Letter 25
To my colleague in Christ,
The problem of church property is one that I suspect will outlast all of us, and I write with some sympathy for the position you describe.
The basic principle is simple: church property belongs to the Church, not to the bishop, and the bishop is its steward rather than its owner. The revenues are to be used for the maintenance of the clergy, the upkeep of the buildings, the care of the poor, and the other works of the church — in that order of priority, though the order is sometimes disputed. What they are not to be used for is the personal enrichment of the bishop or his family, or the purchase of influence with the powerful.
In practice, the application of these principles is rarely simple. The boundaries between "maintaining the bishop's household so that he can do his work" and "enriching the bishop personally" are not always clear. The obligation to entertain visiting clergy and dignitaries is real but can easily become a pretext for extravagance. The support of family members who are genuinely dependent is legitimate; the support of relatives who are simply prospering from their connection to the bishop is not.
My practical advice: keep careful accounts, share them with a trusted group of senior clergy, and be willing to be questioned on them. A bishop who is transparent about money will rarely be accused of misappropriating it. A bishop who is secretive will be suspected even when he is doing nothing wrong.
Your brother in Christ,
Braulio
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.