CNN: The lavish homes of American archbishops

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tommy999
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
phil19034
Also priests and bishops make no money.
Click to expand...
This is incorrect.

Diocesan Bishops and priest are paid salaries. The money they make is their private money. Also, whatever they might inherit from their families, is theirs. My Bishop inherited property from his parents and he shares the home as a summer residence with his sister. It’s in a nice upscale seacoast town.

In addition to their salaries, they get free room, board and transportation allowances.

They do have to pay for their own vacations, cars, and personal needs and they also pay tax on their salaries.

The issue is Bishops who live in high places of luxury and influence with the wealthy. Although they don’t necessarily own the property, it’s where they live and enjoy their lifestyles.

Many also have luxurious retirement homes they go to, paid for by the dioceses.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
phil19034

This is incorrect.

Diocesan Bishops and priest are paid salaries. The money they make is their private money. Also, whatever they might inherit from their families, is theirs. My Bishop inherited property from his parents and he shares the home as a summer residence with his sister. It’s in a nice upscale seacoast town.

In addition to their salaries, they get free room, board and transportation allowances.

They do have to pay for their own vacations, cars, and personal needs and they also pay tax on their salaries.

The issue is Bishops who live in high places of luxury and influence with the wealthy. Although they don’t necessarily own the property, it’s where they live and enjoy their lifestyles.

Many also have luxurious retirement homes they go to, paid for by the dioceses.

Jim
Click to expand...
Names, please. What proportion of bishops is ‘many’? What constitutes’ luxurious?

With the exception of I believe two current bishops in the US who recently built/rebuilt residences (and things built in AD 2014 AUTOMATICALLY COST MORE MONEY than things built 100 years ago!), these residences were built (and NOT by the bishop himself) by the Catholics of the time, “to the GLORY OF GOD”. Not the glory of the bishop, who after all neither ‘takes it with him’ nor has the ability to ‘will it’ to somebody of his own choosing.

Ask anybody who has anything to do with the upkeep, let alone restoration, of old buildings. They have to be brought up to code. They need extensive work as things ‘wear out’. They are subject to nature (quakes, wind storms, floods) etc. They are often not just for the bishop himself but many others. . .and often their care PAYS THE SALARIES of many people.

I’m sorry but I think CNN is very hypocritical. They are really, not so subtly, trying to paint US bishops as ‘fat cats’ living the high life, so that Joe and Jane Average Catholic will do a knee-jerk of "Oh, they’re telling me they need all MY MONEY but look at how the BISHOP is living like a king, the Catholic Church is completely corrupt and evil’. . .

Sad.
 
Starrsmother said:
I’m a Catholic and I love my church, but this response is typical of many I see today that (in my opinion) do nothing to help the church. I understand why some Catholics get testy when someone criticizes anything Catholic

The problem is that we SHOULD talk. WE–us lay people–are a part of the body of Christ too. If a protestant brings up a negative point that’s true, we should be able to offer apologetics on the matter. If something untrue is thrown at us, then we should be able to defend the church. What we should NOT do is get testy that someone dares to paint the Catholic church in an unfavorable light. As Jesus said, “they persecuted Me–they will persecute you too”! I

I got a 10 day suspension from this site a few weeks back for pointing out some truths about what all happened with V2.
Click to expand...
I like you Starrsmother. Where have you been hiding! So true what you say xcept not sure what this v2 thing is that you are all talking about. I think we all at some point get a suspension or so. Hang in there. I like the way you think. You might tone down the Marxist thing though:D
 
Tantum ergo
Names, please. What proportion of bishops is ‘many’? What constitutes’ luxurious?
Click to expand...
See OP article.

OK, not many, just 10 of the 35 US Bishops. That should make us feel better. :rolleyes:

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Tantum ergo

***See OP article. ***

OK, not many, just 10 of the 35 US Bishops. That should make us feel better. :rolleyes:

Jim
Click to expand...
Just look at the first one. When was that supposed “mansion” built?

The appraisal company - in all likelihood- came to that figure not because that’s how much the archdiocese spent to prop that up recently but because it’s a livable location situated in what is now NY’s most luxurious street, with high end commercial establishments (Gucci, Armani Exchange, Saks Fifth Avenue, Rolex) either just across the street or fairly near-by the Cathedral. It’s also right across the street of the General Electric Building, which also is home to NBC Studios: Rockefeller Center. That, and they factored in the historicity of the building.

