in which the pope strips him of his priesthood.

But according to documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch, Bozek a year ago requested — and was granted — priesthood in two Catholic organizations independent from the Vatican.

One of them, Married Priests Now!, is funded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and is led by an excommunicated former Roman Catholic archbishop from Zambia.

The documents also show that Bozek also was granted priestly authority in the Reformed Catholic Church on Jan. 16, 2008. The church describes itself as “an open, affirming, progressive community, alternative to the rigid structure and doctrines of the Roman church.” …

Full article: stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/2FB14ECA8C9450438625755A00144AEF?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchor

Comments in local blog that has been following the St. Stan’s fiasco for some time: stlouiscatholic.blogspot.com/2009/02/dog-bites-man-post-reports.html

 

[mellowcheddar]

I feel bad for the parishoners. What a weirdo. The whole Sun Myung Moon thing should have been a BIG red flag.

 

[CapIV]

So, why hasn’t he already been removed? The Bishops need to be on top of this.

 

[SwizzleStick]

So, why hasn’t he already been removed? The Bishops need to be on top of this.

He was excommunicated. The parish board decided to retain him anyway and they too have been excommunicated. The church is no longer a Catholic parish.

 

[mellowcheddar]

oookkk…

 

[LotusCarsLtd]

He was excommunicated. The parish board decided to retain him anyway and they too have been excommunicated. The church is no longer a Catholic parish.

Luckily one of the members of the board was recommunicated (if that’s the proper term) by Archbishop Burke. Dunno if anyone else was; perhaps a few here and there.

 

[LilyM]

So why are they still allowed to operate out of a Catholic Church?

 

[SwizzleStick]

Luckily one of the members of the board was recommunicated (if that’s the proper term) by Archbishop Burke. Dunno if anyone else was; perhaps a few here and there.

I think four total have returned to Holy Mother Church. Here is a link to an article about those who have reconciled. This is from our weekly Archdiocesen paper, The St. Louis Review:

July 25, 2008

More St. Stanislaus members reconcile with Catholic Church
Group files lawsuit to return church to the archdiocese

by Joseph Kenny, Review Staff Writer​

Three more St. Stanislaus Parish Corporation board members have reconciled themselves with the Catholic Church.

Bernice Krauze, Stanley Rozanski and Robert Zabielski met privately and individually with Archbishop Raymond L. Burke in June and are now in full communion with the Catholic Church.

Those three and another member, who also recently reconciled with the Catholic Church, are part of a lawsuit they hope will lead to the re-establishment of the Northside parish as a parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

They hope a court ruling will nullify changes made by the St. Stanislaus board in recent years in the 1891 agreement between the civil corporation and Archbishop Peter Kenrick that established St. Stanislaus Kostka as a parish serving primarily Roman Catholics of Polish heritage.

Four years ago Archbishop Raymond L. Burke suppressed St. Stanislaus as a parish when the civil corporation’s board hired its own pastor, a suspended Catholic priest, which was contrary to Church law. The suit also precedes an election for new board members and possible further changes in the mission of the church, those involved in the suit said. …

Full article here: stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=15722

 

[SwizzleStick]

So why are they still allowed to operate out of a Catholic Church?

The entire situation is very complicated and I’m not sure if I’m able to clearly and factually communicate all the ins and outs, ups and downs that have occurred over the years. I know there are threads here on CAF about the issues, but to understand maybe you could start with the article I just posted about board members reconciling (post #8). Also, that article has a link to our archdiocese’s website, www.archstl.org where you can find various St. Stanislaus documents, including the original articles of agreement, the charter, and the 1891 bylaws. Also, here is a link to Q and As from *The St. Louis Review *about the St. Stanislaus situation:

stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=7873

The whole situation is tragic for the faithful of the congregation of St. Stan’s. Hopefully, though, with this latest crazy twist, those who created the problems will see the error of their ways, reconcile with the Church and come Home. If not that, then maybe those who are confused about the whole situation and who have seen Church officials as wrong, will finally see the truth that the board and Bozek mislead them and then come Home.