# RCC reneges on Boston settlement - anybody surprised? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 4, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305 "2002-05-04T22:31:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/1 "2002-05-04T22:31:07Z")
[BBC story here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1967000/1967529.stm) Local Finance Council pleads poverty - anybody buy that? Not a peep from Rome (I’m shocked!) Anyway, legal types - does this constitute bad-faith negotiation? Are “For Sale” signs going to start appearing on churches? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/2 "2002-05-04T23:06:55Z")
Churches? The RCC own’s a lot more than churches. Of course you may be right. Churches could be the first on the auction block. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/3 "2002-05-05T01:24:14Z")
Anyone “surprised” at the author of the OP? Is the OP addressing the RCC as a whole (as his thread title suggests) or the actions of one archdiocesan financial council? I wouldn’t expect Rome to comment on the specifics of a financial/legal settlement of an individual diocese. Does the OP really expect that Rome would do this? Well if this settlement really does fall into the 20-30 million dollar range , AND there are other cases that will be coming forward…then yeah maybe it might be tough to cover them all. That’s not the same as claiming poverty, as the OP (big surprise) claimed that the council did. IANAL, so have no opinion on whatever “bad faith negotitations” may or may not be occuring here. The last line of the OP speaks for itself. This pony needs hay. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/4 "2002-05-05T02:33:36Z")
we’ll put that down as a ‘not surprised’… Rome COULD have offered sympathy to the victems, who will now need to go through a trial. (cash would have also been nice). and, if a mod/admin would like to change ‘RCC’ to ‘Boston Archdiocese’, I would not mind. Just curious - if the Cardinal cannot speak for the Council, and the Council does not speak for the Church, just where DOES responsibility reside? ---
**Author:** ![Edlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8797f3/32.png) [@Edlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/5 "2002-05-05T02:56:54Z")
I do have a couple of books that discuss the wealth of the Vatican, but in attempting to locate something on the net concerning this, I found this [Link](http://www.vaticancityrome.com/page1.htm) which echoed some information I came across. If that is fairly accurate 20M-30M is a drop in the bucket for the Boston group. I’d keep a close eye on the transferring of assets if I were in the prosecutor’s office. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/6 "2002-05-05T05:08:32Z")
Well, that link came from one of Jack Chick’s books, and Chick isn’t the most accurate writer when it comes to discussing Catholicism. I know one of the RCC’s major problem, financially, is that most of their assets aren’t liquid or easily liquable. (“Well, I guess we could sell that 1000 year old fresco” or “Well, I guess we could shut down and liquidate the homeless shelter.”) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/7 "2002-05-05T05:30:09Z")
Oh, I don’t know. I imagine the Vatican would fetch a pretty penny. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rcc-reneges-on-boston-settlement-anybody-surprised/107305/8 "2002-05-05T05:47:29Z")
I don’t suppose the Finance Council would care to open the books?