Vatican backs Archbishop Burke on St. Stanislaus

A ruling from Rome has dealt a blow to parishioners at St. Stanislaus Kostka church in a dispute with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis over control of the church, its property and its purse strings.

The Congregation for the Clergy, the Vatican office that handles parish matters, rejected a petition from parishioners seeking to retain control of the St. Louis church.

"It's devastating for us," said Roger Krasnicki, a spokesman for St. Stanislaus. "We had hoped there would be a more conciliatory approach to this."

Krasnicki called the decree "hogwash" but said there was little recourse left within canon law and said a suit under civil law was not an option. Nonetheless, the battle is not over, he said.

"We're not ready to cave in to the archdiocese on this," he said. "We have to sit down and decide what our options are."

They appealed to the Vatican but the Vatican's ruling is "hogwash"...One wonders why the appeal was submitted if a negative ruling was to be rejected. It's time for those who claim to be Catholic and represent St. Stanislaus demonstrate humility and repentance for the situation they have caused and practice obedience to the Church and hierarchy of which they claim to belong. Their childish antics have gone on far too long.

Article.