Tuesday, August 03, 2004

St Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church temporarily shut down

From Fox 2 KTVI Television:
There is a startling development in the battle over a historic St. Louis Polish Catholic Church. Archbishop Raymond Burke has in effect temporarily shut down St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, moving it's priests to another church.

In a letter to parishioners on Tuesday, the Archbishop says the move is in response to recent actions by the St. Stanislaus board. Unlike other parishes, that board owns the church and runs its finances independently of the Archdiocese. [Archbishop] Burke says the board's recent demand that the parish priests immediately turn over any and all financial matters from priest stipends to electrical bills is an affront to the Archdiocese and "common decency".

So the priests and the Catholic [M]asses are moving. The Archdiocese will continue its parish ministries at St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church downtown beginning this Sunday. [Archbishop] Burke is out of town attending religious conferences through Thursday.
They had to know this was coming. Archbishop Burke is committed to bringing all parishes into conformity with canonical regulations. It is unfortunate that the board of St. Stanislaus has rejected attempts to regularize the parish within the archdiocese.

This issue has been in and out of the news for at least the last five months. Certainly if nothing was done, it might have continued for many more years. It is an issue which should have resolved many years ago, but like so many other 'hard decisions', it appears to have been left to someone who had the courage to do what is required of him.

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