Bishop Bling-Bling just tip of iceberg

Tuesday, October 29th, 2013

“Bishop Bling-Bling” – moniker of suspended bishop of LimburgFranz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, is just the tip of the iceberg according to Christian Weisner, spokesman for the German branch of “We Are Church”.

“There is a real clash of cultures between Germany’s current cardinals and bishops, nominated under John Paul II or Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis,” the reform-group spokesman said.

Since his election, Pope Francis tries to reform the way the church does business, and NCR reports German dioceses are reportedly chafing under the new direction.

As Francis drives around Vatican City in a 30-year-old white Renault, German Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, balked at the idea of giving up his company car, a BMW 740d.

“To me that car is not a status symbol; it is the office I use when I am traveling,” Zollitsch said at a press event in early October, when asked whether he would trade it down.

In Germany, most of the church’s top officials drive high-powered Mercedes, BMWs or Audis.

Other German clergymen have been chastised for lavish expenditures.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich’s archdiocese spent around $11 million renovating the archbishop’s residence and another $13 million for a guesthouse in Rome.

Carsten Frerk, who specializes on church finances in Germany, said German bishops’ reluctance to follow Francis’ new course is no surprise.

“The German Catholic Church is one of the country’s wealthiest and largest organizations and its top officials expect a certain lifestyle,” said Frerk, who has published two books on the German churches’ wealth and what he describes as their opaque financing. “But they are wary of the extent of their wealth becoming broadly known because it might lead to fewer donations.”

Sources