Leo XIV overturned another of his predecessor’s measures on Monday, as he lifted the wage cuts first imposed by Pope Francis on cardinals and curial officials in 2021.
Dated September 1, the latest motu proprio from Leo XIV was published on September 14 and repeals a March 2021 motu proprio issued by Pope Francis. Leo’s document ends the wage cuts for cardinals, curial superiors, secretaries and officials which Pope Francis had implemented.
At the time, Francis had announced a 10% pay cut for cardinals, an 8% wage cut for senior Holy See officials and a 3% cut for clergy and religious working at the Vatican and in the Curia. The lowest paid members of staff were not directly impacted by the cuts. Also suspended were the wage increases awarded every two years.
Francis had issued them citing the difficult financial straits the Vatican was experiencing, along with the worsening impact which COVID-19 had upon the already difficult financial situation. Leo noted today that his predecessor’s motu proprio had been “also necessary to meet the exceptional challenge of the pandemic”.
But he declared that such difficulties “can now be overcome, in the certainty that the Institutions of the Holy See and the Vatican City State will continue, with different instruments, in the commitment to ensure economic sustainability.”
He ordered the 2021 document to be completely repealed, but noted that what would remain unchanged were the financial saving effects which took place while it was in force, meaning that there would be no backpay and the two-year wage increases would not suddenly resume in line with the four-year hiatus.
Pope Francis’ financial cuts proved widely unpopular and were viewed at the time as being punitive to all those impacted. They were soon compounded by the removal of the cardinals’ living allowance and the order for the cardinals resident in Rome to pay standard asking rate.
Yet the financial disarray in which the Vatican found itself was little impacted by the measures Francis imposed, with many thus questioning the rationale of choosing such a move.
Pope Francis famously lived with the image of the poor and humble pontificate, after having rejected the traditional papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace in favour of living in the Casa Santa Marta hotel which is used as a guesthouse for visiting religious and to house cardinals during a conclave. His 2021 decision to strip cardinals of some of their wages was thus in line with this perceived style of reign – a poorer, simpler Church, as his aides argued.
But Francis’ personal living arrangement actually cost the Vatican an extra €200,000 a month – close to €30 million over the course of his pontificate. During that time, parts of the papal apartments also suffered from lack of use and their restoration delayed Leo’s return to the apostolic palace by some months.
Leo has sought to portray himself as more in line with many of the traditional aspects of a papal reign and his residence in the papal apartments is one such example. His new motu proprio may well be another element of this style.
In reinstating the full wage to cardinals and Holy See employees the Pontiff is signalling his personal confidence in the Vatican’s financial stability. Nor is it a purely personal move, as Leo made the decision after having consulted the Secretariat for the Economy.
Seemingly the Vatican’s finances are no longer in as serious a situation as previous years have documented.
Also important is that the Secretariat and the Pope will likely both have realised that the proportionally minimal savings which the 2021 motu proprio led to were far outweighed by the negative impact upon cardinals and Curial officials.
Discontent among Vatican employees over pay has been a growing issue, and by reinstating the normal full wage Leo can thus have serve himself a relatively easy victory in the often turbulent daily politics which occur behind the Vatican walls.
Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.
