Ignatius Group to Bishop Malone (Portland, ME): Sell the Mansion
From an e-mail from IgnatiusGroup@aol.com
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Ignatius Group____ We are asking Bishop Richard J. Malone to answer two reasonable questions: 1) Does it make sense for you to use church funds to pay the expense for one person (you) to live in a 7,000 sq. ft., 16 room, $1.2 million mansion? 2) How does your decision to use $1.2 million of parishioners’ resources for this purpose affect, involve or enable the poor?
Bishop Malone won’t respond. In fact, he won’t disclose any of the costs of operating and maintaining such a large building. While most Maine families are pinching and scraping to pay the high costs of home heating oil this winter season, Bishop Malone lives comfortably in a 7,000 sq.ft. home, paid for by the way, by Maine’s Catholic community.
Annual Fiscal Report
During the next few weeks, Bishop Malone will release the diocese’s 2007 annual financial report for the period ending June 30, 2007.
At this same time last year, David Twomey, Diocesan Finance Director, issued a subtle warning. “Both parish offertory and the Bishop’s Appeal have increased but not at a pace to cover the inflationary increases in expenses. Fortunately, we have been able to hold the rate of growth in operating expense at about 1.8%. Unfortunately, this has caused some ministries to be constrained or reduced. The challenge we face as we move to a cluster structure is to make best use of our current resources…”
Which begs the question? Does Bishop Malone really want us to believe that “the best use of our current resources” is for the bishop to live by himself in a 7,000 sq.ft. residence?
It’s ironic. On the one hand Bishop Malone wants Maine’s Catholics to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets to help support the Bishop’s Appeal, yet, on the other hand, Bishop Malone refuses to move out of his grandiose mansion to less costly and more appropriate living quarters.
Elderly, Retired Priests Evicted
It is interesting to note that, several months ago, Bishop Malone did not hesitate to “evict” several elderly, retired priests from their living quarters at the Cathedral when it became more cost efficient to lease the same space to Catholic Charities (administrative offices).
The Poor are the Church, Bishop Malone.
Sell the mansion.
Paul Kendrick Ignatius group 207 838 1319
P.S. We have a New Year’s wish for Bishop Malone. We’d like the bishop to invite all Maine Catholics to follow the bishop’s lead by taking the following action during Lent 2008: all meetings held under Church auspices, at the parish or diocesan level, no matter what their purpose, must begin with the agenda item: How shall what we are doing here affect or involve the poor?
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The Bishop’s Mansion
Bishop Richard Malone lives by himself in a three-story, 7,000 sq. ft. brick mansion in Portland’s most expensive neighborhood. His stately residence has sixteen rooms, including six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a three-car garage. The bishop refuses to tell parishioners the annual costs of heating, operating and maintaining his luxurious home.
The bishop’s property has been assessed by the City of Portland at an approximate value of $1.2 million. Property taxes amount to more than $18,000 per year. It is estimated that the expense of heating, operating and maintaining the mansion costs an additional $22,000 per year.
Bishop Malone refuses to relocate to a more cost efficient and affordable residence, even though there is an abundance of comfortable living and entertainment space available in any one of the nearby parish rectories.
Bishop’s Mansion at 199 Western Promenade, Portland (3 car garage not shown)
3 Responses to “Ignatius Group to Bishop Malone (Portland, ME): Sell the Mansion”
December 31, 2007 at 4:42 am
My personal response to the unconscionable obfuscating of diocesan and parish financial matters is to drop the appropriate budget envelope each week into the collection basket … empty. By itself this will have little or no effect, but, if it becomes widely practiced, it’s the only action that might possibly provoke any meaningful, open, honest,(if reluctant) fiscal accountablity by the bishop to those who are footing the bills.
Special Note: Don’t use this as an excuse for reducing your overall contributions to needy causes. I can only do this in good conscience if I increase my other donations by at least a like amount.
April 2, 2009 at 12:52 am
Bishop Malone not only owns this so called mansion in Maine, his legal residence but is applying or has applied for protection under the Declaration of Estate Homstead Act. in Mass… Address: 51 Hazelwood Dr. So. Dennis , Mass. ,that he owns with the Rev. Paul E. Micelli. It is illegal to do this with a vacation or investment home. Is he trying to skirt the Law? As almost all the RC Clergy seem to do when it suits their pocketbook or sexual proclivities. His legal address is Maine, where he resides , votes etc.What say You?
April 1, 2009 …No April fools Joke!
November 28, 2009 at 3:13 pm
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