Keeping track of excommunications at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church can be a full-time job.On Friday, the Archdiocese of St. Louis announced on its website that two more members of the Polish church just north of downtown St. Louis had been declared excommunicated.
These were the first excommunications in the four-year battle over the church's property and assets that were declared by someone other than former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke.
Burke began a new job in Rome recently as the head of the Vatican's supreme court, and the latest St. Stanislaus excommunications were declared by Bishop Robert Hermann, who is acting as the administrator of the archdiocese until Pope Benedict XVI names Burke's successor.
Richard Lapinski, 62, of St. Charles, and Janice Merzweiler, 70, of St. Louis, were elected to the St. Stanislaus lay board in August. In a statement on the archdiocese's website, Hermann said he'd informed Lapinski and Merzweiler "that the board of Saint Stanislaus Parish Corporation is in schism, that the parish has been suppressed, and that if they joined the board, they would be knowingly joining a sect that is not in communion with the Catholic Church."
Like the other excommunicated church members, Lapinski and Merzweiler had committed "the delict of schism," according to Hermann's declaration.
Schism is defined in church law as "the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."
Neither of the two new board members returned calls seeking comment.
Both became board members in August after the church's pastor, the Rev. Marek Bozek, helped dissolve the previous six-member board in June.
That board had been split between those who wanted to fire Bozek and those who wanted to retain him as the church's pastor.
Every lay person who has been on the board since 2004 has been excommunicated. Four of the excommunications were upheld by the Vatican in May, but four others have since reconciled with the church. Those four joined the archdiocese in a lawsuit against St. Stanislaus that is still ongoing.
See? Confusing.
Here's a St. Stanislaus excommunications primer:
THE PASTOR
The Rev. Marek Bozek. Hired by the board in December 2005 after the church had been without a priest for 18 months. Declared excommunicated by Burke a week later. Pope is currently considering his laicization.
THE STANISLAUS 6: BOARD MEMBERS WHO HIRED BOZEK
— John Baras, 60, of Eureka. Declared excommunicated by Burke in December 2005. Excommunication upheld by Vatican in May. Voted against firing Bozek in June and subsequently voted in favor of ousting three board colleagues who wanted Bozek fired. Re-elected to the board in August.
— William Bialczak, 60, of Town and Country. Board chairman. Declared excommunicated by Burke in December 2005. Excommunication upheld by Vatican in May. Voted against firing Bozek in June and subsequently voted in favor of ousting three board colleagues who wanted Bozek fired. Re-elected to the board in August. Ties between his family's towing company and the St. Louis police are at the center of an ongoing federal corruption probe.
— Edward Florek, 63, of St. Louis. Declared excommunicated by Burke in December 2005. Left board in 2007. Reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church in June.
— Stanley Novak, 72, of south St. Louis County. Declared excommunicated by Burke in December 2005. Left board in 2007. Excommunication upheld by Vatican in May. Re-elected to the board in August.
— Joseph Rudawski, 82, of Town and Country. Board treasurer. Declared excommunicated by Burke in December 2005. Excommunication upheld by Vatican in May. Voted against firing Bozek in June and subsequently voted in favor of ousting three board colleagues who wanted Bozek fired. Re-elected to the board in August. Father-in-law of Bialczak.
— Robert Zabielski, 68, of Chesterfield. Declared excommunicated by Burke in December 2005. Excommunication upheld by Vatican in May. Ousted from board in June after voting to fire Bozek. Reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church the same month.
THE NEW BLOOD
— Bernice Krauze, 66, of St. Louis. Joined board in 2007. Declared excommunicated by Burke in March. Ousted from board in June after voting to fire Bozek. Reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church the same month.
— Richard Lapinski, 62, of St. Charles. Elected to board in August. Declared excommunicated by Hermann in October.
— Janice Merzweiler, 70, of St. Louis. Elected to board in August. Declared excommunicated by Hermann in October.
— Stan Rozanski, 60, of St. Louis. Joined board in 2007. Declared excommunicated by Burke in March. Ousted from board in June after voting to fire Bozek. Reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church the same month.
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(Source: STL)