St. Louis archbishop declares 2 at Polish heritage parish excommunicated

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke declares two new lay board members at a traditionally Polish parish excommunicated.

STLtoday.com reports on Monday that Burke sent letters to 65-year-old Bernice Krauze and 59-year-old Stan Rozanski alerting them that they are excommunicated.

Both were elected to the board in August, replacing two retired board members who were part of the original lay board at St. Stanislaus Kostka that Burke declared excommunicated in late 2005. That move came after a prolonged battle over the church's property and assets.

In his four years as archbishop in St. Louis, Burke has excommunicated 12 Catholics. Just last week, he declared excommunicated two women who were ordained as priests in an organization called Roman Catholic Womenpriests.