Atlanta Archbishop Selling $2.2M Home

Trying to appease angry parishioners, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Atlanta said today that he will sell a $2.2 million mansion just three months after he moved in. Archbishop Wilton Gregory announced the decision following a closed-door meeting with members of several church councils at his headquarters north of Atlanta. He will move out of the Tudor-style residence in early May. "I have decided to sell the Habersham property and invest the proceeds from that sale into the needs of the Catholic community," Gregory told the AP after the meeting.

The mansion was made possible by a multimillion dollar gift to the archdiocese. Laura Mullins, one of several Catholics who asked Gregory to sell, praised the archbishop for making a quick decision and ending the controversy. "He is the person we follow locally," she said. "He sets the example for all of us to follow. If he is choosing to use a gift so personally, what does that tell the people sitting in the pews?" (More Wilton Gregory stories.)