DW Top Stories: Pope Francis announced he would remove Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from his position for the time being, according to a Vatican statement on Wednesday. The decision came two days after the pontiff held a private audience with Tebartz-van Elst.
The pontiff had chosen to suspend Tebartz-van Elst because he “could not [carry out his duties] at the current time,” given the controversy surrounding his costly renovation project, the Vatican statement said.
Vicar general Wolfgang Rösch from the neighboring city of Wiesbaden was named as the temporary caretaker for the bishop of Limburg’s diocese. Rösch had already been selected to become Limburg’s vicar general beginning January 2014.
It was not immediately clear how long German bishop would be suspended. Read more here.