These antiques that are also supposedly housed inside are actually prized Church pieces, unless you feel the need to bemoan the Cardinal for having a bronze head of Pope John XXIII and a sculpture of St. Patrick.

I can’t speak for all of them as there is opulence present but I think it’s flawed to blame officials that live in certain buildings that have high price tag simply because the surrounding area grew more affluent.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
phil19034

This is incorrect.

Diocesan Bishops and priest are paid salaries. The money they make is their private money. Also, whatever they might inherit from their families, is theirs. My Bishop inherited property from his parents and he shares the home as a summer residence with his sister. It’s in a nice upscale seacoast town.

In addition to their salaries, they get free room, board and transportation allowances.

They do have to pay for their own vacations, cars, and personal needs and they also pay tax on their salaries.

The issue is Bishops who live in high places of luxury and influence with the wealthy. Although they don’t necessarily own the property, it’s where they live and enjoy their lifestyles.

Many also have luxurious retirement homes they go to, paid for by the dioceses.

Jim
Click to expand...
I didn’t mean they literally don’t have a salary. I already stated in a previous thread that priests range from 18,000 to 30,000 per year depending on where they live in the US.

Bishops average salary is between $20,000 to $25,000 per year.

I was simply say that salary wise, Catholic Priests and Bishops are the lowest paid or among the lowest paid clerics who recognize the God of Abraham (I don’t know what the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Church of the East priests/bishops make)
 
phil19034 said:
I didn’t mean they literally don’t have a salary. I already stated in a previous thread that priests range from 18,000 to 30,000 per year depending on where they live in the US.

Bishops average salary is between $20,000 to $25,000 per year.

I was simply say that salary wise, Catholic Priests and Bishops are the lowest paid or among the lowest paid clerics who recognize the God of Abraham (I don’t know what the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Church of the East priests/bishops make)
Click to expand...
As of Nov. 5, 2010, the average salary of a Catholic priest for advertised openings in the United States was $40,000, according to Simply Hired. Yearly compensation from area to area varies widely, however, swaying as wide as $29,211 in Phoenix to $44,566 in Miami during 2010, according to Salary Expert. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook notes that a priest’s take-home cash earnings may be significantly less–less than $20,000. ehow.com/about_7461871_average-salary-catholic-priest.html
Click to expand...
The salary doesn’t include free room and board and living expenses that varies by dioceses.

Bishops salaries vary.
In its 2013 financial report, the Boston archdiocese listed Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s “Reportable Compensation from Corporation Sole” at $43,153. It included in a footnote: “From Cardinal O’Malley’s stipend, $35,953 is paid to the Capuchin Priests and Brothers; $7,200 is paid to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston for housing.” The document also listed an Amount of Other Compensation Not Included on W-2/1099 for O’Malley of $16,800. ncronline.org/news/people/how-much-bishop-worth
Click to expand...
It’s not a bad salary considering they have room, board and other living expenses covered outside of their salaries.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
The salary doesn’t include free room and board and living expenses that varies by dioceses.

Bishops salaries vary.

It’s not a bad salary considering they have room, board and other living expenses covered outside of their salaries.

Jim
Click to expand...
Note: the simply hired data is wrong. The Catholic Church doesn’t post openings for priests. I would imagine they are speaking about Old Catholics, American Catholics, and other schismatic so called “Catholics” who are hired by their diocese or parishes.
 
phil19034 said:
Note: the simply hired data is wrong. The Catholic Church doesn’t post openings for priests. I would imagine they are speaking about Old Catholics, American Catholics, and other schismatic so called “Catholics” who are hired by their diocese or parishes.
Click to expand...
Hired date would be when a priest was assigned in a dioceses by a Bishop.

Priests and Bishops file tax returns based on their salaries so W2 1040 tax return information is relevant in the data.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Hired date would be when a priest was assigned in a dioceses by a Bishop.

Priests and Bishops file tax returns based on their salaries so W2 1040 tax return information is relevant in the data.

Jim
Click to expand...
Simply Hired doesn’t have access to that information. They are a staffing website like monster.com

I just searched for “priest” on their website. The Catholic Priest postings are for jobs unrelated towards their role in the parish or diocese.

In all instances, the hiring organizations are organizations like private hospitals (some Catholic, some not) who are looking to hire a part time chaplain.

Any job that a priest gets from “Simply Hired” or “Monster.com” would be a second job.

