He just dropped a cool €2.9 million on
renovating his palace and his lavish lifestyle is
the subject of a legal investigation.
But now the Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter
Tebartz-van Elst, dubbed the “bling bishop”, has
been summoned to Pope Francis’ office for a
severe talking to, reports German news site The
Local.
The German Bishop hit the headlines recently
following accusations he flew business class on
a trip to India and squandered money on
luxuries.
The 53-year-old bishop is under pressure to
resign after using church funds to build himself
new private quarters in the brand new bishop’s
palace, which also includes a museum,
conference halls and a chapel.
His fancy new digs are reported to have cost
almost €3 million and included a 63-square-
metre dining room and a €15,000 bathtub.
The Vatican wouldn’t comment on the outcome
of the bishop’s meeting with Pope Francis, only
that it lasted for 20 minutes.
Speculation is mounting that the Bishop will be
forced to resign, as his big spending is a bad
look for the “poor church for the poor” Pope
Francis wants to create.
Before his meeting with Bishop Tebartz-van Elst,
Pope Francis gave a sermon in which he
castigated greed, reports The Guardian .
“Take care to guard against all greed, for though
one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of
possessions,” he said in the chapel of Santa
Marta.
A decision on the bishop’s future is not expected
to be made until a full report on the scandal is
provided to the Vatican.
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