Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst

The Most Reverend Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst
Bishop emeritus of Limburg
Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst in 2012
Church	Roman Catholic
See	Limburg
In office	28 November 2007–26 March 2014
Predecessor	Franz Kamphaus
Orders
Ordination	26 May 1985
Consecration	18 January 2004 by Reinhard Lettmann
Personal details
Born	(1959-11-20) 20 November 1959 Twisteden, Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Previous post	Titular bishop of Girus Tarasii Auxiliary Bishop of Münster
Coat of arms

Styles of Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst (born 20 November 1959) is a German prelate of the Catholic Church and theologian. He was a vicar and an auxiliary bishop in Münster before becoming the Bishop of Limburg in January 2008. On 23 October 2013, he was suspended by the Vatican from the exercise of his episcopal office. The reasons have not been specified, but are believed related to the controversies on his expenses which earned him the nicknames "gold-plated bishop" and "bishop of bling" in the world press, and also to his having settled a perjury case for €20,000. On 26 March 2014, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Bishop of Limburg.

Life and ministry

Tebartz-van Elst was born in Twisteden, the second of five children to a farmer family, near the Catholic pilgrimage village of Kevelaer in North Rhine-Westphalia. "Van Elst" is a hint that one of his ancestors came from the Dutch city of Elst, Gelderland.

Tebartz-van Elst studied philosophy and Catholic theology at Wilhelms University of Münster and the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, and completed further theological studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. From 1990 to 1996 he was vicar and chaplain at St. Paul's Cathedral in Münster, before receiving a teaching appointment at the University of Münster. His work in pastoral theology focused on the baptism and catechism for adults, and his manual for adult baptism reflects his focus on the Catholic evangelism of adults in an increasingly secular Germany.

Tebartz-van Elst has been reported to be considered a defender of liberal causes inside the church until Benedict XVI was chosen pope (2005). In 2003, he was appointed titular bishop of Girus Tarasii and auxiliary for the Diocese of Münster by Pope John Paul II. On 28 November 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Limburg.

Early controversies

Tebartz-van Elst was frequently criticized in the German press. In 2008, he made headlines for admonishing one of his priests, the Rev. Peter Kollas, for, jointly with a Lutheran pastor, blessing a homosexual couple. The bishop argued that the relationship, being homosexual, did not conform to Catholic teachings; Kollas argued that offering a blessing contradicted no norms of Catholic practice. Citing broken trust, the bishop removed Kollas from an administrative appointment within the diocese, while leaving him as pastor of his local church in Wetzlar.

In 2012 the press inquired into Tebartz-van Elst's travel arrangements on a trip to India earlier that year, suggesting that the bishop and his travel companion had flown in first class. While certainly legal, that would not have fit well with the church's preaching on personal austerity. In the course of the controversy Tebartz-van Elst made sworn statements in court that he traveled in business class, not first class, and did so thanks to accumulated bonus miles. Tebartz-van Elst had, in fact, traveled in first class, and eventually he was cited by the state's attorney for perjury and fined €20,000.

Diocesan Centre St. Nicholas

The diocesan centre St. Nikolaus in Limburg

The Private Chapel St. Maria built 2012

The Old Vikarie house or ″Haus Staffel″, a timber framed building from 1515

The old Clergy house built 1903/04

The old Bischofssitz

In 2002, the Diocese of Limburg committed to financial austerity, cutting salaries and expenses. Against this backdrop of constraint, the 2007 diocesan plan for a new €6 million building received criticism from the public. The church publicly stated that they were allocating €5.5 million, with €200,000 for the bishop's apartment, €300,000 for his private chapel, €500,000 for the administrative and guest area, €2 million for the renovation of the historic walls and display of archaeological finds and €2.5 million for the rehabilitation and the sexton of the old vicarage house. The architect Michael Frielinghaus declared on 14 October 2013 that the 2010 figure of €5.5 million was always understood to be well below the true cost of the project

In October 2013 the German press called for Tebartz-van Elst to resign after the building costs of the Limburg bishop's residence topped €31 million. The bishop's private apartment included a "$20,000 bathtub, $500,000 of built-in closets, and a $35,000 conference table." Additionally, only €600,000 to €800,000 of the €5,500,000 initial budget had been formally approved. When the building complex opened on 29 June 2013, the diocese announced that the final "all-in"-costs would be €9,850,000. It changed that number just one day later, after an internal audit committee complained that the number was totally unrealistic. With liability for damage to neighboring buildings included, the estimated cost was eventually updated to €40 million on 12 October 2013.

On 13 October 2013, Tebartz-van Elst went to Rome to make a plea to Pope Francis and they met on 21 October 2013. On 23 October 2013, Pope Francis suspended Tebartz-van Elst as Bishop of Limburg. In his absence, the bishop's diocese has been administered by Limburg's vicar general, Wolfgang Rösch.

Tebartz-van Elst is currently living at Santa Maria dell'Anima college in Rome and the Benedictine Abbey of Metten in Bavaria. He indicated that he hoped to return to Limburg.

The board of investigation lined up by the congregation of German bishops found incriminating material according to reports published on 9 January 2014. A secret registry was built up in an apartment specially rented for the purpose. Some of the incriminating documents carried the signature of Tebartz-van Elst.

On 17 February 2014 new details about the state of the investigation leaked out. On 4 March 2014 the inquisition report was finalized.

Aftermath

Tebartz-van Elst defended himself even though he was removed from his position and remained unapologetic. He said that the vicar was responsible (for the deteriorating situation). The diocese has new guidance under the apostolic administrator.

Tebartz-van Elst commented on what he found in the diocese to be "an administrative situation which was ... hardly factual and disordered." He invested in "quality" because of previous bad experiences with construction projects in the diocese.

The Vatican statement said that a fruitful execution of a bishop's duty could no longer be expected from Tebartz-van Elst. After obtaining the report from the investigation board, the state attorney in Limburg was examining whether Tebartz van-Elst's actions constituted a criminal activity.

On 28 March 2014, Tebart-van Elst visited the Pope. The main outcome of their discussion was that Tebartz-van Elst told reporters that "with today's knowledge I discern that I made failures. It was never my intention. They obliterated trust."

Though suspended from office on 23 October 2013, he extended a contract for a 500-class BMW in January 2014.