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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican removed a German bishop on Wednesday because he spent 31 million euros ($43 million) of Church funds on an extravagant residence when Pope Francis was preaching austerity.

It said the atmosphere in the diocese of Limburg had become such that Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst could no longer carry out a "fruitful exercise" of his ministry there.

Tebartz-van Elst, dubbed the "bishop of bling", had been ordered to stay out of his diocese temporarily last October during a local Church investigation and audit of cost over-runs. He offered his resignation at the time.

A statement said the Vatican department that oversees bishops had now studied the investigation's findings and accepted his resignation.

The 108-page report for the German Bishops' Conference said Tebartz-van Elst had demanded that all those involved in the project should observe "strict secrecy" about its costs.

It said the accounting and construction procedures used "a system that was not transparent either to the diocese or the public", adding that the bishop "alone must also carry the full responsibility" because he did not share information.

Another prelate, Monsignor Manfred Grothe, has been appointed to run the diocese as an administrator on the Vatican's behalf for the time being and a position will be found for Tebartz-van Elst in due course, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis has been urging Church officials around the world to live simpler lives and to get closer to the poor.

He has several times told bishops not to live like princes and has renounced the spacious papal apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace for much more modest quarters in a Church guest house.

IRRITATION

Excerpt from:
Vatican removes German 'bishop of bling'

Huge Fire At Houston Texas Apartment Building Construction Worker Stranded!
huge fire engulfs houston texas apartment complex building, building explodes, construction worker stranded.

By: TheCTV

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Huge Fire At Houston Texas Apartment Building Construction Worker Stranded! - Video

U.S

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 7:19 AM

Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 11:36 AM

A woman who recorded the daring rescue of a construction worker from a burning luxury apartment building in Houston said she wasnt sure the man would make it out alive.

Karen Jones said there was a brief moment when she thought the hardhat was going to plummet to the ground after he swung from the top-floor ledge to a balcony below as the roaring flames tore through the five-story building on Tuesday.

When we saw his foot slip, it was just like oh, God, hes going to fall, Jones, who recorded the shocking video from her fourth-floor office next door,told KTRK-TV.

We thought he was going to be gone.

But soon after the desperate worker landed on the ledge of the flaming $50 million under-construction complex, a ladder from a nearby fire truck started stretching toward the stranded man.

Standing near the edge of the ladder was Houston Fire Department Senior Capt. Brad Hawthorne, who reached out and grabbed the man after he leaped onto the top rung.

Continued here:
We thought he was going to be gone: Woman who ...

HOUSTON -

Firefighters are continuing to put out hot spots Wednesday morning after a 5-alarm fire burned down a residential building under construction in the Montrose area.

Houston firefighters responded to the blaze at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 2400 block of West Dallas and Marconi. A large portion of the high-rise structure was on fire.

Flames and smoke could be seen from miles away.

Several fire units and emergency crews were on the scene, including nearly 200 emergency personnel. HFD called for a fifth alarm shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Captain Ruy Lozano told Local 2 one construction worker had to be rescued from the third floor of the structure.

There were no reported injuries, according to the fire department.

Lozano said firefighters worked to contain the blaze, before the imminent collapse because the fire suppression systems were not yet in place for the under-construction building.

Traffic in the area near downtown Houston was congested during the blaze and authorities urged motorists to stay away from the area as a safety precaution.

Police have closed the intersection of Montrose Boulevard at Dallas Street while emergency crews are still on scene Wednesday morning.

Original post:
Massive blaze destroys residential building under ...

Trapped on a balcony by smoke and flames, construction supervisor Curtis Reissig knew he had to take action to stay ahead of the blaze that was quickly consuming the Houston apartment complex he had helped build.

"The flames were getting closer and hotter. I knew I had to do something. So I swung down to the lower floor," he said.

Reissig's daring leap bought him enough time to let a fire truck ladder get close enough for him to then jump onto it. Fire Capt. Brad Hawthorne, who was perched near the end of the ladder, helped bring Reissig to safety. The dramatic escape was all captured on video.

Reissig, 56, suffered minor burns to his face and hand in Tuesday's fire, which destroyed the planned $50 million luxury apartment complex. There were no other reported injuries.

The cause of the fire was still unknown Wednesday, but witnesses said it might have been caused by workers who were welding on the roof.

Reissig, who works for JLB Partners, had been eating lunch at a trailer on the construction site around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when someone reported a fire. He grabbed an extinguisher and went up to the roof, where he put out some of the flames. But strong winds quickly spread the fire across the roof, so Reissig made his way to the fifth floor.

"At that point I saw a lot of smoke. ... It started burning my eyes, my throat. I couldn't breathe," he said.

Reissig found a window but couldn't open it. He said he thought he was going to die. But then he saw a door to one of the building's units and went onto its balcony.

"I thought, 'Ah, fresh air.' And then I look up and I see to my right all the flames on the building were that close. It was just amazing it had gone up that fast," he said.

Meanwhile, Karen Jones, who works in a nearby building, had come back to her fourth-floor office after picking up lunch when she found co-workers gathered at a window, watching the blaze. Jones, who captured Reissig's dramatic rescue on cellphone video, said when she and her co-workers saw Reissig come onto the balcony, they started to worry.

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Houston Construction Worker Describes Daring Escape From ...

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.