3 ms·

The pope doesn't own all this land. I believe in the US, ownership is diocesan.

• User23 5y ago
  The Pope can remove Bishops and replace them with persons of his choosing so it’s probably fair to say he ultimately controls diocesan resources. However, there is a great deal of custom and tradition keeping that from being abused.
• dragonwriter 5y ago
  > I believe in the US, ownership is diocesan. It’s much more complicated than that. US Dioceses vary in the their legal corporate structure which, even with the canon law, greatly effects both legal and practical control. One common model has most parishes, schools, etc. within the diocese as separate charitable trusts, with separate immediate authorities. Some dioceses (especially older ones that have not had cause to reorganize) are still organized as corporations sole, which makes the effectively personally controlled by the bishop. And, of course, aside from the varieties of diocesan organization, much Church land is held by religious orders which are a separate heirarchy than the episcopal one and each of whichay (as a whole and in various subdivisions) have different secular legal structures.