'Bishop of bling' retreats to monastery
A German bishop removed from his diocese by the Vatican following a row over the spiralling cost of his new residence has retreated to a monastery in Bavaria.
Pope Francis last week expelled Limburg Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from his diocese pending the outcome of a church inquiry into the residence, which cost €31m several times what was originally planned.
The Vatican hasn’t said how long he might be away but Limburg diocese officials say the inquiry’s work is expected to take until January.
The whereabouts who became known as the 'bishop of bling' had been a mystery since the Vatican’s announcement.
A Benedictine monastery in Metten, in southeastern Germany, said on Thursday that he arrived there this week to spend a “spiritual time of recovery” of unspecified length.
