Is This What Jesus Would Do?
The CNN Belief Blog ran an article over the weekend about U.S. Archbishops living lives of grandeur in huge, million $ plus estates whilst their flocks struggle to put food on the family table.
It is found here:http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/american-archbishops-lavish-homes/?sr=fb080214lavishhomes2pInteractiveLink. This photo, published in the DallasMorningNews blog is one of a variety of less than modest domiciles lived in by ten Archbishops who apparently did not get the memo on lavish lifestyles from the Pope.
This house is the residence of Archbishop Joseph Myers, Newark, N.J. According to the report, the original $500,000 house is putting on an $800,000 addition of his weekend/retirement retreat. The new wing includes an exercise pool, hot tub, 3 fire places and a library. Yes, that’s the Newark, N.J. you’re familiar with.
Full disclosure: I’m either an atheist or agnostic and a”fallen away” Catholic, depending on mood. And, I spent a couple of years in the 70’s as member of the board of a group called the National Association of Laity attempting, with great futility, to assist in reform of the Catholic Church. One of our projects was to fly around the country meeting with Bishops, often in some of these residences, persuading them to open up their books to disclose the assets of their diocese to their flocks; we used various techniques devised by allied c.p.a.s and attorney’s to motivate those resisting our demands. It worked because for a brief period, all of the diocesan books were opened and reports published. Sadly, the local flocks, whom we thought would be really interested in the holdings of the Church, allowed those same books to close after a couple of years. We were wrong. No one gave a damn.
So, this article intrigued me. Once again, I don’t think anyone gives a damn.
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You can see a little of this right here in Wilmington. The Bishop’s seat is the Cathedral of St. Peter — whose baptismal records date back to the 1790’s. The church itself took life in 1816 and is one of the most historic sites in Wilmington and Delaware. The Bishop does not live at his Cathedral, but in his own home someplace in North Wilmington. I have no idea what kind of house he lives in. But St. Peter’s is a beautiful church, that needs help. A bishop who lives and works from there would be a great impetus for rebuilding and would also be a help with stabilizing the neighborhood. It seems that the Church has been abandoning its cathedral and the surrounding neighborhood and I think that the Bishop living there would help support this church.
No room to meaningfully disagree with you as, regrettably, too much of what you say is accurate.
Don’t misunderstand me as I’m not defending this group but some of the large homes occupied by the upper echelon clergy were received as donations from guilt wracked parishioners. I suppose they should sell them for the benefit of the flock. My recollection is that the Bishop’s Wilmington residence was sold during the Diocese’ bankruptcy. He currently lives in the Trolley Square area in a modest home shared by others.
As for the catholic church, try connecting with the Catholic Leadership Institute. http://www.catholicleaders.org/. The Institute “tries” to educate the ministry on modern life concepts like openness, fallibility, and to behave around the alter servers.
The bishop’s house was sold during bankruptcy proceeding and it was located at I believe at 14th and Bancroft Pkwy – It was not a particularly big or ostentatious house and his home now is modest.