Fr. Marek Bozek, the Polish priest who abandoned his post in Missouri to serve the schismatic St. Stanislaus church in St. Louis and was excommunicated for it, was interviewed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday.
Among the new information, the accusations against Bozek in Poland at his former seminary were that he propositioned other students and that gay porn was found in his room. Despite this, when he applied for the seminary in Missouri and the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese asked his old diocese for references, nothing was said. As the Polish archbishop said: “There is no reason why if someone is accused of something at one place they cannot go on to another.” Maybe the reason is that if they weren’t fit to be a priest in your diocese, they might not be fit to be priest in another. This sounds a lot like the reasoning that allowed priests who abused kids to flit from diocese to diocese.
We also find out that Bozek was removed from a parish in Springfield after the bishop was told Bozek was planning to tell his congregation from the pulpit that he was gay. Bozek denies this. Instead he says he’s a “chaste and celibate” priest. As we’ve seen a lot of gay priests claim that they can be gay and celibate and chaste.
The reaction by the Springfield bishop to Bozek’s leaving for St. Louis seems a little ... strange.
The 75-year-old Leibrecht said he feels a “personal betrayal” in Bozek’s decision. On the morning Bozek gave Leibrecht his final decision, Leibrecht asked the priest to sit down and take his coat off. Bozek refused.
“I begged him not to leave. I gave him every reason I could think of,” said Leibrecht, “but he made the decision anyway. It was,” he paused, then began to cry softly, “it was one of the saddest days of my life.”
Sounds like Bozek was a lot of trouble. Why should Leibrecht be sorry—to the point of tears—that he was leaving?
Sacramental illogic
It’s my understanding that he has an R-1 Visa.
For R-1 and R-2 Visas, the initial priod of stay is up to 3 years. Increments of up to 2 years may be applied for. The total stay is limited to 5 years. ( http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/TempWorker.htm )
So, it seems that he may not be with us long unless a change is made to his current status.
The visa question is fascinating….Bozek came here under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Now the Catholic Church says, “you’re no longer a member.” He and St. Stanislaus insist that they are, but I would think that where the federal government is concerned, it’s up to the Archbishop, and I think that’s what the meeting on 2/14 was about.
He says that if he is the obstacle to reconciliation he is going to “go away”…it seems to me he’s already in damage control mode so that when it happens it looks like it was his choice to go. (isn’t that what he also says about his departure from the seminary in Poland?)
Does anyone remember what year he came over here? Are we coming up on the 5 year expiration (of the R-1) soon or has that already passed?
Frankly, I’m not surprised. Ever notice that when one of these priests leaves the Church in favor of a parish, there is always a “rest of the story.” Examples include George Stallings and the guy from Corpus Christi parish in Rochester that Bishop Matthew Clark (of ALL people) had to excommunicate. There’s also some married Jesuit down in Dallas who has started having Mass in a shopping center or some such place. All of these folks (the St. Stanislaus people included) need to realize, as an old priest once told me, “Nobody ever leaves the Catholic Church and betters themselves.” Once Bozek is gone, I bet the St. Stanislaus issue starts to fade and the parish comes back to the Church.
ok, answering my own question….Bozek came here in fall of 2000, took a semester of intensive English, went to seminary, was ordained in December 2002.
Leander I hope you are right…that Bozek goes, and after that a reconciliation will happen. Reconciliation would be an answer to the prayers of many St. Louis Catholics.
I don’t think it’s strange that the bishop would weep to see one of his priests, obviously a troubled young man, go off into schism and start publically criticizing the Church.
Let’s just pray it doesn’t last too long.
Wait a minute…
I haven’t gotten past
“I begged him not to leave. I gave him every reason I could think of,” said Leibrecht, “but he made the decision anyway. It was,” he paused, then began to cry softly, “it was one of the saddest days of my life.”
He cried??? 75-year-old Springfield Bishop Leibrecht…CRIED? For a man crying is usually serious business. It usually means emotional attachment.
Carrie, my thoughts exactly re: emotional attachment.
That he cried in itself is not so surprising, if he had done it privately. But in an interview??
As for Leibrecht, well, he’s just one of those aging bishops that was part of that strange generation that we are currently paying for. I’m sure his resignation will be accepted immediately. Which reminds me, we have a number of bishops turning 75 this year, among them Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville, another disaster whose time has long been up.
Ponder, pray over the connection between the Holy Father reaching out to the excommunicated SSPX and Bishpo Leibrecht reaching out to Fr. Bozek… For both, the most important thing is unity in the church. They actually cry over the loss of those who have gone astray. They don’t condemn, they don’t point fingers, they don’t want to send them away. Doesn’t matter if you leave by the door on the left or the door on the right: they just want you to come home. Like the Lord himself, they want nothing more than for us to be one even as Jesus and the Father are one.
