Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory To Sell $2.2 Million Mansion

[MADem]

32. If he wants to have a birthday party for his favorite niece, the parishoners shouldn't foot that

bill. He can pay to rent the common room at the condo, same as anyone else, if his one bedroom apartment can't fit all his guests. I don't have any problem with priests having ordinary lives where they celebrate with family like every one else so long as they understand the difference between their personal and private lives, and using their office for personal gain, or sponging off the parishoners.

The major argument for that glitzy house was "entertainment" and they didn't specify if the entertaining was church related or not. Anything church related can get written off, and in that case, they can rent a function room at the Sheraton or the Hyatt or what-have-you, instead of having a giant barn sitting there waiting for the odd event.

It costs money to heat churches. Or cool them in hot climates. This is why the whole "rectory" concept has gone by the wayside, and priests often live "off campus" as it were (leading to these crazy abuses). The pope, if I am not mistaken, when he was the cardinal of Argentina or whatever they called him, lived in an apartment in a modest neighborhood, not a fancy rectory or residence.

No reason why priests can't do the same; even if the church bought a small condo with decent security near the church and let the priest(s) live in it while they had the job, that's fine. No reason for a priest in a city like Atlanta to live in squalor, but no need for them to live like a king either.