VATICAN: The Pope Francis on Wednesday suspended the bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst over reports that he allegedly spent £12,000 on the renovation of his official residence, the Vatican said.
The Vatican said that bishop Tebartz-van Elst would now spend “a period of time outside the diocese”, while an inquiry into his allegedly free spending gets under way by a German church panel.
A newly appointed vicar general, Father Wolfgang Roesch, will step in to manage the diocese in the interim, the Vatican said.