HAS Pope Francis fudged his response to the first real test of his papacy? Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, Bishop of Limburg — dubbed the “Bishop of Bling” by the German media — appears to have got off lightly after splurging €31m on a luxurious new home.

A German bishop under pressure to resign for spending around €31m on a luxurious residence said he had been heartened by a private audience with Pope Francis in Rome yesterday.