GEORGIA
TH Online
Posted: Saturday, April 5, 2014
Associated Press
SMYRNA, Ga. — Trying to appease angry parishioners, the archbishop of Atlanta said today that he will sell a $2.2 million mansion just three months after he moved in.
Archbishop Wilton Gregory announced the decision following 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 offered to move elsewhere.
“I have decided to sell the Habersham property and invest the proceeds from that sale into the needs of the Catholic community,” Gregory told The Associated Press after the meeting.
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 instead of a Vatican palace. He has denounced the “idolatry of money” and warned against “insidious worldliness” within the church.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.