Bozek finds hope in meeting with Archbishop

Despite a church dispute that has resulted in excommunication, the Rev. Marek Bozek is confident that reconciliation is possible between him, St. Stanislaus parish and the archbishop of St. Louis.

Bozek confirmed that he had a personal meeting with Archbishop Raymond Burke on Tuesday, although he said a "gentlemen's agreement" prevented him from discussing the meeting.

Gentlemen's agreement? Of course, this is from a man who could not keep his promise of obedience to his own bishop.

"Both the archbishop and I are willing to work for reconciliation," he said. The response from the archdiocese to those comments is not as optimistic.

"Canon law, like any legal system, prescribes specific procedures that must be observed in the enacting of a legal process or action," the written response stated. "As far as the Archdiocese of St. Louis is aware, the Board of Directors of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and Fr. Marek Bozek have not completed the canonical procedures that would be necessary for the suspension of either the excommunication of Fr. Bozek and the Board of Directors or the suppression of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish. Canon 1734 in the Code of Canon Law outlines the procedure that is to be followed."

Canon 1734 states:

Can. 1734 ß1 Before having recourse, the person must seek in writing from its author the revocation or amendment of the decree. Once this petition has been lodged, it is by that very fact understood that the suspension of the execution of the decree is also being sought.

ß2 The petition must be made within the peremptory time limit of ten canonical days from the time the decree was lawfully notified.

ß3 The norms in ßß1 and 2 do not apply:
1ƒ in having recourse to the Bishop against decrees given by authorities who are subject to him;
2ƒ in having recourse against the decree by which a hierarchical recourse is decided, unless the decision was given by the Bishop himself ;
3ƒ in having recourse in accordance with canon. 57 and 1735.

The article continues, in part:

While all sides are focused on church law and regulations, the people of St. Stanislaus are busy being a Catholic church. . .The new priest has been busy with weddings, funerals and baptisms, and he recently started an adult education class, "The Splendor of Vatican II," and a movie club.

This is a bit hard to comprehend. Having been suppressed, St Stanislaus Kostka Parish is no longer part of the Catholic Church - it is not Catholic. Neither Archbishop Burke's Decree of Supression (PDF) nor the Notification indicate in any way that it is Roman Catholic. While some may pretend to be Catholic, that pretension does not make it so.

The thought occurred to me this evening at Adoration, for some strange reason, that many claim to be Catholic and many wish to be known as Catholic, but how few there seem to be who actually want and desire to be Catholic - how few are there who truly strive to follow our Lord by submitting themselves to His Church, who freely conform their wills to His, despite the culture, even within parts of the Church, which exhorts them to pick and choose what to believe or who to obey. But more on that later...

"It's like baking a pie from scratch," [Bozek] said. "It has started looking and smelling good."

Stated like most who choose disobedience...sort of protestant, really. While it might look like a Catholic church, we know that it is not. And pity those, who in flagrant disobedience and defiance (or ignorance) are receiving the Sacraments either illicitly or invalidly. How sad. As always, we need to continue to pray for their repentance and conversion.

Springfield News-Leader article