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Pope Francis Shuts Down the German ‘Bishop of Bling’

Pope Francis Shuts Down the German ‘Bishop of Bling’

First of all, the German news media nicknaming Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst—a German bishop noted for his lavish tastes—the “bishop of bling” is pretty clever. Low, but definitely clever. Tebartz-van Elst has garnered criticism for things like flying first class to go visit the poor in India and commissioning a $42 million dollar renovation on his home (including a $20,000 bathtub.) His spending caused some grumbling among the good people of Limburg, where he lives, and the local media has been reporting on the exorbitant costs of his lifestyle with no small amount of scorn. Pope Francis, has been extremely critical of the excesses of the papacy, and he met with the beleaguered Bishop on Monday to discuss his spending habits. Long story short, that meeting ended with Tebartz-van Elst getting suspended while his church undergoes an official audit …

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