Vatican suspends ‘Bishop of Bling’
The Vatican has suspended a senior German Church leader dubbed the "bishop of bling" by the media over his alleged lavish spending.
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Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst is accused of spending more than 31m euros (£26m; $42m) on renovating his official residence.
The Vatican said it deemed "appropriate... a period of leave from the diocese" for the bishop.
The suspension comes two days after he met the Pope to discuss the matter.
"A situation has been created in which the bishop can no longer exercise his episcopal duties", a Vatican statement said.
It said a Church commission would rule on the matter, but did not say where Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, 53, would go or what he would do while the inquiry was held.
The head of Germany's main lay Catholic group, the Central Committee of German Catholics, Alois Glueck, welcomed the Vatican's decision.
Pope Francis has also signalled his intention to clean up the Vatican's finances, appointing a commission to advise him on reforms.
There is no surprise in Rome that the Vatican has ordered the bishop's suspension from his duties while the spending row is investigated, our correspondent adds.
Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is the daughter of a Protestant pastor, said that she had expressed "hope that there will be an answer for believers, for people's confidence in their Church".
In his absence, the bishop's diocese will be administered by Limburg's vicar general, Wolfgang Roesch.
Source: BBC
