http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20650750
Santa Barbara nuns possibly forced out of home to pay for priest sex scandal
KSBY-TV
Friday, September 07, 2007
Reported by: Melissa Mecija
SANTA BARBARA
Three Santa Barbara nuns may have to find a new place to live to help pay for a priest sex abuse settlement.
In a letter, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles notified the Sisters of Bethany that their convent was identified for potential sale. This is all to help pay clergy abuse victims in the record breaking $660 million dollar settlement.
The assessor's office lists the value of the property on Nopal Street at near $98,000 dollars, but it's likely to sell for much more. Nearby homes are listed as seven times that amount.
"To a certain degree, I feel like the victims themselves," said Sister Angela Escalera.
Sister Angela Escalera may be forced to say goodbye to the Santa Barbara community she's known for more than 40 years.
"I'm very hurt. I'm very very hurt," Sister Angela said.
In a brief letter, the Los Angeles Archdiocese explained the convent may be up for sale. All this is to help pay for the sex scandal plaguing the Catholic Church. Although the letter was dated in June, the sisters only received it recently. There were no phone calls or visits by the archdiocese.
"It was a very cold letter, and I think that's what hurt the most," Sister Angela said.
Sister Angela, Sister Margarita, and Sister Conseulo dedicate their lives to serving others.
Father Rafael Marin of Our Lady of Guadalupe sees this firsthand.
"They are wonderful. They have done a wonderful job," Father Rafael said.
"I think it's a shame," said Anna Vasquez. She knows all three sisters and is a parishioner at the nearby Our Lady of Guadalupe. "I can't understand why they would seize a property to pay for something they had no part of."
One of their options: moving to their convent in Los Angeles. It's an option Sister Angela doesn't want to pursue.
"I have to be realistic--I do not want to leave here. We work with the poorest of the poor. And they feel this is their convent," Sister Angela said.
The convent and the sisters: the latest casualties of one of the biggest scandals to rock the Catholic Church in recent history.
The archdiocese released a statement saying:
"These are painful times, but difficult decisions have to be made. All of us as a church are paying for the sins of a few people."
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Did someone already post this?: Nuns Possibly Forced Out of Home
by Amnesty Vendor 4 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Amnesty Vendor
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BFD
Couldn't they just sell the pope's ring. Religion is just oh, so pitiful. All of it.
BFD
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yknot
Didn't the WTBS recently let-go some Bethelites and aren't they selling WTBS farmlands and other props?
Maybe the Pope will be announced as one of the New GB as part of a merger to consolidate and minimize damages.
So sad for the women, please pray for their deliverance from this tribulation.
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greendawn
It's not natural to force grown up men to remain celibate eventually sexual tension will find its outlets in perhaps not so nice ways and they will have to pay the price for it.
I wonder why the popes still keep this unbiblical tradition. -
tula
Lots of stuff about catholic church isn't natural.
