Archdiocese of St. Louis - Questions and Answers Regarding New Members of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Corporation Board

Mission

As Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, we are called by our Lord Jesus Christ to be His Church and live His Gospel. With joy, we strive to fulfill our Baptismal calling by prayer and worship, teaching and sharing our faith, serving others, and fostering unity in diversity. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to the responsible stewardship of all God's gifts.

Questions and Answers Regarding New Members of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Corporation Board

Q. What is the latest development?

A. Archbishop Burke has declared excommunicated the most recent Board members of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Corporation, Mr. Rozanski and Ms. Krauze.

Q. What does it mean to be excommunicated?

A. Excommunication is knowingly and willingly placing oneself outside the full communion of the Catholic Church. A person excommunicates himself/herself. When the archbishop declares an excommunication, its purpose is meant to be healing, and a call for the person to reconsider the action and reconcile with the Catholic Church.

Q. Were the new Saint Stanislaus Kostka Corporation Board members given any warning by the archbishop, and, if so, what kind of warning?

A. The archbishop wrote to each party three times asking them to refrain from joining the Board at Saint Stanislaus because: the Board was in schism, the parish had been suppressed, and they would be knowingly joining a sect that held and professed views outside the communion of the Catholic Church.

Q. What is schism?

A. Schism occurs when a baptized Catholic withdraws from unity with the pope or the local bishop and the faithful under him. The excommunicated person cannot receive valid absolution in the sacrament of Confession.

Q. How does a priest prevent them from obtaining absolution in the confessional if the priest doesn't know it is they who are confessing?

A. They should refrain from presenting themselves in Confession. A priest is only to deny them absolution if he is certain that they have been excommunicated and have not sought repentance.

Q. What happens to a priest if he unknowingly administers Holy Communion to them?

A. Nothing; no one can be held liable if an excommunicated person attempts to receive the Eucharist, and the status of the person is unknown to the minister.

Q. What happens to a priest if he knowing administers Holy Communion?

A. He is liable to just penalties for his offense, as Church law forbids giving Communion to one who is under the penalty of excommunication or interdict.

Q. How is the Archdiocese of St. Louis going to monitor this?

A. No one is monitoring this. It is simply expected of a priest or minister of the Church.

Q. Should they be in grave danger of death, can Last Rites be administered to them by a priest in good standing? If so, are they then allowed to be buried as a Catholic in good standing?

A. If they truly are contrite about their offense and wish to be reconciled, then after the reconciliation, the priest could administer the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. If they are not contrite, then he can not, because they remain obstinate in their offense. The same option would hold true concerning a request for a Funeral Mass and burial in sacred ground.

Q. If one is excommunicated, does that mean the person is going to hell?

A. We believe that is not a question for us, but for God.

Q. Why doesn't the archbishop look the other way?

A. The archbishop, as the chief shepherd of the Church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, has the responsibility to make sure that people are not mislead by false teachings. He is to protect the people and make sure that scandal does not lead them astray. He also has to uphold the true teachings and practices of the Catholic Faith.

Q. Why does the Archdiocese of St. Louis have to make this public?

A. Because the persons involved have committed the canonical crime of schism. At three separate times, Archbishop Burke formally called them to withdraw from their schism, but they have refused to do so. They have lost membership in the Roman Catholic Church and have become members of a sect. The Church is obliged to make public the fact of their status, lest the faithful be confused and even led into the error of joining them in schism.

Q. Aren't excommunications more divisive than uniting?

A. Excommunication is more than a penalty for past actions; it's really an urgent call to reform one's conduct in the future. Excommunication is classified as a "medicinal penalty" by the Church precisely because its main purpose is to bring about reform in the individual. Having certain actions punished by excommunication demonstrates that certain actions are gravely wrong in themselves and cause deep harm both to their perpetrators and to others. The hope of this excommunication, and all excommunications, is that the parties will be awakened to their offenses and seek to return to full communion in the Church.

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