Pope removes ‘bishop of bling’ from diocese

The pope has permanently removed a German bishop from his Limburg diocese after his lavish €31m new residence complex caused an uproar.

In October, Pope Francis had temporarily expelled ‘bling bishop’ Monsignor Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from Limburg pending a church inquiry.

At the centre of the controversy was the price tag for the construction of a new bishop’s residence complex and related renovations. Tebartz-van Elst defended the expenditures, saying the bill was actually for 10 projects and that there were additional costs because the buildings were under historical protection. But in a country where Martin Luther launched the Reformation five centuries ago in response to what he said were excesses and abuses within the church, the outcry was enormous.