Some "Remarkable" Letters to the Editor:

Catholic is forever

As a life-long Catholic, I find it difficult to accept blind obedience to Archbishop Raymond Burke. In this new century, it's time for church authorities to realize that the church is its people. Excommunication works only if accepted by the excommunicated. Catholic is forever. I don't understand how the love of Christ is expressed through excommunications and interdicts.

Marge Pedtke
St. Charles

Such ill-conceived statements above should be a source of emabarrassmnent for the one making them, most especially if one makes the claim to be a "life-long Catholic". A "life-long Catholic" should understand what obedience is and what it is not. A "life-long Catholic" should also understand the eternal ramifications of one who, by obstinate disobedience and rebellion, chooses to separate himself from the Catholic Church. Such a willful separation is also a separation from Christ.

St. Ignatius tell us that "A superior is to be obeyed, not be reason of his prudence, his kindness, or any other good qualities which God may have bestowed on him, but solely because he is God's representative, and acts by the authority of Him who said: 'He who hears you, hears Me, and he who despises you, despises Me.'"

Was Jesus lying to us when He told us these things? Was He lying to us when He said those who reject Him also reject the Father Who sent Him?

Some also fail to properly understand the medicinal aspect of excommunication and interdicts. Does a loving parent give his child a distasteful medicine or a painful treatment so that the child might recover to full health? Or does that parent refuse such lifegiving medicine or treatment merely because the child might dislike it and thereby let the child die?

A "life-long Catholic" should not express such ignorant opinions as those listed in the letter above.

Family feud

To the Rev. Marek Bozek and the board of directors of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church: The Catholic Church is not a democracy. Is there a principle involved here? Is money sufficient cause to pull the good people of St. Stanislaus away from our holy Church? Is money reason enough to cause public scandal? What family does not occasionally have differences? Who among us, clergy and laypeople, have not differed with the church at some time?

The answer is love and forgiveness. The answer is to respect the authority of the church.

Janet M. Boyle
Creve Coeur

Here we see an attitude of humility and docility to Christ and to lawful Church authority. What a blessing it would be if more Catholics accepted God's graces and adopted an attitude like this!

Courage

I admire the Rev. Marek Bozek's courage to pastor the people of St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church. Rev. Bozek is following God; Archbishop Raymond Burke is following the money.

Sheila McDonald
Ferguson

The wayward priest is not acting courageously but has decided to take the cowardly approach and follow his own will rather than that of God. Fr. Bozek, like Adam and Eve, has been seduced by the serpent and has mistakenly chosen to decide for himself what is good and what is evil. And his actions, should he continue his rebellion, will likely lead more and more people away from our Lord.

Additionally, one can tell from among the letter writers, those who are aware of the actual facts and those who have only heard the "sound bites" from those who promote the distortions of the rebellious St. Stanislaus group.

Regarding Fr. Bozek's act of "courage", this is a serious sin of arrogance and pride which is most offensive to God. May he repent and return to his diocese before his actions cause an even more disastrous effect on those souls he is supposed to leading to eternal salvation.

Link to the letters is here.