Oh, I'm $ure God will provide for him.
"Atlanta’s archbishop to sell mansion; $2.2m residence will cease to be his home in May" by Ray Henry | Associated Press April 06, 2014
SMYRNA, Ga. — Trying to appease angry parishioners, the archbishop of Atlanta said Saturday that he will sell a $2.2 million mansion just three months after he moved in.
Archbishop Wilton Gregory announced the decision after a closed-door meeting with members of several church councils at his headquarters north of Atlanta. He publicly apologized Monday for building the Tudor-style residence and will move out in early May.
‘‘I have decided to sell the Habersham property and invest the proceeds from that sale into the needs of the Catholic community,’’ Gregory said after the meeting. He declined to take questions.
It was not immediately clear where Gregory will live next. He will not return to his old residence, which was sold for $1.9 million to Christ the King Cathedral. The cathedral plans to expand the archbishop’s former home and house its priests there.
Gregory said last week that if the church sold the mansion, he would seek to live in a setting more modest than his current mansion or his previous home.
A group of Catholics in Gregory’s diocese had asked since January that he sell off the more than 6,000-square-foot home in keeping with the tone of austerity set by Pope Francis.
Elected last year, Francis said he wants a church for the poor, drives in an economy car, and lives in a guestroom rather than a Vatican palace. He has denounced the ‘‘idolatry of money’’ and warned against ‘‘insidious worldliness’’ within the church.
Laura Mullins, one of several Catholics who asked Gregory to sell, praised the archbishop for making a quick decision and ending the debate.
The mansion was made possible by a generous multimillion dollar gift to the archdiocese.
‘‘He is the person we follow locally,’’ she said. ‘‘He sets the mood. He sets the example for all of us to follow. If he is choosing to use a gift so personally, what does that tell the people sitting in the pews?’’
Gregory thanked parishioners for raising the issue, and he acknowledged last week the importance of Francis’ example.
‘‘He’s called us to live more simply,’’ Gregory said in an interview Wednesday, before announcing the decision to sell the residence.
‘‘He also has encouraged bishops to grow closer to their people, to listen to their people. And that, I take as a pretty serious admonition. I’m disappointed in myself . . . because in my nine years, I do believe that I’ve grown very close to the people of the archdiocese. And I think this decision is an aberration rather than a pattern.’’
Even before the new pope’s election, top-ranking Catholics were selling off luxurious homes, most built decades or a century ago by their predecessors seeking to demonstrate the growing clout of the Catholic church.
The downsizing by archbishops in Boston and Philadelphia was also symbolically important during a period when church officials were closing parishes, schools, and paying big settlements for clergy sex abuse.
The wealthy donor in Atlanta was Joseph Mitchell, the nephew of the author of ‘‘Gone With the Wind.’’ He left an estate worth more than $15 million to the local church when he died in 2011.
Mitchell asked in his will that the proceeds be used for ‘‘general religious and charitable purposes.’’ He also requested that his parish, Christ the King Cathedral, get primary consideration.
The archdiocese gave $7.5 million to the cathedral, and cathedral officials bought Gregory’s old home. By moving its priests into Gregory’s former residence, the cathedral can free up space on its crowded campus.
After the sale, Gregory needed a new home.
The church demolished Mitchell’s old home and replaced it with an expansive mansion, featuring an upper-level safe room, an eight-burner kitchen stove, an elevator, public and private offices, and two dining rooms.
Architects initially planned space for a wine room and wanted an antique chandelier in the foyer, though those plans were dropped.
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Tired of money junkie $hits at the top of all the in$titutions yet?
Good God!
Time to go to school:
"Catholic teacher contract gets exact on behavior; Archdiocese in Ohio details some violations" by Lisa Cornwell | Associated Press April 06, 2014
CINCINNATI — The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church is so complex that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is giving teachers a cheat sheet on some of the things that can get them fired.
A new contract proposal from the diocese specifies some violations of Catholic doctrine that could put teachers out of a job — including abortion, artificial insemination, and ‘‘homosexual lifestyles’’ — and extends forbidden behavior to include public support for those kinds of causes.
The proposal has drawn some complaints that the language is overly broad and a cynical attempt to make it harder for wrongfully terminated teachers to sue.
Teachers have long been required to act in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church’s philosophy but it’s rare for an archdiocese to include examples of forbidden behavior in its contract.
The archdiocese says it is trying to be fairer to the staff. ‘‘It clarifies what is expected of all of our teachers,’’ archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco said.
The new language comes after a series of lawsuits and other problems involving educators fired over alleged doctrinal violations in the archdiocese....
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Did you learn anything?