Actually, Aplman, I don’t find a connection between the SSPX situation and the Springfield situation, most obviously because we have had no news reports of Benedict shedding tears, but also because the SSPX is not one single individual.
“They actually cry over the loss of those who have gone astray. They don’t condemn, they don’t point fingers, they don’t want to send them away. Doesn’t matter if you leave by the door on the left or the door on the right: they just want you to come home.”
Excellent point.
“I desire not the death of the wicked, but that he turn and live…”
I frequently disagree with Father, but I think he’s right on the money here. It’s certainly not beyond speculation that there is some sort of untoward attachment here, but there’s no evidence of it and speculating about it is better done in private… or not at all. The problem with real scandals that provoke us to what should be unusual behavior—speaking slightingly of bishops—is that we sometimes make them a habit.
I’ve never had any untoward emotional attachments to any man in my life, but I can easily imagine a GOOD bishop weeping in such a circumstance. I know many priests (good orthodox ones) who complain that their bishop is more like a prosecutor than a father. A bishop who feels like a father when dealing with his priests is something we should pray for.
Jeff, your point is well taken however if you have followed this story from the beginning you know that Fr. Marek Bozek should have never been ordained to begin with, and Bishop Leibrecht is responsible for that.
He brought Bozek over, paid all his expenses, put him in English classes, sent him to seminary from Jan. 2001 to ordination in Dec. 2002…no year of transitional diaconate…why the fast track?
I totally understand how a good Bishop could weep (privately) over a lost soul, especially that of a priest. I hope he also weeps for the souls of those being led astray by Fr. Bozek.
In the present climate in the Roman Catholic Church in America, burying your head in the goody sand is not a smart idea.
Will some holy priests get hurt? I suppose it is inevitable, unfortunately. Will some children and teenagers be saved by a cold, rational, sober, and questioning look at any oddities? Probably.
Will it work to make the scandal history? No one should even have to ask.
Trust is no longer automatic. It must be earned. There are actions that earn it and actions that deny it. You may not like that fact, but your dislike is not the fault of those who are asking the questions.
Zita:
It sounds like Bishop Leibrecht thought he was getting someone with a lot of training who had had some personal disagreement in Poland. We “conservatives” all the time get priests who were rejected in one diocese and accepted in another. Mostly they work out well, sometimes not.
Anyway, I associate Poland with good priest material myself. Their church never fell to pieces like so many others and they’ve had a large number of vocations. This guy already had a bit of training under his belt—he and the bishop could easily have hammered out an agreement for fast tracking based on what he’d already done.
Sounds like the bishop took him under his wing and had a personal interest in him all along. That he took the betrayal personally and that it hit him hard would not be strange under the circs. Let’s wait for at least some scrap of EVIDENCE before implying that the bishop was carrying on improperly.
I don’t hold with criticizing weeping in public. Saints have done it. It doesn’t bother me a bit.
JeffK., have you ever looked at the schismatic Mariavites? I believe they are still active in Poland.
Some thoughts on the Bozek issue. First, for Bishop Leibreicht to cry at the loss of one of his priests to schism and excommunication is much like the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to look for the one that’s lost. To imply that there’s more to it than that is quite a stretch.
Concerning the interview with the P-D, here’s what Mr. Townsend, the religion reporter had to say about Bozek, “In December, a new character was introduced: Marek Bozek, the young rebel savior.” Calling Bozek a savior is a bit much, even for Townsend and the P-D.
Most interesting is that the St. Stans board has been silent on the article and the meeting between Bozek and the Archbishop. The board has been a media machine ever since this mess started. Apparently they couldn’t find a way to spin this in their favor, in spite of the positive tone of the P-D article.
Townsend reports that neither side would comment on the meeting. But, the Springfield News Leader managed to get the following statement from the Archdiocese: ““Canon law, like any legal system, prescribes specific procedures that must be observed in the enacting of a legal process or action,” the written response stated. “As far as the Archdiocese of St. Louis is aware, the Board of Directors of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and Fr. Marek Bozek have not completed the canonical procedures that would be necessary for the suspension of either the excommunication of Fr. Bozek and the Board of Directors or the suppression of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish. Canon 1734 in the Code of Canon Law outlines the procedure that is to be followed.”
According to the P-D, things are humming at St. Stan’s. They are getting new members. Bozek has started a Bible study group. Things couldn’t be better. According to Townsend.
Most unbelievable of all is Bozek’s statement, “I would never get involved here if the archbishop had not taken away the sacraments from these people,” he said. “This is the biggest atrocity in the 21st century in the Catholic church – to use the sacraments as a game. That’s a bigger abuse than the abuse of minors, or at least the same gravity, because the sacraments are the most holy thing for Catholics.”
Right. Making those poor folks go a few blocks south to receive communion is certainly a bigger atrocity than raping little kids. This guy has serious problems and they have nothing to do with Archbishop Burke or Bishop Leibrecht.
Carrie:
Yes, and we have a schismatic Polish National Church here in the US! I’m not saying the Poles are somehow inherently sinless.
