by Tom Gallagher
One simply can't make this stuff up. At least one member of the hierarchy, German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, was removed from office because of outlandish, regal spending on his home. Another, Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory, is said to be selling his $2.2 million home after bad press caused a small synod to be held in his archdiocese to ponder what the archbishop should do -- stay or go. In Newark, N.J., Archbishop John J. Myers remains silent but has his archdiocesan spokesman make ridiculous claims of probity about the archbishop's 7,500-square-foot retirement home.
The list of expensive bishops' residences can be found in other dioceses as well, including Bridgeport, Conn.; Camden, N.J.; Trenton, N.J.; and so on.
Yet closer to the papal home -- in fact, practically on top of the papal residence -- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state from 2006 to 2013, has combined two apartments into one 6,500-square-foot luxury residence.
According to The Telegraph, which cites Italian daily La Repubblica:
La Repubblica said the cardinal's new apartment includes a large rooftop terrace and would be about 10 times bigger than Pope Francis' home once extensive renovations have been completed this summer.
The cardinal is combining two apartments, one measuring 4,300 square feet formerly inhabited by the head of the gendarmerie and another flat where a Vatican monsignor lived, the article claimed. Three nuns who worked with him while he was Vatican secretary of state are also to live in his new residence.
Bertone needs three nuns to live in his residence? The nuns can't find a more appropriate living arrangement outside of Bertone's apartment?
One report claims that Bertone's actions have angered the pope. You think?
