VATICAN CITY/GERMANY
Irish Times
Derek Scally
Pope Francis had clear words at morning Mass on Monday. Hours before he met Germany’s so-called bling bishop to ask him about his €31 million new residence in Limburg, the pope – who called for a “poor church for the poor” – warned how “greed destroys people, families and human relationships”.
At noon, Pope Francis granted a 20-minute audience to the German bishop with the multi-barrelled name, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Eltz, and an unenviable reputation in the German media.
On his watch, the small diocese of Limburg, near Frankfurt, approved a sprawling residence costing €5 million. The final bill is likely to be six times that, thanks to expensive fittings and special requests by its incoming resident: a now notorious €15,000 free-standing bath, €200,000 on special windows and €350,000 for wardrobes.
The anger over the case is spiralling out of control, prompting a Frankfurt bishop to warn of a “meltdown in the church”.
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.