ARTICLES
July/August 2001 ARTICLES
Contents © 2001
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
Foxes Have Holes, Birds of the Air Have Nests, but...
Bishop Barnes Lives In A $650,000 House
By Maggie Garcia
In an Easter letter to the priests in his diocese, Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino told his brother priests that he had bought a house in Redlands because the house he was living in was "too small to accommodate more than eight in any one room." The letter also mentioned that Bishop Barnes has "not been able to host gatherings other than the seminarian Christmas celebration (and these men usually make themselves home on the floor)," as a further reason why he had to buy a new house in the town of Redlands. The fact that the house is located in Redlands, which one parishioner in the diocese described "as the place you buy a house in the county of San Bernardino when you've made some money," has caused a controversy in the diocese.
Not all members of the diocese are upset by the purchase of the house. One parishioner (who is very active in the diocese and thus did not want his name disclosed) said that he was not upset by the purchase of the house, but wondered how many Catholics in the diocese lived in houses worth $650,000. "Is there anyone in the diocese living in this standard of a house?" he asked. "If 50 percent of Catholics in the diocese live in this expensive a house then it's not a problem. But if it's only one percent, then it is a problem," he concluded.
The diocese of San Bernardino sees the purchase of the house as an investment. In a May 17 interview with the San Bernardino Sun, Father Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the diocese, said that the purchase of the house was a business decision. "It is (not) owned by ... the bishop and never will be. It's an investment of the diocese," he said.
One Catholic in the diocese, Charles Smith, sent a letter to the apostolic nuncio, Bishop Gabriel Montalvo, complaining about the expense and location of the bishop's new house. "We the people of the Diocese of San Bernardino are appalled to hear that Bishop Gerald Barnes bought a mansion in Redlands, in an exclusively wealthy area for the price of seven hundred thousand dollars. This is sinful and scandalous!" he wrote. The letter chided Bishop Barnes for setting a bad example for his seminarians. "There is a rumor that Bishop Barnes is planning to build a four million dollar seminary in San Bernardino. In this diocese, there is already a seminary in Riverside. Ninety-five percent of the students who study there leave the residence after finishing their college studies. Why is he squandering peoples' money? Besides, when students prepare themselves for the priesthood and are given a taste of a luxury lifestyle in a mansion type living, they expect the same lifestyle when they become priests."
Father Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the diocese, was quick to defend the bishop's choice of the house. In a telephone interview with me, Father Lincoln said that it was impractical for Bishop Barnes to live in the house adjacent to the cathedral. "You're right, there is [a house next to the cathedral]," admitted Lincoln. "However, the home adjacent to the cathedral is too small for the gatherings that the bishop feels are part of his ministry. The bishop lived in Riverside, where he thoroughly enjoyed his home; he did not want to move. However, the bishop views his home as an extension of his work and an instrument of his ministry. It's a place where he can promote the work of our Church and our faith. By moving to a larger home, it affords Bishop Barnes an opportunity to reach out to people in a way that he could not do when he lived in his home in Riverside."
When asked why the bishop chose Redlands for his residence, Father Lincoln was quick to point out that the drive from Redlands to the diocesan center is shorter than the commute from the Bishop's former residence in Riverside, "He sees his home as an extension of his office," said Lincoln, "and the Redlands residence is less than half the distance from his previous home in Riverside, and it allows him to be far more effective as a bishop. Not only can he commute much quicker to the pastoral center, but people can deliver documents and so forth quicker to him at his home. Also, he's a little closer to the Coachella Valley; he's a little closer and a little more central for people in general. He's less than half the distance [than he was in Riverside]. This is important to Bishop Barnes; this is a key factor, since our bishop is the slowest driver in the history of California. So those were some of the reasons that Redlands was chosen."
Some diocesan employees are shocked at the price tag of the bishop's house. One diocesan school teacher, who refused to be named for fear of reprisal, said that she and her fellow diocesan employees are incensed over the price of the bishop's house. The teacher said that when one director of religious education learned about the bishop's new house, she was so infuriated that she felt like "walking out on her job."
When asked about diocesan employees' reaction to the purchase of the house, Father Lincoln said that "the salaries we pay are commensurate with the salaries of other employees of other dioceses.
"We are fiscally very responsible," he said.