By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – A Roman Catholic parish at odds with the Archdiocese of St. Louis will elect a new board this weekend, but will put off a vote on new bylaws governing how the church will be run.
That temporary compromise in a long-running dispute between St. Stanislaus Kostka church and the archdiocese came Wednesday after a court hearing.
Under the agreement, the archdiocese withdrew its legal efforts to stop the church from electing a new board in return for the church agreeing to delay the vote on the bylaws.
Among other things, the proposed bylaws say the parish is independent of the St. Louis archdiocese and authorizes parishioners to hire and fire their pastor.
The archdiocese and six St. Stanislaus parishioners sued the parish last month. They want the church to return to its 1891 bylaws, which would give the Roman Catholic bishop authority to name the pastor and the parish corporation's board.
Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke declared the church's board and priest excommunicated in 2005 amid the disagreement over parish governance.
Some of the board members have since reconciled with the archdiocese.