Pope Leo XIV has issued a motu proprio to restore legal clarity to the Vatican’s civil administration by formally permitting Sister Raffaella Petrini FSE to serve as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
The document, signed on 19 November and released 21 November, amends the 2023 Fundamental Law so that the Commission “is composed of Cardinals and other members, including the President, appointed by the Supreme Pontiff for a five-year term".
The motu proprio – Latin for "on his own impulse", and which in Vatican parlance describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party – allows lay men, lay women, or religious sisters to lead the Commission by abrogating the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State Article 8, Section 1.
