Bishop defends suspension of AWOL priest

Catholic News Agency ^ | December 6, 2005

[BizzeeMom]

a weak bishop with a poor vocations director,who obviously didn't apply good spiritual or intelligent discernment practices

I wonder if the bishop was weak, or if he was complicit with Marek Bozek's agenda.

[BizzeeMom]

...and here's one reason (there are others) I think that Fr. Marek Bozek's Bishop may have been complicit: this is a quote from the first STLtoday.com article (12/2) announcing that St. Stanislaus had hired a new priest--

"In an interview Friday, Bozek said Bishop John J. Leibrecht, leader of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, had asked Burke if the priest could take a leave of absence to shepherd St. Stanislaus while the dispute over control was resolved. Burke refused, and Bozek resigned from St. Agnes Friday."

This makes it sound like Leibrecht was willing to let him leave, but Burke said no.

[tewter]

St. Meinrad Seminary is not known for its orthodoxy. Our diocese (Springfield/Cape Girardeau) is not known for its orthodoxy - bishop, priests (for the most part), and people. Bozek was Leibrecht's fair-haired boy - the kind of priest saying and doing the kinds of things he heartily approves of and covered with much approbation in our diocesan newspaper. Very disturbing for Catholics who have more than a passing acquaintance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and our sacred Tradition. We will probably never know what St. Meinrad's advised Leibrecht about ordaining Bozek as Leibrecht will never tell, but Bozek is typical of many priests coming through the Catholic seminary system today. You can read numerous factual accounts of the problems documented over the past 10-12 years in The Wanderer, but nothing beats first-hand conversations with the priests themselves. This type of thing makes it really hard on the fine, orthodox young men who are trying to fulfill their priestly vocations alongside of the Bozeks of this world. As a member of the Springfield/Cape diocese, I am appalled at the caliber of men recruited for the sacred priesthood here during Leibrecht's tenure.