What priests get 2nd jobs? Well, typically your non-pastors. Also, a priest might have elderly parents and uses the money to pay for elderly care for his parents. Sometimes retired priests like to do this work because they have little to do during the week.

The chaplain jobs posted here would be at hospitals that don’t receive assistance from a parish or diocese’s hospital ministry.

So why don’t the priests simply volunteer and do it for free? Because often the hospitals want them on their payroll so they can control what the priest does and doesn’t do.

Then why don’t the priest donate the money? I bet a lot do. Some give it to their parishes, some give it to their families, or even to the poor. But if they keep it, that doesn’t mean they are sinful.

So the correct salary is closer to and under $20,000 for a priest. Any extra money they make is for them taking a “second job”

NOTE: often an Anglican Use or Eastern Catholic priest must take one of these jobs so he can help support his wife and children.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Tantum ergo

See OP article.

OK, not many, just 10 of the 35 US Bishops. That should make us feel better. :rolleyes:

Jim
Click to expand...
It’s actually 10 of the 35 US archbishops.

This does not surprise me. Archbishops are heads of archdioceses, which are generally larger, metropolitan areas with a higher cost of living (and thus proportionately higher real estate values). They also generally require larger buildings to accommodate a larger Catholic population.
 
Joe_5859 said:
It’s actually 10 of the 35 US archbishops.

This does not surprise me. Archbishops are heads of archdioceses, which are generally larger, metropolitan areas with a higher cost of living (and thus proportionately higher real estate values). They also generally require larger buildings to accommodate a larger Catholic population.
Click to expand...
Bishop is the generic term for the heads of dioceses, whether they’re Archbishops or Cardinals.

Jim
 
Joe_5859 said:
Sure. I was just clarifying because there are a lot more than 35 bishops in the U.S. 😉
Click to expand...
But in the case of the article, they covered just the Archdioceses.

Anyway, still nothing to celebrate, even if it’s just 10.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
But in the case of the article, they covered just the Archdioceses.

Anyway, still nothing to celebrate, even if it’s just 10.

Jim
Click to expand...
I’m not celebrating, but I didn’t see much that concerned me. For example, one of the ten was Cardinal Dolan whose residence is in downtown New York City, is physically connected to the cathedral, and is a historical landmark. In light of that, I can understand the high estimated real estate value. But it would make no sense for him to go somewhere else. It would cost money and move him further away from the cathedral. 🤷

And, yes, they just covered the archdioceses. My point in calling attention to that is that the archdiocese are naturally going to have the most expensive residences because they are in urban centers with high costs. That is not representative of all or most dioceses.
 
Joe_5859 said:
I’m not celebrating, but I didn’t see much that concerned me. For example, one of the ten was Cardinal Dolan whose residence is in downtown New York City, is physically connected to the cathedral, and is a historical landmark. In light of that, I can understand the high estimated real estate value. But it would make no sense for him to go somewhere else. It would cost money and move him further away from the cathedral. 🤷
Click to expand...
Yeah, I pointed out long ago, that Cardinal Dolan’s residency is an apartment in the Chancery building attached to the Cathedral.

Still, there were valid stories in the article.

Also, the story posted earlier, of Cardinal George building a $2 million mansion in a burb of Atlanta was scandalous. Fortunately, he came to his senses and sold the building after feeling embarrassed after seeing Pope Francis humble choices in life-style.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Yeah, I pointed out long ago, that Cardinal Dolan’s residency is an apartment in the Chancery building attached to the Cathedral.

Still, there were valid stories in the article.

Also, the story posted earlier, of Cardinal George building a $2 million mansion in a burb of Atlanta was scandalous. Fortunately, he came to his senses and sold the building after feeling embarrassed after seeing Pope Francis humble choices in life-style.

Jim
Click to expand...
That was Archbishop Gregory (not Cardinal George), but I was also impressed with his decision to go another route. It takes a lot of courage to publicly admit an error in judgment and then seek to change course in mid-stream because of it.

I don’t mean to say that there’s nothing to the article. I think it is good for our bishops to be good models for us, and that includes living more austere lifestyles. But I am generally inclined to extend them the benefit of the doubt. I know how complicated these things can be (with the finances and the earmarked donations and the historical background), so I’m pretty slow to getting riled up about this when I know I am only receiving a small glimpse of the big picture.

If it were my bishop and I knew more of the background, then I might be more inclined to be upset. But my bishop’s house costs a lot less than a million dollars. 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top