There was also a significant dispute (known as trusteeism) over the rights of churches' lay trustees that was likely to complicate the job of running the diocese. In Europe, the Church owned property and directly controlled its parishes through the clergy. In the United States, however, early Catholic churches were typically founded by laymen who purchased the property, and erected the church buildings. Those laypeople accordingly demanded some control over the administration of the parish, even after the arrival of clergy from Europe who held the traditional view of parish organization. In a larger sense, the dispute represented a difference in understandings of authority between Americans and Europeans.