Pope Francis on Saturday asked Vatican bureaucrats to stop speaking ill of each other, as he once again used his annual christmas wishes to rebuke betrayals and gossip among his closest associates.
A wheezing and congested Francis, who just turned 88, urged the prelates to speak well of one another and to undertake a humble examination of their own consciences in the Christmas holiday period.
“An ecclesial community lives in joyful and fraternal harmony to the extent that its members walk in a life of humility, renouncing bad thoughts and the evil of others,” Francis said. “Gossip is an evil that destroys social life, sickens people’s hearts and leads to nothing. People say it very well: gossip is bad.”
“Be wary of that,” he added.
Today, Francis’ annual Christmas address to priests, bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican Curia has become a lesson in humility – and humiliation – as Francis offers to publicly denounce some of the sins committed on the workplace at the headquarters of the Catholic Church.
Andrew Medichini / AP
In the most biting edition, in 2014, Francis listed the “15 evils of the Curia,” in which he accused prelates of using their Vatican careers to seize power and wealth. He accused them of living “hypocritical” double lives and forgetting – because of “spiritual Alzheimer’s” – that they are supposed to be joyful men of God.
In 2022, Francis warned them that the devil lurks among them, saying it is an “elegant demon” who works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith.
This year, Francis revisited a theme he often warned against: gossip and talk badly people behind their backs. This was a reference to the sometimes toxic atmosphere in closed environments like the Vatican or in workplaces where gossip and criticism circulate but are rarely aired in public.
Francis has long welcomed frank and open debate and has even welcomed criticism of his own work. But he urged critics to say it to his face and not behind his back.
Francis opened his speech on Saturday by recalling the devastation of the war in Gazawhere he declared that even his patriarch had not been able to enter because of Israeli bombing.
“Yesterday, children were bombed. It’s cruelty, it’s not a war,” he said.
The annual gathering marks the start of Francis’ busy Christmas schedule, made this year even busier due to the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year on Christmas Eve. The Jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in 2025, and Francis has a dizzying calendar of events to welcome them.
Andrew Medichini / AP
After addressing Vatican prelates, Francis delivered a less critical speech to lay Vatican employees who gathered in the city-state’s main audience hall with their families. Francis thanked them for their service and urged them to take time to play with their children and visit their grandparents.
“If you have any particular problems, talk to your bosses, we want to solve them,” he added at the end. “We must do this through dialogue, not by remaining silent. Together we will try to resolve the difficulties.”
This was an apparent reference to reports of growing unease within the Vatican workforce denounced by the Association of Vatican Lay Employees, the closest thing to a union in the Vatican. In recent months, the association has expressed concern about the health of the Vatican’s pension system and fears of further cost cuts, and called on Vatican leaders to listen to workers’ concerns.
Earlier this year, 49 employees of the Vatican Museums – the Holy See’s main source of income – filed a class-action lawsuit with the Vatican court, complaining about labor problems, overtime and working conditions.
Unlike Italy, which has strong labor laws protecting workers’ rights, Vatican employees often find they have fewer legal recourses when problems arise. Employment at the Vatican, however, is often sought after by Italian Catholics: in addition to the sense of service rendered to the Church, employment at the Vatican offers tax-free benefits and access to below-market housing.
