Pope Francis Suspends Bishop for Spending N6.8bn on Luxury

It is sad that the church is today copying those in the world, rather than the world copying the church. And one man who has vowed to checkmate this ugly trend in the church is Pope Francis.

As you read this, Pope Francis has suspended a German prelate, Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, and he is expected to be on suspension indefinitely. The Bishop, who is now being described as the "luxury bishop" is said to have spend a whooping $43m (about N6.8billion) of Church money on his residence.

An audit of Bishop Franz-Peter's residence revealed that it is fitted with:

1. a free-standing bath that cost 15,000 euros (N3m),
2. a conference table that cost 25,000 euros (N5m),
3. a private chapel for 2.9 million euros (N594m).

The issue is said to be a major embarrassment to Pope Francis, who has consistently warned Bishops and other leaders in the Catholic Church, and Christians in general, not to live like princes but consider the poor.