Controversy surrounds Sagrada Familia
But now, the church is at the center of a brewing dispute between Barcelona's Archbishopric and the construction committee. The Sagrada Familia is formally described as an "expiatory temple." Its multimillion dollar budget is funded entirely by tourist ticket sales and the donations of Christian believers.
Barcelona Archbishop Lluis Martinez Sistach, the committee's nominal head, wants a chunk of the money to help fund poorer parishes and the indigent.
"We are insisting that a good part of the money that is raised through tourism -- some 20 million euros (about $23.4 million) -- goes to paying the poor parishes and poor people in the city," said Father Manuel Serra, who spoke on behalf of the Archbishop's office.
"We've gotten criticism from people who ask how the church can justify so much money in donations for Sagrada Familiar and tie it to the humility of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," he added.
The construction committee argues the money should be entirely dedicated to completing the church. That, a spokeswoman for the Sagrada project said, is what "Antoni Gaudi wanted."
The controversy is only the latest roadblock in the tumultuous tale of the church's construction.
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