POPE SACKS "BLING BLING" CATHOLIC BISHOP WHO RENOVATED HIS RESIDENCE FOR $43M(N6,9B

  

Pope Francis once said that he wanted a poor church to help the poverty stricken.

And it would appear that Pope Francis is following up on his promise, by expelling a German bishop from his diocese pending the outcome of a church inquiry into his $43-million (N6.9billion) new residence complex.

The Vatican didn't say how long Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, 53, would spend away from the diocese of Limburg but it refused calls to remove him permanently. It gave no information on where he would go or what he would do.

At the center of the controversy is the huge price tag for the construction of a new bishop's residence complex and related renovations.

Tebartz-van Elst has defended the expenditures, saying the bill was actually for 10 projects and there were additional costs because the buildings were under historical protection.

But in a country where Martin Luther launched the Reformation five centuries ago in response to what he said were excesses and abuses within the church, the outcry has been enormous.

The perceived lack of financial transparency has also struck a chord since a church tax in Germany brings in billions a year to the German church.

Tebartz-van Elst's leadership style has also been criticized. In August and September, more than 4,000 people signed an open letter to the bishop criticizing what they considered his authoritarian style.

The head of the German bishops' conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, has been particularly blunt in his criticism of the expenditures and the credibility problem it was causing the church. He said the 'decisive' turning point came when Hamburg prosecutors earlier this month asked a court to levy an unspecified fine against the bishop for false testimony in a related case.

Zollitsch has said the church commission will investigate the costs of the renovation, the financing and how decisions about the restoration evolved.

Canon lawyers will determine if Tebartz-van Elst violated church law regarding the use of church money, Zollitsch said.