his appointment, Burke demanded that the structure of the parish once again conform to current canon law norms for the United States. The lay board formally appealed to the Holy See, but that appeal was denied. The archdiocese did not dispute the fact that the deed to the church property itself belongs to the parish corporation and not to the archdiocese. What was disputed instead was the membership of that corporation, and how the members were to be chosen. In interpreting the bylaws on these questions, the District Court ruled against the archdiocese and affirmed St. Stanislaus' ownership of its property and its right to craft bylaws that limit the authority of the Roman Catholic archbishop. In August 2004, Burke removed both priests from the parish and transferred the Polish ministry to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church, located across from St. Louis Union Station. When the priests left the parish, they took with them property of the parish, including the hymnals, missals, songbooks, and parish records. In January 2005 Burke threatened the members of the parish board of directors with an interdict if they did not comply with his instructions by February 4, 2005. On February 10, 2005, the lay board had not complied, and the archbishop issued an interdict against the board members, stating that they "knowingly, deliberately and publicly damaged seriously the unity of the Church." As of February 25, 2005, Burke's reorganization plan for parishes in south St. Louis City permanently changed the personal parish for Polish Catholics in St. Louis to the nearby church of St. Agatha, a move to which was completed on July 1, 2005. In December 2005, the lay board announced plans to hire a priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (in southern Missouri), the Rev. Marek B. Bozek, whose bishop, John Joseph Leibrecht, immediately suspended him for leaving his post without permission. In response to the action of the board, on December 16, 2005, Burke declared that Bozek and the lay board members, Dr. Joseph Rudawski, John Baras, William Bialczak, Edward Florek, Stanley Novak, and John Robert Zabielski, were guilty of the ecclesiastical crime, or delict, of schism from the Roman Catholic Church, an offense to which is automatically attached the penalty of excommunication. In a letter to Catholics in the Archdiocese, he warned the faithful that they would be risking grave sin if they knowingly attempted to receive