Church law governs parishes

Here is yet another letter to the editor which clarifies rather than confuses - a tactic used by so many today. Unfortunately, the ability of people to move beyond the 'straw men' and 'red herrings' to get to the facts is, many times, lacking. But that is not the case in this letter. Mr. Capellupo has done a great service for the Catholics in the Archdiocese by providing factual information about the St. Stanislaus issue which effectively destroys the falsehoods promoted as truth by some whose agenda has yet to be determined.

The Aug. 8 editorial regarding St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church says that Archbishop Raymond L. Burke "has shown himself to be a strict constructionist when it comes to church law." Unfortunately, the editorial writer did not display a clear knowledge of church law regarding financial matters.

Each parish is required by church law to have a finance council of parishioners knowledgeable in financial matters to assist the pastor. Additionally, the archbishop is required to have a finance council for that archdiocese that he must consult before making major financial decisions. In decisions involving more than $3 million, he must obtain the consent of the finance council before he can act.

The St. Louis Archdiocesan Trust Fund, which holds the funds of all other parishes, is established as a trust that the archbishop cannot access for his use or that of others. The funds belong to the parishes that deposit them.

I am chair of the Archdiocesan Audit Committee and a member of the Archdiocesan Finance Council. Our council members predominantly are business people who meet regularly and who enjoy an excellent working relationship with Archbishop Burke.

The issues at St. Stanislaus are not about "punishing the most dedicated and loyal believers," as your editorial states. Rather, they are about conforming the parish to the model that works so well for all the other parishes of the archdiocese, so the pastor can exercise his pastoral ministry without hindrance or interference.

Recent actions of the Stanislaus parish board of directors have made that impossible.

John P. Capellupo
St. Louis

Source.