Pope Francis Suspends Bishop Known for Lavish Spending. $4 Million Private Chapel

Enough pomp for Catholic traditionalists?

See: The Thinking Housewife, Pope Francis And "The Pornography Of Compassion"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-thinking-housewife-pope-francis-and.html

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Many traditionalists ignore the steachings of Jesus by blinding themselves with pomp, circumstance and dogma.

At bottom, traditionalists love "the trappings" of the Church more than "the teachings" of Jesus. They are as eager to talk the talk as they are terrified of Francis walking the walk.

See "The Woe Passages" 
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/08/yeshua-excoriates-fellow-pharisees-woe.html

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At the "other end" of Catholicism...
"Serving Those Who Serve: The Archdiocese For The Military Services"
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/10/serving-those-who-serve-archdiocese-for.html

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By MELISSA EDDY

Published: October 23, 2013

BERLIN — A German bishop under fire for lavish spending on his personal residence at a time when Pope Francis is sending a message of modesty has been suspended from his duties, pending the outcome of an investigation, the Holy See said Wednesday.

Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, 53, left his diocese in Limburg for Rome on a low-budget carrier last week, as anger mounted in Germany over the $42 million bill for revamping his residence. The bishop also faces charges that he made false statements twice under oath during a legal case against a magazine.

It was not immediately clear whether the bishop would remain at the Vatican while awaiting the final decision.

The spending affair has outraged Roman Catholics and others in Germany, the home of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

A commission created by Germany’s Bishops Conference is investigating the matter, amid conflicting reports over the chain of responsibility for approving the expense and about how much of the blame rests with the bishop alone.

“Pending the outcome of this investigation and the expected assurances connected with it, the Holy See views it as advisable to grant Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst a time outside of the diocese,” the Vatican said in a statement released on Wednesday in Italian and German.

Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, who was ordained in 1985, studied in France and at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in the late 1980s. He was Germany’s youngest bishop when he was installed by Pope Benedict XVI in January 2008.

Already in 2012, the bishop was confronted with dissent from within his congregation, when several thousand members signed a petition in protest over his leadership style. As details over the spending scandal mounted in recent weeks, calls for the bishops’ removal spread.

Church experts viewed Wednesday’s decision as a clear signal that the bishop would no longer continue his service, despite the waiting period for the investigation.

“Had he directly forced the bishop to step down or removed him from office, that would have been swiftly condemned,” Thomas Schüller, a theologian at the University of Münster, told the German news agency DPA.

The bishop's official residence in Limburg has been described as luxurious.

Vatican suspends 'bishop of bling' Tebartz-van Elst

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24638430

When Bishop Tebartz-van Elst flew into Rome last week it was reportedly on a Ryanair flight. Budget travel is perhaps not quite the style of the "bishop of bling", but it was more appropriate given his mission.

He was here to explain to the Pope his $42m palace renovation job. And waiting for that meeting cannot have been comfortable. Would the Pope mention the bishop's $20,000 bathtub? Or the $34,000 conference table?