As excepted from St. Louis Today:

For Bozek, the particulars of the battle are secondary. In fact, he believes Burke is on solid ground in the dispute.

“Legally, canonically speaking, he’s right,” Bozek said. “The Holy See has said he’s right. Bozek mailed a letter to Burke on Friday. In it the priest said he wanted “to express respect and assure you that you will be indeed considered by me the Archbishop…”

Bozek’s decision to flout his superiors has more to do with a situation he labels “desperate” —” that members of St. Stanislaus have not been able to take part in the sacraments in their own church for longer than a year because they lack a priest.

“I can’t imagine my life without the sacraments,” he said. “And these people have gone without them for so long.”

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In his letter to Burke, Bozek wrote, “I believe that there are serious and grave reasons existing at the time that validate this step, which omits the usual process of priestly assignment.”

On Friday morning, Bozek was relieved of his duties in Springfield by his bishop, John J. Leibrecht. In a statement issued by the St. Louis archdiocese, Leibrecht said Bozek “no longer has the status of a priest in good standing.” The statement went on to say Burke was “considering what further canonical action to take.”

“The salvation of souls”

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, visiting scholar at Santa Clara University, said Bozek’s suspension meant that “he’s not authorized to act as a priest.” If Bozek presides over any sacraments at St. Stanislaus, “they would be considered valid but illicit,” said Reese.

He also said public excommunication was extremely unusual. Then again, he added, “Most priests would not go up against a bishop and do something like this.”

In a statement Friday, Burke reminded St. Louis Catholics that to “participate knowingly and willingly in the celebration of the Mass by a suspended priest is gravely sinful.”

At a press conference Saturday, St. Stanislaus spokesman, Roger Krasnicki called Burke’s language a “scare tactic” used to keep people from coming to the church. Krasnicki also said the board and Bozek had long conversations about the possible ramifications of their actions, and were “entirely and completely prepared for the consequences.”

Board member William Bialczak said he “wouldn’t doubt that Archbishop Burke is going to excommunicate all of us.”

Bozek also knows he may come off as high-minded. “My bishop told me I’m naive and idealistic, and I am,” he said. “I’m 30 and I have the right to be. If there’s a time to be idealistic, it’s now. Jesus was idealistic. He did things that were illegal but right. If we give up on our ideals, what are we left with?”

To help explain his actions, Bozek quotes from part of Canon 1752, the final law in the Catholic church’s law code, which reads in part, “the salvation of souls, which must always be the supreme law in the Church, is to be kept before one’s eyes.”

“I think it’s significant that the code ends that way,” he said. “There are many canons, and I am breaking some of them. But to me, in that last canon, the word
‘supreme’ means it precedes all the other ones. To me, it’s about saving the souls of the people of St. Stanislaus.”

About the Rev. Marek B. Bozek:

Born Dec. 18, 1974, in Zagan, Poland

Became an altar server at 10.

Attended a college seminary in Olsztyn, Poland, where he wrote two plays: —The Paraclete,— about the life of Jesus from the perspective of the Holy Spirit; and —Under Pontius Pilate,— a story Bozek says is about —what it’s like to condemn God,— set in the 20th century. —Under Pontius Pilate— was performed on television and still runs on Polish Catholic TV.

At 25, left Poland for Springfield, Mo., to continue studying for the priesthood; ordained two years later in the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese.

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And see the Urban Review website for a completely different take on this.

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By the way, I have witnessed what church closings do to people. They don’t go to another denomination; they don’t go to the ‘cluster parish’ or the new suburban parish. They simply do not go anymore. A very sad outcome when the salvation of souls is at stake. This is obedience for the sake of obedience, not for the building up of Christ’s Church.

The church my father was baptized in and the one he grew up in were both closed and have been ransacked.