Sold!

Roman Catholics will buy the Crystal Cathedral for $57.5 million.  The Diocese of Orange will make it into their diocesan cathedral.

That $57 million is probably cheaper than building a cathedral.  On the other hand, no law says a diocese has to have an impressive cathedral.  At least some Roman Catholics opposed the purchase on the grounds that now was a bad time to be buying big expensive baubles.  What's more, they said, why buy a place that is steeped in corruption?

Pastor Sheila Coleman Schuller, Robert Schuller's daughter and winner of an internal Schuller family power struggle, told the congregation that "a church is not a building" and said that the congregation will move to another location.  Many parishioners, however, begged to differ.  One told the AP that he felt "raped of our ministry."  

Bold words aside, Crystal Cathedral Ministries would seem to be defunct.  A recent fundraising appeal netted only $173,000.  The appeal might have been compromised when the Cathedral said that food donations for Schuller Sr.'s ailing wife would be delivered by limosine.

While attendance and contributions at the Crystal Cathedral have suffered in recent years, its hispanic ministry is now drawing up to 5000 worshippers weekly.  The director of the hispanic ministry, Rev. Dante Gebel, draws a salary of $14,000 per month.