Schuller, family to be paid a fraction of millions they sought

[Blue_Tires]

Robert H. Schuller — the founder of Crystal Cathedral and the face of the globally watched "Hour of Power" television program — and his family will be paid just a fraction of the millions they sought from the preacher's bankrupt ministry.

Schuller's daughter, Carol Milner, described Monday's ruling on intellectual property, copyright infringement and contract violations as a "travesty" that leaves the family no choice but to "start liquidating everything."

"It's an avoidance of responsibility for an organization to not take care of those who have gone before them. It's tragic," she said. "But sometimes tragedies speak louder than other stories."

Schuller alone had sought $5 million, and additional claims from the family — some that did not state specific amounts — would have pushed the family's demand far higher. The court gave the family slightly less than $700,000.

The ruling marks a final chapter in the financial unraveling of a ministry that once made Schuller a powerhouse in American Christianity.

The bankruptcy was "long and painful for everyone involved, and our congregation is ready to move on," said John Charles, the chief executive of Crystal Cathedral.

The ministry, which is now estranged from Schuller and has struggled to fill collection plates, will vacate the glass-panned cathedral in Garden Grove next summer and hold services in a Catholic church.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1127-schuller-bankruptcy-20121127,0,144896.story?fb_ref=fb_widget

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. How the mighty have fallen, eh?

Further proof to me that churches are little more than used car dealerships. Both sell a flawed and/or questionable product.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Glass houses...something about glass houses.....

Oh, yeah, now I remember.

[leftyohiolib]

5. people see what they want to see

[spanone]

3. well mr schuller, when you rob people in the name of God, karma awaits

[russspeakeasy]

14. I'm beginning to love karma.

[Panasonic]

4. Uh, they shouldn't have spent millions building that stupid catherdral.

A simple church is fine.

[yellowcanine]

12. It was not their money.

The cathedral was mortgaged to the hilt and payments were being made from contributions. When the contributions dried up the Crystal Cathedral went belly up. And Schuller is walking away with $600,000 for his "intellectual property rights", that is, coming up with the name "Hour of Power." This is in addition to his $196, 0000 annual salary he has been collecting. Who says crime doesn't pay? Schuller ran a giant Ponzi scheme and got away with it.

[sadbear]

6. $700,000 could feed a lot of hungry people.

Or buy a lot of square footage. Hmmm....I wonder which one they'll choose?

[RevStPatrick]

13. I could probably live for the rest of my life on $700,000...

AND feed some hungry people along the way.

[yellowcanine]

7. The creditors are getting pennies on the dollar and Schuller gets $600,000 and he is complaining?

This is in addition to his annual salary which the bankruptcy court listed at over $196,000, not bad for running a gigantic Ponzi scheme. Other family members, who have to divy up the remaining $100,000, were also getting fat salaries. So no one is actually hurting here. By all rights, the bankruptcy court should have asked them to return some of their compensation to pay off the creditors. And keep in mind the money was basically for "intellectual property rights", that is, "Hour of Power" - give me a friggin break.

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. He didn't run a "Ponzi scheme"

That term defines something different.


Schuller is simply a fraud.

[yellowcanine]

20. People loaned him money and he spent it instead of paying them back with interest.

He was moving money around between accounts to hide the shortfalls.

Amounts to the same thing. Whatever, he is a fraudster, that's for sure.

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/10/robert_schuller_lawsuit_credit.php

[Blue_Tires]

19. I think his crying and pleading poverty is a smokescreen to cover up

just how much he already pocketed from his "church"...

[Tutonic]

8. Sad day. But I'll bet my salary that this flim flammer

has already lined his pockets with milions--maybe billions from this institution. If you believe in a place called Hell--and I do--then this man will be across the hall from KKKarl Rove.

[BlueMan Votes]

15. and just down the hall from Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and...

Hitler.

these are satan's boys- they'll be helping to run the joint.

[yellowcanine]

22. Sad for whom? Not Schuller. He is pocketing $600,000 for the idea of "Hour of Power"

This was simply an attempt to grab some more money by Schuller. Denying him his $5 million may allow some of the small creditors to mostly get paid.

[LiberalAndProud]

9. Will it still be the Crystal Cathedral Church without the crystal cathedral?

Some institutions outlast their celebrity founders. There are still 1800 Foursquare churches nationwide, so there is hope for the congregants. I've given up trying to understand religious affiliation, so it's all the same to me.

[yellowcanine]

21. Crystal Cathedral Ministries still exists.

They apparently are leasing back the Crystal Cathedral until 2015 at which point the Orange Diocese will take it over under the name of "Christ Cathedral." The Diocese has offered a long term lease on a nearby Catholic church to the Crystal Cathedral Ministries. The Schullers are apparently out of the equation. Presumably they will have to console themselves with their $700,000 payment for the "intellectual property rights" of "Hour of Power" and whatever they were able to squirrel away from their meager salaries over the years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Cathedral_Ministries

[LiberalAndProud]

23. They are leaving in June 2013, and taking the name under advisement.

They'll be using a Catholic church lease-free for a time, under terms of the sale. Evidently the Cathedral will be some sort of Administrative Office/Museum hybrid (with a drive in church exhibit?) I don't know. Anyway, some folks literally turned over in their grave. or something.

http://news.yahoo.com/famed-crystal-cathedral-become-catholic-church-163619966.html

[markpkessinger]

27. The larger question is . . .

. . . was it ever a cathedral, since there was never a bishop?

I.e., the definition of a cathedral is the seat, or throne, of a bishop. Just sayin'.

[BlueMan Votes]

11. with michael jackson gone- who's next on the list of possible crystal cathederal buyers?

[LiberalAndProud]

16. Disney?

They could extend the monorail from Anaheim to Garden Grove.

[Chiyo-chichi]

18. According to this...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121127/us-crystal-cathedral/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange bought the Crystal Cathedral.

[Panasonic]

25. That's WHY the Catholic Church needs to have their tax exempt status revoked, permanently.

Il Papa must be happy to obtain another billion dollar waste of space.

[jody]

17. Demonstrates the power of technology and with it how a charismatic person can lead the gullible

and create a cult with world wide power.

The potential is there for abuse whether the cult is religious or political.

[joeybee12]

24. I have trouble mustering any sympathy for con artists...nt

[Turbineguy]

26. Sheesh!

next thing you know they'll be in the moocher class.

Oh, wait, never mind.

[Raine]

28. It's a beautiful building, I walked around it once

covers a huge amount of land.

[shanti]

29. good.

i went to school with their son, who was a self-righteous prig. the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...