Diocese wants to hold bishop 'bling' accountable for excesses

c. 2015 Religion News Service

PARIS (RNS) A German Catholic diocese wants to take episcopal responsibility to a new level by making its disgraced former “bishop of bling” responsible for the 3.9 million euros ($4.9 million) in losses incurred during the luxury makeover of his residence and office.

Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst earned the “bling” label in 2013 when aides revealed he had spent 31 million euros ($34 million)—over six times the original estimate—on the stately complex opposite the Romanesque cathedral in Limburg, north of Frankfurt.