GERMANY
Economic Times
BERLIN: Pressure grew today on a German Roman-Catholic bishop under fire for building an extravagant multi-million-euro residential complex when prosecutors alleged that he also lied under oath.
Embattled Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, 53, of Limburg in Hesse state is accused of giving false statements in court in a case centred on a first-class flight he took to India to visit poor communities.
Prosecutors allege the bishop twice gave false statements under oath in a Hamburg court battle against news weekly Der Spiegel when he denied having told the magazine’s journalist that he flew only business class.
If found guilty, he would likely face a fine. The case adds to pressure on the bishop after laymen and clergy have voiced anger this week at his lavish spending on his ostentatious new bishop’s residence, where costs have ballooned to more than 31 million euros (USD 40 million).
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