A German court has dropped for
the time being an investigation into the 'luxury bishop' over
accusations he lied under oath about taking a first-class flight to
visit poverty projects in India, reports Reuters in The West Australian.
State prosecutors had sought to have Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van
Elst of Limburg fined for making false affidavits about the flight, but
the court accepted a $30,000 settlement.
The Bishop has also been under scrutiny over separate revelations
that he let costs for his new residence in Limburg run to 31 million
euros, more than six times the original estimate, triggering calls for
his resignation.
Last month Pope Francis ordered him to leave his
diocese while an investigation and audit into high costs were conducted.
In the case of the flight, prosecutors were investigating whether
Bishop Tebartz-van Elst had lied under oath when he denied a report in
Der Spiegel news magazine that he flew first-class to India to visit
poverty projects.
The Bishop, 53, said he flew business class. But Der Spiegel
made public a mobile phone video recording of a conversation which
triggered action by prosecutors in Hamburg.
'The criminal proceedings
against the Bishop of Limburg have been suspended provisionally in
exchange for 20,000 euros,' the Hamburg court said in a statement.
The decision had the consent of the State prosecutors, it said. The
Vatican sent an envoy in September to investigate protests in the
diocese.
Pope Francis then banished Bishop Tebartz-van Elst from his
diocese on October 23 for spending so much of Church funds at a time
when the pontiff is stressing austerity.
But he stopped short of dismissing him outright.
The issue is an
embarrassment for the Pope, who has called for a more austere Church
that sides with the poor.