Vatican: No church proceedings against German ‘bling bishop’
Germany’s Limburg diocese says the Vatican won’t open church law proceedings or examine possible compensation claims against its former bishop, removed by Pope Francis amid a scandal over his 31 million-euro ($35-million) new residence.
The diocese said earlier this year that it had raised the issue with the Vatican, though it didn’t file any formal complaint against Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst. It said Wednesday that the head of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, informed the diocese’s interim administrator of the decision during a meeting in Rome.
Francis permanently removed Tebartz-van Elst from Limburg last year, finding that he could no longer exercise his ministry there.
That followed a controversy centering on the spiraling cost for the construction of a luxurious new bishop’s residence complex and related renovations.
___
This story has been corrected to fix time element to Wednesday, not Thursday.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
