Pope Leo's Childhood Home Faces Eminent Domain as He Relocates to a More Eminent Domain
"Every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own," wrote Pope Leo XIII, in his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, laying down the basics of Catholic social teaching.
The plans of contemporary socialists to seize private property, Leo XIII denounced as "emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community."
The last Pope Leo's defense of private property adds no small amount of irony to the small Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois' plan to honor the new American-born Pope Leo XIV by seizing his childhood home from its private owners.
Yesterday, Chicago-area media reported that Dolton officials plan to use eminent domain to take the home where Leo XIV, formerly Robert Francis Prevost, was raised from its current private owners to create a publicly accessible historic site.
At present, the owners are auctioning off the small, 1949-built home for a reserve price of $250,000.
In a Tuesday letter to the auction house running the sale, Dolton attorney Burton Odelson cautioned buyers against purchasing the house.
"Please inform any prospective buyers that their 'purchase' may only be temporary since the Village intends to begin the eminent domain process very shortly," reads Odelson's letter, per NBC Chicago.
Odelson told Chicago's ABC7 that the village had initially tried to voluntarily purchase the home but had snagged on the sale price.
"We've tried to negotiate with the owner. [He] wants too much money, so we will either negotiate with the auction house or, as the letter stated that I sent to the auction house, we will take it through eminent domain, which is our right as a village," Odelson said.
One wonders how outrageous the owners' offered sale price was given its current auction price of $250,000.
The fact that the home was once lived in by the current pope surely doesn't enable the owners to command that much of a sale premium on what is undeniably a quite modest dwelling.
While a papal museum is certainly a lovely idea for the property, there's no reason the village can't pursue a voluntary sale.
That would seem to be more in line with Leo XIII's defense of private property. It would also seem to be more in line with the current Leo XIV's view of the Church as an institution characterized by voluntarism and love.
"The Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda, or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did," said Leo XIV in his first Sunday homily as pope.
"[Saint] Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat," he added.
Autocracy is certainly a powerful temptation. It's one that not even the Village of Dolton seems able to resist.
The post Pope Leo's Childhood Home Faces Eminent Domain as He Relocates to a More Eminent Domain appeared first on Reason.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Djokovic dragged into disqualification storm as tennis world erupts over 'shameful' act
Tennis fans are crying foul over an incident involving Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open that has been compared to Novak Djokovic's infamous disqualification at the 2020 US Open. Musetti reached his first semi-final at Roland Garros with a 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2 win over American Frances Tiafoe, but the victory was overshadowed by drama after he kicked a ball that hit a female line judge in the chest. The Italian took out the opening set but cut a frustrated figure in the second stanza and lashed out by kicking a ball towards the line judge between points. The female official was only standing about three metres away when the ball struck her in the chest, leaving Tiafoe stunned at the other end of the court. The American gestured towards the chair umpire to take action against Musetti, who was eventually issued a code violation over the incident. But many thought the Italian should have been disqualified, with Tiafoe making his feelings clear about the ruling after the match. "I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened. I think that's comical, but it is what it is," the American said. "Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is." The incident had more than a few similarities to the one at the 2020 US Open that saw Djokovic disqualified after he hit a ball that struck a female line judge in the throat. Unlike Djokovic though, Musetti avoided being defaulted, with angry fans taking to social media to accuse tennis officials of double standards. Djokovic accidentally hits a line judge — defaulted does the same, no action it were Novak, media would erupt, narratives would burn, and he'd be tennis' villain of the double standards aren't just real, they're loud.@DjokerNole #Djokovic — Shane (@Shanegupta22) June 3, 2025 I love Musetti, but if we're enforcing rules the same 4 everyone, this is 100% a default. That said, I don't believe he should be, just like Djokovic SHOULDN'T have in 2020, but he was, & this is a textbook example of a double standard. #RolandGarros — Rodney 🐊 (@RottenKnee23) June 3, 2025 No. And unfortunately as an Italian, as much as I like his tennis I am ashamed. I hope @atptour does something about it. As much as I don't love Djokovic, he got disqualified for something much less intentional — an exploded view (@anexplodedview) June 3, 2025 Perhaps what saved Musetti was the fact the line judge was not injured after being struck by the ball and continued to officiate for the rest of the match. In Djokovic's infamous case though, the official was in clear discomfort after the ball struck her throat and required fairly lengthy medical attention. Even still, the rule around disqualifications is far from clear. Musetti admitted that he feared being defaulted but was quick to apologise for what he described as an unfortunate accident. "Honestly, it was a really unlucky coincidence. I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm (anybody), of course," he said. "So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'Sorry, I apologise to everyone. It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably (he) let me continue." Musetti didn't let the incident derail him as he regrouped from losing the second set to take the next two and extend his French Open record to 13-4. Two of those losses on the Roland Garros clay have come against former champion Novak Djokovic, with one against reigning champ, Carlos Alcaraz, who he meets in the semi-final. Alcaraz powered his way past American 12th seed Tommy Paul in a completely dominant win in their quarter-final. The Spanish World No.2 lost just five games in another one-sided 6-0 6-1 6-4 victory against Paul, who was unable to produce his best tennis with a heavily strapped right thigh. "I'm sorry you wanted to watch more tennis. I had to do my work," Alcaraz told the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd. with agencies
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chile prosecutes individuals alleged to have stolen babies
