VATICAN CITY
Brisbane Times
October 23, 2013
Dario Thuburn
The Vatican has suspended a scandal-tainted German Catholic cleric dubbed the “bling bishop” for his luxury lifestyle, despite multiple calls for the prelate to be dismissed.
“The Holy See deems it appropriate to authorise a period of leave from the diocese for Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst,” the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Holy Father has been continuously and objectively informed of the situation,” it said.
“A situation has been created in which the bishop can no longer exercise his episcopal duties.”
It did not specify how long the bishop would have to stay away but added that this would depend on an analysis of the finances of his Limburg diocese and the responsibilities for its high costs.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.