Churches get foreclosed on as banks refuse to forgive debt

Churches are getting no sanctuary from banks, with 243 houses of worship entering foreclosure since 2010, a number ten times higher than the total number of churches sold under similar circustances in 2008.

After the financial crisis of 2008 reduced the wealth of many congregation members and thus their donations, hundreds of churches are now unable to meet payments on loans taken out before the recession. It's taken a while for banks to call in their loans, mostly because of the terrible PR involved with closing charitable, positive community institutions.

Churches in Califoia, Georgia, Florida and Michigan have been the hardest hit, and while religious leaders plead for new terms and refinancing, the banks aren't showing any mercy. However, what a bank can do with a repossessed church is anyone's guess; as one reverend said, "The idea of auctioning off a church is senseless."

Should banks show mercy to churches?