It's a dark chapter in Chile's history. During the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990, thousands of babies were stolen from their biological mothers and sold into adoption, mainly to foreign couples from the United States and Europe. In Chile, they're known as 'The Children of Silence.' And now, for the first time in the country's history, a Chilean judge announced he was prosecuting individuals alleged to have stolen babies in the country. Alejandro Aguilar Brevis, a Santiago Court of Appeals judge in charge of the investigation 'determined that in the 1980s' there was a network of health officials, Catholic priests, attorneys, social workers and even a judge who detected and delivered stole babies from mainly impoverished mothers and sold them into adoption to foreign couples for as much as $50,000, according to a Monday press release by Chile's judiciary. The investigation, which focuses on the city of San Fernando in central Chile, involves two babies who were stolen and handed over to foreign couples, according to the judiciary statement. According to the statement by Chile's judiciary, the ring allegedly focused on 'abducting or stealing infants for monetary gain' with the purpose of 'taking them out of the country to different destinations in Europe and the US.' The judge charged and issued arrest warrants for five people, who he said should remain in pre-trial detention for 'criminal association, child abduction, and willful misconduct,' the release said. The Chilean government has made an extradition request to Israel for a former Chilean family court judge who now lives there and was allegedly involved, the release added. CNN contacted the judiciary to determine if those involved have legal representation and how they respond to the allegations, but there has been no response so far. The judge ruled that the statute of limitations does not apply in this case because as 'these are crimes against humanity committed under a military regime and must be punished in accordance with the American Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.' The investigation was announced Monday, one day after Chilean President Gabriel Boric said that a task force he created last year to investigate cases of stolen babies has issued its final report. Following its recommendations, Boric said the Chilean government will 'create a genetic fingerprint bank that will provide additional means of searching for origins and enable family reunification for the many babies who were stolen for so long and given to foreign families.' Constanza del Río, founder and director of Nos Buscamos (We Are Looking for Each Other), a Santiago NGO dedicated to reuniting families of stolen babies said that she feels cautiously optimistic because actions by countries like Chile to find the truth about the stolen babies have been 'very slow and something that revictimizes the victims.' Del Río, herself a victim of an illegal adoption, filed a lawsuit in 2017 demanding an investigation by the Chilean government. Authorities named a special prosecutor, but the investigation went nowhere, she said. Another prosecutor took the case for five years only to declare last year that he hadn't been able 'to establish that any crimes have been committed,' according to Del Rio. President Boric has said creating a task force proves his government is serious about the issue and has spoken publicly about it, recognizing the systematic theft of babies back then as a fact. There could be tens of thousands of cases. The theft of thousands of babies in Chile has been documented for over a decade by non-governmental organizations. Since 2014, CNN has reported about multiple cases where people stolen as babies have reunited with their biological mothers after DNA tests proved they were, in fact, related. Constanza del Río says Nos Buscamos alone has built a database that includes about 9,000 cases and has helped reunite more than 600 parents with their stolen children. Ten years ago, Marcela Labraña, the then-director of the country's child protection agency (SENAME, by its Spanish acronym), told CNN her agency was investigating hundreds of cases but suspected there could be thousands more. 'This is no longer a myth. We know nowadays that this happened, and it was real. It's not a tale that a couple of people were telling,' Labraña said at the time. CNN's Cristopher Ulloa contributed reporting.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chuck Schumer Admits He Agrees With Elon Musk: ‘He's Right'
Chuck Schumer and Elon Musk sure make strange bedfellows – but this is politics, after all. The Senate Majority Leader from New York, a fierce critic of DOGE who's called Musk a liar and a hypocrite and accused the Tesla CEO of 'sabotaging' critical benefits and a 'hostile takeover' of federal government, pirouetted on Tuesday, declaring, without irony: 'He's right.' This rare moment of political reconciliation is thanks to the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' a sweeping federal spending package narrowly passed by the House last month and under consideration in the Senate. To put it mildly, Musk is not a fan. Days after the Space X chief and President Trump revealed at the White House that Musk's role at DOGE would be severely narrowed – possibly over his growing dislike of the Republican-backed bill – the X owner could hold his tongue no longer. On Tuesday, he posted a fiery screed against the bill. Schumer's agreement was so strong that he stepped to a Senate chamber podium and declared on Tuesday: 'I agree with Elon Musk.' Holding a printed placard of Musk's X posts, he read from them, word-for-word. 'Within the hour, [Musk] put on X the following,' Schumer said. 'I have it right here so you can all see it – he said, 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it. You did wrong. You know it. It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion, and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.'' To make it clear he wan't joking, Schumer added: 'He's right.' The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22, with a narrow vote of 215–214 and one member voting 'present.' The vote was largely along party lines, with all Democrats opposing; Republican Representatives Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson voted against it. 'If even Elon Musk, who's been part of the whole process and is Trump's buddy, says the bill is bad, you can imagine how bad this bill is,' Schumer told reporters. 'Musk said people shouldn't vote for the bill. Let's hope the Republicans follow him, not Trump.' Schumer wasn't the only Democrat who agreed with Musk, as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Bernie Sanders also echoed his scathing distaste for the package. 'Breaking news: Elon Musk and I agree with each other,' Jeffries said in a press conference. 'The GOP tax scam is a disgusting abomination.' Incidentally, the words 'disgusting' and 'abomination' were certainly having a moment on Tuesday. 'Musk is right,' Sanders conceded on X. 'Let's defeat this disgusting abomination.' The post Chuck Schumer Admits He Agrees With Elon Musk: 'He's Right' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
