wkbw.com
By Kyla Igoe
August 19, 2011
Updated Aug 20, 2011 at 9:28 AM EDT
Buffalo, NY (WKBW)- A warrant is out now for the arrest of Father Matthew Wydmanski, Pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Buffalo’s Broadway Market District. According to court documents, Wydmanski was arrested on August 6th. Police claim the priest was passed out drunk behind the wheel of his car in Black Rock. When officers tried to check on him, they say the priest stepped on the gas, and nearly striked two officers with his vehicle. Wydmanski was charged with of list of charges including DWI and 1st degree Reckless Endangerment and was scheduled to appear in Buffalo City Court last week for a preliminary felony hearing.
Court records reveal he was a no-show to his scheduled court appearance and it’s believed he flew to Poland, his native country, the day before his court appearance.
Father Wydmanski, who’s real name is Bodgan, came to Corpus Christi Church in 2008 and became the church pastor in 2010. He is not a diocesan priest, but part of the Pauline Fathers. Leaders say his actions were not condoned and Wydmanski did not have permission to leave the country. WKBW reached out to the Pauline Fathers, and they released this statement Friday afternoon.
“On August 6th, Fr. Matthew Wydmanski, O.S.P.P.E., Pastor of Corpus Christi Church, which is owned and staffed by the Pauline Fathers, was arrested by Buffalo Police for driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and reckless driving. He was arraigned in Buffalo City Court and plead not guilty. The case was scheduled for a preliminary hearing . Fr. Matthew did not show up for the preliminary hearing, and on August 11, he apparently left the country, flying from Toronto to his native Poland. Fr. Matthew is not a citizen of the United States. Fr. Matthew is a member of a religious order, and as such is under a vow of obedience to his superiors. Fr. Matthew did not have permission to leave the United States. As Provincial of the order, I did not give Fr. Matthew permission to leave, and I do not condone his actions. The Pauline Fathers consider it an honor to serve Corpus Christi Parish, and do not condone drunk-driving or fleeing to avoid prosecution.”
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Priest facing DWI case leaves U.S. for Poland
News Staff Reporter
Published:August 19, 2011, 7:59 AM
Updated: August 19, 2011, 9:05 AM
The Rev. Matthew Wydmanski, pastor of Corpus Christi Church at 199 Clark St., has apparently returned to his native Poland, even though he is facing aggravated DWI and felony reckless endangerment charges as a result of his Aug. 6 arrest.
Wydmanski, 46, missed a court hearing last Friday and now has a bench warrant out for his arrest.
But parishioners of Corpus Christi were told by the Rev. Simon Shaner, associate pastor, that Wydmanski returned to Poland due to problems with his immigration status.
“The only thing I can tell you is he left for Poland,” said Leonard Sikorski, a parish trustee.
Sikorski said he wasn’t made aware of any charges against Wydmanski or whether the priest would be returning.
“I have no idea. Nothing has been said,” he added.
Shaner declined to comment Thursday through a church secretary who returned a phone call from The Buffalo News.
Wydmanski, who is not a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, is part of the Pauline Fathers & Brothers, a Catholic order based in Poland that took over operation of Corpus Christi in 2004.
Diocesan spokesman Kevin A. Keenan declined to comment, referring questions to the Paulines.
Wydmanski has served at the traditionally Polish parish in the city’s Broadway-Fillmore section since late 2008 and has been pastor since January 2010.
Police stopped near Hertel Avenue and East Street, in the city’s Black Rock section, shortly after midnight because they noticed a 2011 Chevy Equinox with a flat tire on the front passenger side.
When Officer Sara Jo Keaton approached the vehicle, she saw Wydmanski passed out at the wheel, according to an arrest report.
Wydmanski woke up as Keaton tapped the window with a flashlight. While the two officers checked the doors of the vehicle, Wydmanski stepped on the gas pedal, almost striking both officers, according to the report.
He continued heading westbound, stopping at Niagara Street, then proceeding toward the foot of Hertel Avenue, where he attempted to drive up a curb near the Niagara River where a man was fishing.
Police took him into custody at that point, and Wydmanski failed several field sobriety tests. A test at police headquarters showed he had a 0.21 percent blood-alcohol content, almost three times the legal limit.
Wydmanski also was charged with reckless driving and fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, both misdemeanors.
Officers identified Wydmanski as Bogdan Kazimierz Wydmanski, the name on his state driver’s license. He is known to parishioners by his priestly name, Father Matthew Wydmanski.
The Rev. Joseph Olczak, head of the American province of the Pauline Fathers & Brothers, said Wydmanski called him on Aug. 11 to say he was leaving Buffalo to return to Poland.
Olczak said he was not aware that Wydmanski missed a court date for a felony charge and was wanted on a warrant.
“Obviously you know more than I do. He didn’t tell me that,” said Olczak, adding that he was shocked by the news.
When asked whether Wydmanski needed to ask his superiors for a leave of absence, Olczak responded: “Well, he’s supposed to.”
According to a short biography on Corpus Christi’s Facebook page, Wydmanski grew up in Sosnowiec, a town in the southern part of Poland near Katowice, and attended high school in Oswiecim.
He later studied chemistry and entered the Pauline Monastery in Krakow, leading to his ordination in 1992.
Wydmanski spent 15 years in Germany before moving to the Pauline Monastery in Doylestown, Pa.; he was not a U.S. citizen and was serving here either on a special religious visa or on a visitor’s visa, said Olczak.
Olczak said he wasn’t sure where exactly Wydmanski ended up in Poland. “I would guess that he would go live with his parents,” he said.
Olczak also said he wasn’t aware of whether Wydmanski had a drinking problem, and he did not want to speculate.
“Everyone has a right to their good name,” he said.
The Pauline Fathers planned to assign a new priest to Corpus Christi as early as next week, Olczak said.
It will be up to the office of the Erie County District Attorney to determine whether Wydmanski will be extradited from Poland to answer the charges.
The Pauline Fathers have been credited with restoring Corpus Christi, a venerable landmark at the corner of Clark and Kent streets that narrowly escaped closing in 2003 when the Conventual Franciscan Friars pulled out of the parish they had staffed for more than a century.