St. Louis, Mo., Jul 24, 2005 / 22:00 pm
A visit from Bishop Ryszard Karpinski of Lublin, leader of Polish Catholics outside Poland, reportedly has done little to heal a long-standing rift between St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish and the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
The dispute erupted nearly 18 months ago after parish board members refused to comply with Archbishop Raymond Burke’s directive to bring the parish civil structure into compliance with Church law.
Under the current structure, St. Stanislaus’ pastor is subject to the authority of the parish governing board. Archbishop Burke has pointed out that this structure is in violation of Canon Law and months ago, removed the parish priests and relocated official Polish language Masses to a nearby church.
While many have stuck with the Archbishop, others remain at St. Stanislaus, holding weekly prayer services in lieu of Mass. Reportedly however, three unauthorized Masses have taken place, said by priests whose identities have been kept secret.