Attorneys for Archdiocese Demanded Recusal of Gay Judge, Records Show

Riverfront Times ^ | 12/9/10 | Chad Garrison,

[marshmallow]

​The note from Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Lawrence Mooney to former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke was just three sentences long. Written on Court of Appeals stationary and dated October 2, 2007, it read:

Dear Reverend Burke,

I received your invitation to the Law Day Mass.
Because of the Catholic Church's chronic abuse of gays and lesbians, I do not feel welcome in your church.
I decline to attend.

Very truly yours,
Lawrence Mooney

Two years later -- in October 2009 -- that private correspondence between judge and archbishop would make its way into a court filing involving a protracted legal battle between the Archdiocese of St. Louis and members of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish over control of the church's property.

For attorneys representing the archdiocese, the note suggested that Mooney's "impartiality might reasonably be questioned." For the attorneys for St. Stanislaus, the note -- originally filed under seal and reported here for the first time -- demonstrated just how low the archdiocese will stoop to gain control of the traditionally Polish church north of downtown.

For more than a century, St. Stanislaus has enjoyed a special privilege within the archdiocese that allows it to control its own property. In 2004, Archbishop Raymond Burke attempted to change that, arguing that the church needed to hand over its estimated $8 million in assets to a trust overseen by the archdiocese.

​Fearing that the archdiocese would take the money and then close the parish, the congregation balked. Burke responded by removing the church's priest. Members of St. Stanislaus then found a priest of their own -- Marek Bozek, a native of Poland -- who Burke promptly excommunicated upon the pastor's arrival to St. Louis in December 2005.

In July 2008, the archdiocese and several former..........

[marshmallow]

Another episode from the culture wars with the lavender mafia.

[frogjerk]

Marek Bozek, a native of Poland -- who Burke promptly excommunicated upon the pastor's arrival to St. Louis in December 2005.

ZOT!

[el_chupacabra]

For the attorneys for St. Stanislaus, the note -- originally filed under seal and reported here for the first time -- demonstrated just how low the archdiocese will stoop . . .

say what?!?

the Archdiocese did exactly what any party should/would have. In fact, the Judge absolutely should have recused himself because of that letter.

[SgtHooper]

Agreed. But it also makes for interesting judicial case assignments down the road on issues such as child parentage, and so on.

[wideawake]

The article is spinning this as a financial matter.

It was about St. Stanislaus violating their agreement with the archdiocese by appointing their own pastor.

If they hadn't broken the agreement, they wouldn't be in this situation.

[Alex Murphy]

Dear Reverend Burke,
I received your invitation to the Law Day Mass. Because of the Catholic Church's chronic abuse of gays and lesbians, I do not feel welcome in your church. I decline to attend.
Very truly yours,
Lawrence Mooney

Two years later -- in October 2009 -- that private correspondence between judge and archbishop would make its way into a court filing involving a protracted legal battle between the Archdiocese of St. Louis and members of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish over control of the church's property.

Related threads:
Church Fires Blast at Illinois Law Firm [lawsuit filed against Catholic "St. Stanislaus Corp"]
Rebellious Priests and their followers (Catholic Caucus)
Excommunicated Priest Marek Bozek Joined Group Tied to the Moonies
Two more face excommunication at St. Stan
An Archdiocesan Synopsis of the St. Stanislaus Issue
Response to Archbishop's Interdict
An Appeal from a Group of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parishioners
Burke formally denies sacraments to defiant board