Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

'Bishop Of Bling' Is A Bishop No More

Then-Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst last August. The Vatican has accepted his resignation. Tebartz-van Elst spent lavishly on renovations at his residence and allegedly made false statements about expensive travel costs.
Fredrik Von Erichsen DPA/Landov
Then-Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst last August. The Vatican has accepted his resignation. Tebartz-van Elst spent lavishly on renovations at his residence and allegedly made false statements about expensive travel costs.

The more than $40 million he allowed to be spent on renovations at his residence and allegations that he lied about some of his other lavish spending have now officially cost the "bishop of bling" his job.

The Vatican announced Wednesday that it has accepted the resignation of Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, who had been the bishop of Limburg, Germany. He will be assigned other duties.

It was last October when the Vatican suspended Tebartz-van Elst, following reports about $475,000 that was spent on walk-in closets, $20,000 for a bathtub and other expenditures that drove the cost of what was supposed to be a $7.5 million or so renovation to nearly 6 times that figure.

Advertisement

As Agence France-Presse adds, "he had also come under fire for lying under oath about flying first class to visit slum dwellers in India."

News accounts about Tebartz-van Elst's spending led to his less than flattering "bishop of bling" nickname. As Reuters notes, the stories came at a particularly sensitive time — "Pope Francis has been urging Church officials around the world to be more austere and live simple lives in order to be closer to the poor."

There are plans being made to turn the residence into a refuge for the poor and homeless.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/

A big decision awaits some voters this July as the race for San Diego County’s Supervisor District 1 seat heats up. Are you ready to vote? Check out the KPBS Voter Hub to learn about the candidates, the key issues the board is facing and how you can make your voice heard.