Pope Francis has suspended indefinitely a
German Roman Catholic prelate known as the
“luxury bishop” or “bling bishop”, from his
diocese for spending $43m of Church funds on
his residence.
“The Holy See deems it appropriate to authorise
a period of leave from the diocese for Franz-
Peter Tebartz-van Elst,” the Vatican said in a
statement on Wednesday.
But the pontiff, who has been stressing
austerity, stopped short of dismissing him
outright, a step which many German Catholics
and the media had called for.
In a highly unusual move, Bishop Franz-Peter
Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg was ordered to
leave his diocese while an investigation and
audit into cost over-runs is held, the Vatican
statement said.
The bishop, who met the pope on Monday, “was
currently not in a position to carry out his
episcopal ministry”.
The statement said he should stay outside his
diocese “for a period,” and that it would be
administered in his absence by a vicar-general.
It did not specify how long the bishop would
have to stay away but added that this would
depend on an analysis of the finances of his
Limburg diocese and the responsibilities for its
high costs.
The issue has proven a major embarrassment
for the pope, who has called for a more austere
Church that sides with the poor.
He has told bishops not to live like princes, and
has also promised to clean up the murky
finances of the Vatican bank.
The German media has dubbed Tebartz-van Elst
“the luxury bishop” after an audit of his
spending, ordered after a Vatican monitor
visited Limburg last month, revealed the
residence cost at least six times more than
planned.
The Central Committee of German Catholics,
which brings together all the Catholic lay
associations in the country, said it was satisfied
with the decision to suspend the bishop.
“Pope Francis’ decision offers a chance at a new
beginning in the diocese of Limburg where the
situation has become heavy in recent weeks
both for believers there and for the Church in
Germany as a whole,” its president Alois Glueck
said.
He has apologised for any “carelessness or
misjudgment on my part”, but denies
wrongdoing.
The bishop flew to Rome last week with low-
cost airline Ryanair to explain himself to Francis
– following accusations he took an expensive
ticket on a trip to India and squandered money.
German media, citing official documents, said
the residence had been fitted with a free-
standing bath that cost 15,000 euros, a
conference table that cost 25,000 euros and a
private chapel for 2.9 million euros.
The “luxury bishop” story has deeply
embarrassed a Church enjoying an upswing in
popularity thanks to Pope Francis’s mass appeal
and following years of criticism for hiding s*xual
abuse cases among clergy.
Tebartz-van Elst, 53, is 22 years away from
official retirement age in the Church and his
saga represents an extraordinary management
quandary for the Vatican.
Even if he eventually steps down from the
diocese of Limburg, he would retain the title and
rank of bishop, meaning the Vatican would have
to find another post for him somewhere.
The scandal has also put pressure on German
bishops for more financial transparency in the
entire Church in their country, forcing them to
scrap centuries of secrecy over the reporting the
value of their private endowments.
Germany’s church tax, collected by the state
and handed over to the churches, raised 5.2
billion euros for the Catholics and 4.6 billion
euros for Protestants in 2012.
According to some media reports in Germany,
the Limburg scandal has prompted more
Germans to decide to formally leave the Church.
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