Does All Episcopal Bling Shine As Brightly?

There is blood in the water and it shines like bling. But does all episcopal bling shine as brightly?

There are circles in the Church in Catholic media that erupted in derisive joy of the resignation of the Bishop of Limburg, dubbed the Bishop of bling. The Pope accepted his resignation after month of controversy over money spent on his residence. This joy is magnified by the perception that Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst is perceived to be one of ‘Benedict’s boys.’

This case is not alone. Much criticism has been voiced over the expansion plans of the retirement home of the Bishop of Newark. The progressive National Catholic Reporter called the plans “nothing short of an assault on the goodwill and trust of the people of God.”

In fact, NCR went on to call the $800k expansion “..clearly the material of episcopal scandal, hedonism undisguised, a level of clerical privilege that knows no bounds.”

Wow. It should be noted that Bishop Myers of Newark is also considered a ‘conservative’ and so editors of NCR were likely not fans to begin with.

I bring all this up because I think that the editors may have missed a case of Episcopal bling that would give them the vapors and be subject to their hyperbolic condemnation.

Has NCR done anything to highlight the case in the Diocese of Atlanta?

Up until recently, this house used to be the residence of Archbishop Wilton Gregory.  That’s some pretty nice digs eh?  Well, the diocese just decided to purchase and renovate the house for a whopping $2.2 million.  The house will now be the home of the Cathedral priests.

Archbishop Gregory has moved out, so what is the biggie?

Well, Archbishop Gregory is ditching this little bungalow for a “6,196-square-foot home on Habersham Road in Buckhead. The archdiocese built that home at an additional cost of $2.2 million.”

That is almost a cool million more than the residence of the Bishop of Newark.

So for the life of me, I can’t figure out why NCR and the blogging compatriots are not hyperventilating over ‘clerical privilege’?

Is it possible that in the dull light of their diminished reason, progressive bling fails to shine brightly enough to get their attention?