Schuller family paid fraction of claims, sent packing - Los Angeles

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/27/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Family receives just 10 percent of what they asked from judge.

Robert Schuller is done. The charismatic, 86-year-old minister will receive $700,000 of the $5 million plus he asked for in court and be on his way following Monday's court ruling. The ruling is the final chapter in Rev. Schuller's career that once saw him as the nation's leading televangelist.

$Schuller and his son Robert leave with just a fraction of what they asked of the courts.$

Schuller and his son Robert leave with just a fraction of what they asked of the courts.

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Schuller and his family sued what was formerly their own ministry for over $7 million claiming intellectual property theft among other obligations and damages. The church fought back, claiming the Schullers were owed nothing and that they were facing bankruptcy.

However, the bankruptcy court judge was unpersuaded by most of the Schuller family claims and awarded them only $700,000. The ruling clears the way for the Crystal Cathedral to honor outstanding obligations to creditors.

The Crystal Cathedral has been in bankruptcy for several years, going so far as to sell the iconic Crystal Cathedral itself to the Catholic Church. The ministry will relocate to a much smaller venue next year.

Schuller rose to prominence in the 1980's as one of the leading national televangelists, hosting the "Hour of Power" program. Millions watched the program on television.

However, Schuller came under criticism for employing family members and paying them generous salaries. The family is accused of taking millions from the ministry in past years.

The ruling should close out what has been a painful episode in the history of the Cathedral and pave the way for rebuilding - and paying off of creditors.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Schuller, Crystal Cathedral, Catholic, Hour of Power, bankruptcy, ruling

NEWSLETTERS »

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 3 of 3 Comments

vance
5 months ago
This news is a mixture of joy and sadness. I believe Rev. Robert Schuller did the right thing by selling the famous Crystal Cathedral to the Catholic Church as opposed to selling it to a local university. I am saddened by the demise of the Garden Grove Community Church because I enjoyed Hour of Power before there was an EWTN. Schuller's philosophy was that of Norman Vincent Peal's "Power of Positive Thinking". He did so many great charitable things like charity rescues in areas of natural disasters and positive Christian social programs in inner city areas. Archbishop Fultan J. Sheen was a guest speaker at the Crystal Cathedral. Schuller was invited to Rome to visit Blessed John Paul II. I wish Schuller the best.
Sum Nemo
5 months ago
Growing up Protestant (I became Catholic well into adulthood), the one feature I remember about a number of Protestant Churches is that they resembled a family business in the way they did business. And the Salvation Army does not appear to be exempt from this as one officer (A former boss of mine) complained that the Salvation Army is, to many degrees, an in-bred organization due to the number of Salvation Army officer children who also become Salvation Army officers. Unfortunately, this environment is a scandal waiting to happen, and the problem with scandals in the Christian community (Protestant or Catholic) is that the general public will use that scandal to generalize about all Christians. While that is generally unfair on the part of the general public, we, as Christians, need to be more diligent in monitoring the activities (Financial and other) of our places of worship.
amanda
5 months ago
I simply do not understand why the Catholic church made this purchase. Why do we need something so flashy? We can barely keep some of our own historic building in operation.

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment