Riches Are The Problem in Europe's Youngest Monarchy

Pope Francis announced a first decision in the scandal surrounding the controversial Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst: The German bishop will remain in office for the time being but may no longer exercise his office. Is this the end to a much-discussed church scandal? It should be the start of some soul searching for a very rich church pledged to help the poor and the needy.

Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst

A bishop on leave without portfolio. It's something not happening too often in the Roman Catholic Church. In the case of the Bishop of Limburg, though, it was a fast and wise decision taken by Pope Francis. With this move, he withdrew the scandal-prone figure of the 53-year-old Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from public view while taking him out of the firing line of public opinion. At the same time, he condemned a publicity hungry man to public silence while limiting the damage he could do to the church's image.

The magnificent renovation of the historic bishop's see of Limburg with the addition the famous bathtub for 15,000 euros and an indoors swimming pool for 200,000 euros aren't the bone of contention. They are the tip of an iceberg; they show the double morals of a very rich church preaching water and drinking wine. The Catholic Church is Germany's largest landowner with a conservatively estimated net worth of over 250 billion euros. It owns awe-inspiring cathedrals, world-famous art and acclaimed vineyards. Bishops are on salaries the equivalent of a Secretary of State and drive company cars like German ministers.

All this is not really news, things have been that way for centuries. But the whole scandal surfacing in Limburg was a timely reminder for taxpayers and media alike and played out in great detail. Bishop Tebartz-van Elst is one of the humble servants of God flying to India first class to visit the poor. In addition to ostentation, the bishop distinguished himself by his ruthlessness: He dismissed a dean because the co-conducted a blessing ceremony for a same-sex couple. He also suppressed all advisory services for women having problems with pregnancy.
 
Limburg's pomp loving Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst is not a cardinal of the church, he may therefore be excused for having missed the appointment of a new man at the helm of the Catholic Church. Since March, Pope Francis gave his theologians two new sets of priorities: He wants to provide for more compassion in dealing with minorities, and he wants to lead a poor church working for the poor.

It is only fair that Pope Francis didn't demote the Bishop of Limburg immediately. Last week, he set up a commission of inquiry to investigate all allegations of waste implicating the bishop. That report with any possible findings must be waited on as much as a decision on prosecution by the public prosecutor of Hamburg concerning allegations made against the bishop.

The break forced on Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst offers the Catholic Church the chance to take the eyes from the scandalous person and ask fundamental questions about itself. These questions need asking and answering not only in Germany but also in the United States: How do your officials treat the situation of water and wine? Are you prepared to disclose your financial situation? But above all, are you prepare to follow the Pope's order to be a poor church for the poor?

Further reading
A Pope's List in Book Form
The Elect Circle of Elected Monarchs in Europe
How Many Monarchies Exist in Europe