Mass at St. Stan'sThere are a number of inaccuracies here. First, Archbishop Burke is not trying to "seize" the assets of the church. Rather than repeat what has been sufficiently documented regarding this subject, the board of directors refuse to abide by Church law.
Archbishop Raymond Burke missed a golden opportunity to quiet the dissent of the St. Stanislaus parishioners. Had he rescinded his earlier decision disallowing any Masses at the church and permitted the celebration of midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, he may have regained some respect in the eyes of the rebels who balked at his effort to seize church assets.
The congregation responded by bringing in a "ringer" with the courage to do what he was chosen to do. Midnight Mass was celebrated - much to the chagrin of the archbishop, I imagine.
Although I am not a member of the little Polish Church, I sensed a true feeling of solidarity and a resolve to overcome the present discord.
Daniel Ness
St. George
Secondly, it seeems that the board of St. Stanislaus has been planning this for quite some time - one does not ordinarily buy a round trip ticket from Poland to the US at the last minute, especially at Christmas. It appears that this flagrant act of open rebellion and disobedience had been deliberated for weeks.
Thirdly, the priest (if he was, in fact a priest) who came in under cover of darkness displayed, not courage but cowardice by contravening the legitimate orders of the Archbishop as if he were able to decide what is best for the parishioners. This priest should be disciplined for his act of disobedience and for causing scandal by encouraging the rejection of the mandates of the Archbishop.
Lastly, a "true sense of solidarity" does not flow from rebellion and disobedience to the Church and to one's bishop. If anything, it further exacerbates the problems brought on by the board.
Link to Letter
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