GERMANY
New York Times
By MELISSA EDDY
MARCH 26, 2014
BERLIN — Pope Francis on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, the bishop of Limburg, whose extravagant spending on renovations for his personal residence angered his congregation and ran afoul of the pontiff’s message of humility and modesty for the Roman Catholic Church.
The Holy See accepted the bishop’s offer to resign “given that it has come to a situation in the Limburg diocese that prevents Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from fruitfully carrying out his duties,” the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday.
German news reports said that Tebartz-van Elst, 54, poured more than 31 million euros, or about $43 million, into the renovation of his residence and other church buildings, including spending €15,000, or about $20,000, on a bathtub, and ordering an expensive reopening of the roof of his personal chapel to allow for the suspension of a cross.
As the allegations and the discontent mounted last fall, the bishop travelled to the Vatican in October and offered the pope his resignation. Francis only suspended him at the time, pending the outcome of an investigation by Germany’s conference of bishops.
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