Just last week, the Archdiocese of St. Louis agreed to allow a Polish parish to hold board elections as part of a court compromise in a long-simmering dispute.But only a few days later, the archdiocese's interim leader warned eight parishioners running for board positions at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church that they face excommunication.
Bishop Robert Hermann issued the warning in letters to the eight parishioners. Some found the letter taped to their front doors.
Richard Lapinski and Janice Merzweiler were the two new parishioners voted onto the new board Sunday. According to Hermann's letter, they now face excommunication.
In the letter, Hermann noted that a Vatican decree in May said holding a seat on the St. Stanislaus board "constitutes an 'evident' act of schism," or refusal to submit to the pope.
Hermann asked all the candidates to withdraw their names from consideration for the election, adding "you are in danger of losing the eternal salvation of your soul."
The archdiocese had gone to court to try to stop the elections but dropped that demand last week as part of a compromise with the parish.
St. Stanislaus agreed to cancel a second vote over the weekend that would have amended its bylaws and further distanced St. Stanislaus from the authority of the St. Louis archbishop.
The new bylaws would have made it more difficult to fire St. Stanislaus' pastor, the Rev. Marek Bozek, an action the church's most recent board had taken up.
In June, the church's six board members deadlocked twice on the question of firing Bozek. At a third meeting, Bozek broke the deadlock himself, dissolving the board.
St. Stanislaus parishioners voted over the weekend to elect a new board, and on Sunday announced that four former board members -- John Baras, William Bialczak, Stanley Novak and Joe Rudawski -- had all been re-elected. Baras, Bialczak and Rudawski were the three board members who had voted to retain Bozek as pastor in June.
Novak served an earlier term on the board.
All four of their excommunications were upheld by the Vatican in May.
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