BBC News - German 'bishop of bling' Tebartz-van Elst settles case 18 November 2013 Last updated at 21:48 Prosecutors in Germany have agreed to drop proceedings against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Limburg, in return for a payment of 20,000 euros ($27,000). Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst was accused of lying under oath over his flights to India. Claims that the bishop spent more than 31m euros (£26m; $42m) on renovating his official residence caused outrage. Pope Francis ordered the bishop to take a leave of absence from his post. An investigation into Bishop Tebartz-van Elst's apparently lavish spending is taking place. The bishop was facing prosecution in Hamburg over claims he gave false statements in a case against Der Spiegel magazine, which had reported that he took first-class flights to visit slum dwellers. Church members in Germany pay a compulsory church tax out of their income.