Defiant St. Louis Church Wins… What?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm by Kathy Schiffer

Defiant St. Louis Church Wins… What? 2016-09-30T15:58:19-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

They get to keep the building—but at what price? In exchange for the property rights, the parishioners of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in St. Louis, Missouri, are no longer Catholic.

After a decade-long dispute, parishioners have won the right to keep their church property and assets. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Bryan Hettenbach ruled against the Archdiocese of St. Louis—siding with parishioners in 10 of 12 questions, finding that the archdiocese had no legitimate ownership claim on the parish.

“The archbishop may own the souls of wayward St. Stanislaus parishioners,” Judge Hettenbach quipped in his 50-page decision, “but the St. Stanislaus Parish Corporation owns its own property.”

The parish was founded in 1891 by Polish immigrants. From the beginning, a lay trustee board controlled the parish’s finances and owned the St. Stanislaus Parish corporation; the archbishop, in turn, appointed the board members and the pastor. In 2001, however, the board amended its bylaws to remove all authority from the archbishop.

Thus began a cycle of increasing animosity between the parish and the archdiocese. In 2003, the archdiocese asked the parish to revise its bylaws in order to comply with canon law, putting its estimated $8 million assets under archdiocesan control. The parish refused; and then-Archbishop Raymond Burke removed the parish’s archdiocesan priests.

The parish continued to operate, however, with some archdiocesan priests surreptitiously offering masses. In 2005, the parish hired a schismatic priest, Polish-born Rev. Marek Bozek—a colorful figure who had left his previous assignment without permission, and who openly espoused women’s ordination and other positions in opposition to Church teaching. In response to this new affront, Archbishop Burke declared the church to be in schism. Bozek and the church’s lay board were excommunicated, and in 2009, Pope Benedict officially dismissed Bozek from the clerical state.

Current St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson worked to reinstate the dissident parish and to welcome St. Stanislaus as a Roman Catholic parish in the Polish tradition. However, in August 2010 the St. Stanislaus Corporation members voted 257-185 against the proposal.

Last year, Archbishop Carlson affirmed that the archdiocese would provide St. Stanislaus Kostka parishioners “a way to return to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.” But following the court ruling, Archbishop Carlson issued a statement, asserting that the judge had disregarded “ecclesiastical determinations” and promising to appeal the decision “all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.”

In January 2013, though, the archdiocese dropped the appeal, and Bozek was quick to express his satisfaction with the apparent victory. In a joint statement issued January 13, 2013, the archdiocese indicated that it would dismiss its appeal in the case, and the judgment of the trial court is now final.

Particularly sad, though, is the concession offered by the parish. According to the archdiocesan newspaper, the St. Louis Review:

“St. Stanislaus has agreed that it will not hold itself out as affiliated in any way with the Archdiocese of St. Louis or the Roman Catholic Church…. Neither side made any payments to the other as part of this resolution. All other terms of the resolution are confidential. By bringing this legal dispute to an end, we pray that this will help to initiate a process of healing.”

Catholic

Churches

Archdiocese of St. Louis

Excommunication

St. Stanislaus Kostka

Previous Post

February 20, 2013

A Little Lent Within Lent: The Tradition of Ember Days

Next Post

February 21, 2013 THE CHAIR OF KATHY: From Which I Ponder the Chair of Peter, and Its Significance in the History of the Church

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the longest book of the Bible?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Genesis Numbers Psalms 2 Chronicles