By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – Archbishop Raymond Burke is urging representatives of St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church to continue meeting with the archdiocese.
The ethnic parish in north St. Louis is at odds with Burke over the handling of parish finances.
On Sunday, parishioners voted against ceding control of church assets to Burke.
Archdiocesan spokesman Jamie Allman said there's confusion among church members about recent plans to set up an irrevocable trust.
"They are afraid that it is not enforceable in some areas," Allman said. "They are afraid that it is essentially a hollow deal, and the Archbishop wants to convey to them in no uncertain terms that this indeed is not a hollow deal."
But board spokesman Roger Krasnicki said the plan is flawed.
"Once the board of directors has given up its property rights over that property and transferred it, they have no standing to sue in civil court," Krasnicki said.
Burke has given the board until February 4th to hand over the assets or face interdict- a penalty similar to excommunication, but less severe.