Atlanta archbishop plans to sell mansion

The Week
April 5, 2014

http://theweek.com/article/index/259441/speedreads-atlanta-archbishop-plans-to-sell-mansion

Should Archbishop Wilton Gregory sell his Buckhead home? Advisors are discussing right now.

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory announced today that he will sell his $2.2 million mansion, which he just moved into three months ago.

Gregory says he made the decision following outcries from parishioners — and from an example of austerity Pope Francis has stringently followed during his first year on the job. Wondering what Gregory’s Tudor-style palace looked like?

As for how a priest even affords such digs, Joseph Mitchell, nephew of the author of Gone With the Wind, left more than $15 million to the local diocese when he died in 2011. The money was to be used for "general religious and charitable purposes," and Gregory apparently decided a personal mansion fell under that umbrella.

"(Pope Francis has) called us to live more simply," Gregory told The Associated Press. "I'm disappointed in myself…I think this decision is an aberration rather than a pattern."