I am sorry to say, but this article is gossip, not reporting. The story seems to have been written by someone with little familiarity with the Church, who merely echoes the stereotypes of the secular press.

The building in question is a diocesan center, not a private palace for the bishop. The line about how many poor could have been fed by it is quite old and trite, the sort of thing said whenever the Church's enemies want to make her look bad, beginning with the English Reformation and extending through 20th century Communism. The fact is that the German dioceses continue to contribute more to international works of charity than almost any other nation.

Perhaps this building could have been done in a more cost-effective manner, but that hardly merits the kind of public flogging [Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limbourg] has received. I see no other real evidence of an "extravagant lifestyle." I suspect the real cause behind the media outcry may be the fact that this young Bishop has stood up against the homosexual agenda and other liberal causes. The real outrage by Catholics in Germany should be against another bishop, who has been spreading confusion about the Church's teachings on divorce and remarriage.