Limburg diocese wants its former bishop, Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, held responsible for the losses incurred during a luxury makeover of his residence and office.

The makeover cost $NZ52 million. An uproar ensued in 2013 when the details were made public.

This saw the Vatican demand that Bishop Tebartz-van Elst stand down.

He later resigned and, some time later, took up a role in the Roman Curia in the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation.

A Limburg diocesan investigation into the construction saga found the overall bill included $NZ6.5million of outright losses that had to be written off.

Bishop Tebartz-van Elst ran up the bill by demanding late and costly changes, requiring earlier work to be scrapped, and ordering design studies that were not used.

The bishop had paid out millions of euros towards the project from an off-the-books fund only he controlled.

Most German dioceses hold such reserves, known as the Bischoeflicher Stuhl ("bishop's chair").

These are diocesan nest eggs that are neither taxed nor mentioned in the annual financial reports where dioceses list how much they receive in revenues, donations and the special German church tax on parishioners.

Limburg diocese is in discussions with the Vatican to see if and how it can make its former bishop pay back the losses.

"In principle, the Holy See is responsible in cases of legal action against a bishop," a diocesan spokesperson said.

The diocese has not brought canon law charges against Bishop Tebartz-van Elst in a Vatican court.

It was also still trying to establish the full extent of the losses written off.

The diocese is also reviewing the pension it pays its former bishop.

Media reports have stated that Bishop Tebartz-van Elst is receiving NZ$11,700 a month from Limburg in addition to his monthly Vatican salary of about NZ$5000.

Sources

• Religion News Service
• Image: ABC News

Pope Francis will reportedly appoint Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst to a new position with the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

There has been no official confirmation of the appointment, but it appears Bishop Tebartz-van Elst will be a "delegate for catechesis" for the pontifical council.

It seems the position has been created just for him.

He was reportedly told of his new role by the Vatican's secretariat of state in December, according to a Vatican Insider article.

Last year, the Pope accepted the bishop's resignation as Bishop of Limburg.

The bishop's departure came after a Church report revealed spending approaching US$40 million on Bishop Tebartz-van Elst's official residence and diocesan centre.

This saw the prelate dubbed the "Bishop of Bling" in the media.

At the time his resignation was accepted, a Vatican statement noted that the bishop "will be assigned a different position at an opportune time".

Veteran Vatican correspondent John Thavis wrote that Bishop Tebartz-van Elst's position at the new evangelisation council "will involve making contact with bishops' conferences on issues involving religious education, which has been one of his areas of interest".

Thavis also noted that "it struck some as odd that a bishop forced to resign for financial mismanagement would land any job in the Roman Curia".

"All the more, in this case, because under the Curia restructuring plan being hammered out by papal commissions, the council for new evangelisation may well disappear sometime next year."

However, parking problematic bishops in the Curia is a bit of a Vatican tradition, Thavis wrote.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia was removed from his diocese over faith-healing practices in 1983, but was brought to the Council for Migrants and Travellers as a special delegate.

And, in 2011, Portuguese Bishop Carlo Azevedo ended up in a newly created position of delegate at the Pontifical Council for Culture, following disagreements with the patriarch of Lisbon, Thavis noted.

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• John Thavis
• Irish Times
• Reuters
• Image: The Guardian

Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst has been accused of spending more than 31 million euros ($NZ49 million) on renovating his official residence in Limburg diocese in Germany.

The cleric, dubbed the "bishop of bling" by the media, offered to resign when the scandal broke last October.

In response, Pope Francis temporarily suspended Bishop Tebartz-van Elst and instructed a church commission to investigate the matter.

In a March 26 statement, the Vatican said it accepted the bishop's offer to resign "given that a situation exists in the Diocese of Limburg which prevents the fruitful exercise" of his office.

The Church called on the diocese to accept the decision "with docility" and to work toward restoring a "climate of charity and reconciliation".

Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of senior clerics whose lifestyles seem too lavish.

The Vatican did not further elaborate on the future of Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, but said he would get a new position "at the opportune time".

Auxiliary Bishop Manfred Grothe has been appointed to run the Limburg diocese.

Bishop Tebartz-van Elst and his luxury lifestyle have become infamous in Germany, where many people pay a Church tax to the state.

The tax raised 5.2 billion euros for Catholics and 4.6 billion euros for Protestants in 2012.

At the heart of the criticism was the refurbishment of the bishop's official residence, originally set to cost 5.5 million euros.

German media reported that the quarters were fitted with a 15,000-euro bath, a conference table for 25,000 euros and a private chapel worth 2.9 million euros.

The bishop was also under fire for a first-class flight to India to visit the poor.

The story attracted heavy coverage and stoked controversy among Catholics.

In Germany, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the bishops' conference, said the resignation would "end a period of uncertainty" in the Limburg diocese.

He told a Berlin news conference that he believed Bishop Tebartz-van Elst's case had been handled "fairly and transparently" by the Vatican and German church.

In November, Bishop Tebartz-van Elst admitted to two counts of perjury.

Sources

• BBC
• Catholic News Service
• The Tablet
• Image: Catholic Online

Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg has caused a crisis in the German church for building a luxurious residence and office complex at a time when the Pope is stressing humility and service to the poor.

An initial audit revealed the project cost at least $NZ50 million, six times more than planned.

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