By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The six embattled board members of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church faced a crowd of parishioners Sunday to address their ongoing dispute with St. Louis archbishop Raymond Burke.
The board summarized Burke's latest proposal, which would require St. Stanislaus to turn over all of its property, and allow any local financial decisions only in the event of the parish's closure.
Bob Zabielski says he and his fellow board members will appeal the interdict, or denial of sacraments, the archbishop imposed on them last week.
He says the board's actions reflect the will of the parish. "We're not doing this as six individuals, rogue people or renegades," Zabielski said Sunday. "We're doing this by direction of our people, we are their representatives. If they told us today to turn over that church, we would sign it over to them today."
A Burke spokesman says the archbishop remains open to negotiations. The board will begin to appeal the interdict to the Vatican Monday.
Despite the denial of sacraments, though, Archdiocese spokesman Jamie Allman says Burke remains open to negotiations.
"It's always been that way and continues to be that way," Allman said Sunday. "The archbishop is indeed focused on peace and reconciliation with the board, and will do anything to reach that point."
KWMU's Matt Sepic had a report about the St. Stanislaus impasse on Sunday's Weekend Edition. To hear that report, click here.