Pope Francis has suspended a German bishop caught in a furor at home over a $42 million renovation to his residence that features lavish fixtures, artwork and a reported $20,000 bathtub.
Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, derided here in newspapers as "Bishop of Bling," waited eight days in Rome before being granted an audience Monday with Francis.
Francis has been extolling the virtues of humility and modesty among the clergy since being named pope. He put Tebartz-van Elst on leave pending an audit into the diocese's expenditures, the Vatican said Wednesday.
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"I think (the Vatican suspension) is a good decision," said Bernhard Dobelke, a priest in Solingen, a town north of Limburg. "Thinking about what to do and probing which of the allegations made against him are true is a good outcome."
In a sermon last month, Tebartz-van Elst acknowledged many had been hurt by decisions he had made "to the best of my knowledge and in good conscience," but which had been misconstrued.
"To those I have hurt or disappointed, I beg for forgiveness and indulgence," Tebartz-van Elst said in a video of the sermon released by the church.
German 'Bishop of Bling' suspended by Vatican
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