VATICAN CITY
Rappler
BY ELLA IDE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
POSTED ON 03/26/2014
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has formally accepted the resignation of Germany’s controversial bishop of Limburg, who had come under fire for his luxury lifestyle.
Franz-Peter Terbartz-van Elst, nicknamed the “bling bishop” by the international media, had been indefinitely relieved of his clerical duties by Francis last year after details emerged of his high-roller lifestyle.
The Roman Catholic bishop had faced outrage over an ostentatious building project at his official residence, which included a museum, conference halls, a chapel and private apartments, in the ancient town of Limburg in central Hesse state.
The project was initially valued at 5.5 million euros ($7.5 million) but the cost ballooned to 31 million euros, including a 783,000 euro garden and a 15,000 euro bathtub – using the revenue from a religious tax in Germany.
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