SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles is selling a convent that has housed an order of nuns for more than four decades to help pay for a record-breaking sex abuse settlement. Three nuns from the Sisters of Bethany order have until Dec. 31 to move out, though an earlier departure “would be acceptable as well,” the archdiocese’s vicar general said in a letter to the nuns.
“We’re just so hurt by this,” said Sister Angela Escalera, the order’s local superior. “And what hurts the most is what the money will be used for, to help pay for the pedophile priests. We have to sacrifice our home for that?”
In July, the archdiocese announced a record $660 million settlement with clergy abuse victims. Of that, as much as $373 million will be paid by the archdiocese, with the rest coming from insurers and various religious orders.
To help cover the bill the archdiocese plans to sell up to 50 non-parish properties, including its administrative headquarters. The convent is the first property outside of those central offices to be identified as among those to be sold.
The decision to sell the convent was difficult but necessary, said Tod M. Tamberg, spokesman for the archdiocese.
“The pain is being spread around,” Tamberg said. “We’re losing our headquarters here, and none of the employees got a pay raise this year. This is just part of making it right with the victims, and we all have to share in the process even though none of us — the nuns, myself — harmed anybody.”
The Santa Barbara County assessor’s office lists the convent property’s value at $97,746, though it will likely sell for more. Smaller, older homes nearby start at about $700,000, according to the local real estate Web sites.
Escalera said the sisters have been overwhelmed by offers of help, including temporary housing.