Catholics rise up against bishop's leadership

[rug]

German Catholics have rebelled against a bishop, attacking his leadership style and reading out a letter in a cathedral calling for change.

Published: 26 Aug 2013 14:30 CET

In a letter delivered on Sunday to church authorities, the Frankfurt Catholic Association questioned Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst and the leadership of the diocese.

The letter said: “The diocese must immediately change tack.” The protesters said that they were “greatly concerned” about the growing crisis of confidence in the diocese, newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine reported.

The letter was read out in Frankfurt Cathedral after a service on Sunday and has also been sent to other towns in the diocese.

According to a report on the website of the Frankfurt Catholic Church, 500 people have signed the letter which is seen as a show of support for Frankfurt’s deacon, Johannes zu Eltz, who is a critic of the bishop.

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130826-51595.html

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. What, exactly, are they complaining about?

The story is a bit light on that. A link to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung story would be helpful.

I did some looking, and found an English-language article from Der Spiegel on
why some do not like the bishop.

Basically, many in the Limburg diocese are living in want, while Bishop Trebattz-van Elst lives in luxury. He recently went to India "to support social projects in and around Bangalore" but he and the Vicar General flew first class at about €7,000 each for the round trip. He has just built a brand-new palace at an estimated cost somewhere north of €5.5 million, while saying, "Whoever experiences poverty in person will discover the true greatness of God."

He is slashing budgets for parishes and schools, while spending millions on himself.

[rug]

2. That headline seems to answer the question.

"Bishop's Extravagant Behavior Triggers Uproar"

Thanks for finding more info.

[47of74]

3. Where did Benedict find this guy?

I lay this at Benedict's feet since he was the one who appointed this Bishop.