I AM saying that IN GENERAL, Polish priests—including the ones I’ve met here in the US—and the Polish Church are in fine shape. Much better than the American Church. People in Poland go to Mass on Sunday. In Europe! Anyone wanting to look for a miracle (if they’ve tired of remembering Pope Ratzinger) can feast their eyes on that!
Jeff,
“Let’s wait for at least some scrap of EVIDENCE before implying that the bishop was carrying on improperly.”
I have said/agreed that the tears—happening in an interview—seem to bespeak an emotional attachment.
I have not said or implied that the bishop was “carrying on improperly.”
“Sounds like the bishop took him under his wing and had a personal interest in him all along.”
Yeah, it does and that’s all I’m saying. And that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, but that’s a moot point now.
Now wait a minute. I have known Bishop Leibrecht for over 20 years (his entire time as Bishop here), and to imply that he has an improper attachment would be ludicrous to anyone who knows him. He is one who feels deeply for people and this is a real part of his personality. The direct disobedience of Fr. Marek and rejection of his (Fr. Marek’s) vow of service to our diocese would of course hurt him; Bishop Leibrecht is not a robot but a human being.
He is a Bishop who would give his life for his flock and especially for any one of his priests. And I think the vast majority of his priests return the love (I mean real love, in the Gospel sense) that he gives to them. I have no doubt that Fr. Marek was sincere when he said that he was distressed to have hurt Bishop Leibrecht, because our Bishop is a man who treats people with respect and friendliness and inspires much loyalty and love among all who know him. He will be greatly missed here when his retirement is accepted (it hasn’t yet.)
As for ordaining Fr. Marek, the impression I’ve been getting is that 1. Fr. Marek didn’t tell the whole story about his past; 2. The Polish powers-that-be were not forthcoming about the problems they’d had with him, for whatever reason; and 3. Fr. Marek presents very well. He is articulate and intelligent, has near perfect English, comes across as devout, and the limited contact I’ve had with his homilies didn’t show any problem with doctrine. (I’ve only met him a couple of times so others may well disagree, this was just my impression. And the homilies I’m speaking of are before he went into schism.) I think that if I were a bishop who found a seminarian who seemed to be of such high quality, and already educated, with such a seemingly noble motive for tranferring to a “missionary” diocese (compared to Poland; southern MO is only 5% Catholic), then I would snatch him up too.
Considerably more than my 2 cents worth, but I think there are a lot of people in this diocese who would be delighted to speak up for our Bishop.
Do you work in the chancery, Sr. Marya?
No Carrie, I’m a nun in a monastery in Springfield. The Bishop has always been close to our community and comes here for Mass and a visit every few weeks. So my knowing him comes from years of very informal chats with the community, not from a work situation.
Just for the record, there are some homilies of Fr. Marek’s from Fall 2005 at St. Agnes that are “out there”. They’re not on the St. Agnes website any longer (I don’t think) but I saved a couple of them. They definitely showed problems with doctrine.
That doesn’t mean he exhibited this tendency before ordination, I’m just sayin’, he did go off track somewhere along the line.
Oh, I wasn’t aware of that but it makes sense. As I said I’ve only heard him a couple of times and it was fine then.
Sr. Marya,
I can read in your words the admirable care and devotion that you have toward your Bishop. I may come off as being snippy about the St. Stan’s situation and Fr. Bozek, and I’m sorry for that, but I feel similarly toward my Archbishop Burke and I guess, rightly or wrongly, I feel my Archbishop would not be suffering the ugly attacks regarding this situation if Bishop Leibrecht had been more careful in discerning this young man.
That’s not really true, the St. Stan’s situation was already there independent of Fr. Bozek—however much he did exacerbate it. I just feel bad that our Archbishop is now bearing the brunt of this mess, nearly alone. Just as you feel badly when you perceive that your Bishop has been slighted. And so we have that in common and I do understand where you are coming from.
Thank you for sharing your view from the other side of the story.
Zita:
Are you named after the Blessed Emperor Karl’s wife?
Zita is absolutely correct. Archbishop Burke has been vilified in the local media even before his arrival in St. Louis. His position on the Eucharist for pro-abortion politicians incensed the local liberal media, especially Pravda West, the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Many otherwise loyal Catholics have bought into the criticism of the Archbishop. How sad that they don’t believe what it says in Scripture. They don’t believe 2,000 years of Church Tradition. But, they accept without question the “wisdom” of a newspaper that will be lining the bird cage in 24 hours.
I have met Bishop Leibrecht a few times and he seems to be a very intelligent, holy man. Bozek is obviously very persuasive. He’s managed to fool the news media in at least two cities and an entire parish. If he bamboozled Bishop Leibrecht, the Bishop certainly isn’t the Lone Ranger.
Jeff,
I took the name Zita at Confirmation in honor of St. Zita patroness of servants.