VATICAN CITY
International Business Times
By Gianluca Mezzofiore March 26, 2014
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, dubbed the “Bishop of Bling”, over a scandal regarding his €31m (£26m, $40m) project to renew a sumptuous diocesan residence in the western small city of Limburg.
Tebartz-van Elst, whose resignation the Pope has accepted, will be given another assignment in due course according to Vatican sources.
The Vatican said an inquiry found that he could no longer exercise his ministry. The pope reportedly said that he hoped that the faithful of Limburg would accept the decision with “docility and willingness to rediscover a climate of charity and reconciliation”.
The 53-year-old bishop, who will be replaced by Monsignor Manfred Grothe, indulged on £30,000 for built-in cupboards and carpentry, £83,000 for the windows of the chapel and more than £371,000 on works of art, using revenue from a religious tax in Germany. He even splurged £12,000 for a bathtub, causing indignation in Germany.
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