Pope Francis held crisis talks
yesterday on the fate of Germany's 'luxury bishop' who is under intense
pressure to resign for spending some $45 million on an ultra-luxurious
residence, reports Reuters in The West Australian.
The Pope, who has tried to set an example of austerity by renouncing
the spacious papal apartments for a small residence in a Vatican guest
house, held talks with Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German
bishops' conference.
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg in western Germany has
stirred anger and calls for his resignation among German Catholics and
media over huge cost overruns on his residence at a time when Pope
Francis is stressing humility and serving the poor.
'All sides are interested in finding a good and rapid solution so
that the situation in the diocese of Limburg can be settled and we can
find a way out of this difficult situation,' Zollitsch told reporters
after his meeting with the Pope.
Tebartz-van Elst, who has apologised for any 'carelessness or
misjudgment on my part' but denies wrongdoing, is in Rome waiting to be
called to meet the pope and is believed to have met in Rome with
Zollitsch, one of the highest ranking figures in the Roman Catholic
Church in Germany.
Zollitsch, speaking to reporters outside a residence near the
Vatican, said an audit commission would begin work on Friday to
investigate what has become a major embarrassment for the Roman Catholic
Church in Germany.
The German media has dubbed Tebartz-van Elst 'the luxury bishop'
after an initial audit of his spending, ordered after a Vatican monitor
visited Limburg last month, revealed the project cost at least 31
million euros, six times more than planned.