ST. LOUIS, MO ( KPLR )—
St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson is making an offer for St. Stanislaus to once again be a Catholic parish. The historic Polish church in North St. Louis was excommunicated following a lengthy dispute with the Archdiocese over legal and financial control.In a letter to parishioners the Archbishop proposes that the present St. Stanislaus board would continue to own the parish property, cash and securities that it holds now.
A second board would be set up with the pastor as president and it would lease the church and rectory. Longtime parishioners we talked with say they are pleased with the offer.
"It was never about religion, never. And this gets back financial management and keeps the church in people's names so its a win win situation for us. We lost at the Vatican but through the grace of Archbishop Carlson we got what we basically been fighting for all along," said St. Stanislaus Parishioner Bob Zabielski.
In the proposal the Archbishop said he would try to appoint a priest who speaks Polish and English. The current pastor, Marek Bozek is no longer a Catholic priest. St. Stanislaus parishioners are set to vote on Carlson's offer on August 8th.
