St. Stanislaus Board Cuts Ties to Archdiocese?

In a letter to parishioners, the chairman of the six-member lay board of St. Stanislaus Kostka church said its relationship with the archdiocese “is finished,” and that the board had voted to “seek interim religious guidance...from an order of priests or an individual priest outside the authority of the Archbishop of St. Louis” for the Easter season.

Surely the board knows that a priest coming into the Archdiocese must have faculties granted to him by the Archbishop.

In a separate statement, the board said Wednesday it would not appeal to the Vatican the penalty imposed on them by Burke that denies them access to the Roman Catholic sacraments, saying the board members “pray that a Man of God steps forward and rights this wrong.”

The board seems unable to recognize that a man of God, in the person of Archbishop Burke, is there for them, and he is trying to help them to understand and to recognize that the situation can be reconciled, if they merely follow the structures that all parishes must follow.

Of course, for many, this will involve a conversion of heart - as St John the Baptist tells us, "decreasing so that He may increase". This can be difficult, especially in our culture where the "spirit of freedom" and "primacy of conscious" is constantly invoked, yet many times, is not properly understood.

What is so troubling, is that it appears that many of the parishioners seem to be of the same mind as the Board, ready to reject the Church over a simple matter of conformity to the laws of the Church.

It cannot be stressed enough that prayers are needed for the Board members and the like-minded parishioners. Prayers are also needed for those parishioners who have been exiled, so to speak, because of their humility and willingness to follow the directives of Archbishop Burke.

Surely, the faithful parishioners have also helped ro contribute to the upkeep of the parish and such, yet because they have chosen to be faithful to the Church, they must suffer more because of the actions of the disobedient. These parishioners, perhaps more than the others, should be embraced with love and compassion as their parish has been taken from them, by a group which does not seem willing to embrace the Cross, and hear the words of our Saviour.

Article is here.

*** Updated
Does this mean that the 11:00 am Candlelight Vigil at the Cathedral scheduled for March 6 will be cancelled? Inquiring minds, you know...