Pope Francis on Saturday told Vatican bureaucrats to stop speaking ill of each other, as he once again used his Annual Christmas Wishes To warn against backstabbers and gossips among your closest associates.
A wheezing, gravelly voice, Francis, who recently turned 88, urged bishops to speak well of each other and to politely examine their own consciences. christmas holiday season,
“A church community lives joyfully and fraternally to the extent that its members live a life of humility, shunning evil thoughts and speaking ill of others,” Francis said. “Gossip is an evil that destroys social life, sickens people's hearts and does nothing else. People say it very well: Gossip is naught.”
“Be careful with this,” he said.
By now Francis' annual Christmas address to priests, bishops and cardinals who serve in the Vatican Curia has become a lesson in humility — and humiliation — as Francis offers to make public some of the sins in the workplace at the office's headquarters. Catholic Church.
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In the most scathing version, in 2014, Francis listed “15 ills of the Curia”, in which he accused prelates of using their Vatican careers to usurp power and money. He accused them of leading a “hypocritical” double life and of having “spiritual Alzheimer's” of forgetting that they were supposed to be God's blessed people.
In 2022, Francis warned them that the devil hides among them, saying it is a “beautiful demon” who works in those who have a strict, holy way of living the Catholic faith.
This year, Francis revisited a theme about which he has often warned: gossiping and bad mouthing Behind people's backs. This was a reference to the sometimes toxic atmosphere in closed environments such as the Vatican or workplaces where office gossip and criticism circulate but are rarely aired publicly.
Francis has long welcomed frank and open debate and even criticism of his work. But he has urged critics to tell this to his face, not behind his back.
Francis began his address on Saturday with a reminder devastation of war in gazaWhere he said that even his grandfather was unable to enter due to Israeli bombing.
“Children were bombed yesterday. This is cruelty, this is not war,” he said.
The annual appointment marks the beginning of Francis' busy Christmas schedule, made even more difficult this year by 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 whirlwind calendar of events lined up for his service.
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After addressing Vatican bishops, Francis issued a less critical address to Vatican lay staff, who gathered with their families in the city's main audience hall of state. Francis thanked them for their service and urged them to ensure they take time to play with their children and visit grandparents.
Finally he said, “If you have any specific problems, tell your boss, we want to solve them.” “You do it through dialogue, not by remaining silent. We will try to resolve the difficulties together.”
This was an apparent reference to reports of growing unease within the Vatican workforce that were called by the Vatican Lay Employees Association, which is the Vatican's closest thing to a labor union. The association has expressed concern in recent months about the health of the Vatican pension system and the possibility of even greater cost cuts, and has called on Vatican leadership to listen to workers' concerns.
Earlier this year, 49 employees of the Vatican museums – the Holy See's main source of revenue – filed a class-action lawsuit at a Vatican tribunal 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 options available when problems arise. However, employment at the Vatican is often sought by Italian Catholics: in addition to a sense of service to the Church, Vatican employment provides tax-free benefits and access to below-market housing.