BOSTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic archdiocese in Boston plans to sell more than $100 million in land and buildings to Boston College to help cover sexual abuse settlements.
The archdiocese said it would sell 43 acres of land, which includes the building Boston cardinals used as a home, to Boston College June 30, the Boston Globe reported. Another 3.25 acres, which includes the archdiocesan tribunal where the church processes annulments, would go to Boston College in two years.
The newspaper said the deals were worth $107.4 million.
The deals include buildings that once housed a seminary and a just-renovated building used for retreats and the training of lay ministers.
"As I said when I first came (to Boston), people are more important than money, and the church is more important than our buildings," Archbishop Sean O'Malley told a news conference Tuesday. "It's a very difficult decision to make, but we needed to make it, and hopefully it will help us on the road to recovery, both spiritual and economic."
The Boston archdiocese needed the funds to help pay an $85 million settlement with victim of sexual abuse by clergy.
