This guy, the All Souls Church Cemetery in Patersonia, could be yours. Image via Google Maps
Well the impetus is tragic, but the outcome might be good. Because the Anglican Church has listed 76 churches to be potentially sold in Tasmania to pay out victims of sexual abuse. This means victims will finally get something back, and you might end up owning a church.The churches are mainly in rural areas, which suggests that when the list is finalised and they hit the market, they could be cheap. How cheap? Well it’s hard to tell because they mostly haven’t been listed, but see that photo at the top? That's the All Souls Church in Patersonia going to auction, surrounded by other places that have gone for $300K. And here’s another one listed at “best offer over $355,000.” So let’s just pretend they’re all in the $300 ballpark, which from a Sydney/Melbourne perspective, is basically free.The sale of all these churches is expected to raise about $20 million, 25 percent of which is expected to reach the victims of sexual abuse.“Today we are releasing a preliminary list of properties proposed for sale,” Tasmanian Bishop Richard Condie told realestate.com. “This list is not exhaustive and is not yet finalised. We are at the very beginning of the process.”What he means by “process” is that communities will get a period of “consultation” to decide whether they want their church sold. Presumably, those communities that dealt with several decades of sexual predation will be happy to see the churches gone, which might be a consideration when you move into your new church.In any case, the list of sales will be finalised in early June. But if you want to get in for some early perusing, you can so here.