CREEDE HINSHAW: Archbishop gets unwanted publicity for $2.2 million home

The Washington Post article this week — in language befitting the National Enquirer — breathlessly revealed that “(t)he Vatican is facing an embarrassing new scandal.” That’s how the Post described the unwelcome publicity that Archbishop Wilton Gregory of the Atlanta Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church is moving into a newly constructed $2.2 million, 6,000-square-foot mansion in Buckhead.

Although the Post got carried away, even the most generous interpretation in Atlanta would conclude that church was a victim of incredibly poor timing. Winds of change have been wafting through the Catholic Church ever since the election of — and example set by — Pope Francis, who recently took to task a German Archbishop for his outrageous expenditures on a cushy church residence.

This column is not to defend Archbishop Gregory’s choice of housing. His apology seems heartfelt and he may — this is unclear — sell the house and move to a more humble setting.

Nevertheless, having lived in seven church-owned homes over 36 years gives one a different perspective of the awkward crosscurrents for every church that owns a parsonage/manse/etc. and the cleric who lives there. Any Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran or other Protestant can commiserate with their Catholic kin on these complexities and thickets.

If you think it’s hard for a homeowner to decide when to replace carpeting, repaint a room, purchase a new appliance or update home d