While 'luxury bishop' Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst awaits his fate in
the Vatican, five German Catholic dioceses have made their finances
public.
Tebartz-van Elst continues to face calls for his resignation.
German Archbishop Robert Zollitsch (pictured above) is also in Rome and
will brief Pope Francis on the situation in the Limburg diocese, where
scandal has hit after estimates put the eventual cost of construction
for the bishop's new residential complex at 31 million euros ($41.8
million).
A week of front-page headlines in Germany prompted the
decision for the Bishop of Limburg to accompany Zollitsch on his long-scheduled visit to the Vatican.
Bishop Tebartz-van Elst's private quarters in a complex builty next to
the city's historic cathedral are believed to have cost 2.9 million
euros alone, reportedly including a free-standing bathtub worth 15,000
euros.
The Bishop of Limburg's troubles are twofold: He also faces a fine from a
Hamburg court for allegedly providing false testimony in a case he
filed against Der Spiegel magazine, which reported he had flown first
class to India to visit poor children.
The budget overrun in Limburg has prompted the dioceses of Cologne,
Munich, Essen, Hamburg and Speyer to make their finances public.
The
former revealed assets as of December 2012 of 166.2 million euros,
posting an income of 9.6 million euros in the same year.
The archdiocese of Munich posted total assets of 27.6 million euros,
while the diocese of Speyer had a worth of about 46.5 million.
The issue is fast becoming more than just an inquiry into the actions of
Tebartz-van Elst.
The perceived extravagance flies in the face of Pope
Francis' call for a “poor church for the poor,” and there is keen
interest in how the Vatican will act.
Speaking on Tuesday, the Christian Democrats' special representative for
church and religious affairs, Maria Flachsbarth, called the news from
the diocese of Limburg "disturbing."
Flaschbarth also said that should
the allegations against Tebartz-van Elst prove true, this should perhaps
prompt structural changes in the Church, not just personnel changes.