German Bishop of Limburg Triggers Uproar with Luxurious Lifestyle - SPIEGEL ONLINE:
SPIEGEL inquiries about this luxury trip to the slums triggered a flurry of contradictory reports. Questions directed to the diocese press office were answered by a law firm in nearby Frankfurt. The 10-page document contained a cease and desist declaration with a penalty clause forbidding the publication of the claim that the bishop had flown first-class to India -- as well as a €1,890.91 ($2,400) bill for the legal warning. The bishop's lawyer said that the claim "is untrue" and that his client had "flown business class."
But after a follow-up written inquiry, the whole story changed a few days later. Suddenly, the truth was out. Now it was admitted that the bishop and his vicar general had, in fact, sat in first class on both the outbound and return flights. But this was qualified with a claim that this was only made possible because the vicar general -- who enjoys "Senator" status with Lufthansa, which requires at least 100,000 annual status miles -- had used reward points to purchase upgrades from business class in what the lawyer described as a "purely private" action.
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