ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV urged Vatican cardinals on Monday to put aside power ambitions and personal interests, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis and gently criticizing his closest collaborators with a Christmas greeting.
“Is it possible to be friends in the Curia?” Leo asked the cardinals and bishops who made up the Curia (the bureaucracy of the Roman Curia). “Building a true brotherhood?”
The fact that Leo raised the issue shows that the American pope is well aware that the Holy See remains a difficult and sometimes toxic workplace, one that Francis often rails against in his annual Christmas address.
Rather than repeating Francis’ more pointed criticisms – that the Vatican clergy sometimes suffers from “mental Alzheimer’s disease”, the “cancer” of faction, the “corruption” of ambition and the idle chatter of “narcissism” – his tone was more conciliatory and constructive.
But the basic message remains. Leo, who is very close to Francis and worked for the Vatican for two years before his election, has not shied away from Francis’ tradition of using Christmas to urge Vatican bureaucrats to examine their consciences and change their practices for the good of the church.
“This pain sometimes occurs among us, too, when, after many years of service in the Curia, we are disappointed to see that certain dynamics related to the exercise of power, the desire to win, or the pursuit of personal gain are slow to change,” Leo said.
“It is a grace to find trustworthy friends in the daily grind, where the masks come off, no one is used or marginalized, real support is provided, and everyone’s worth and abilities are respected, preventing resentment and dissatisfaction.”
Leo generally sought to be a peacemaker who valued unity after a tumultuous tenure under Francis that at times alienated the Argentinian Jesuits from conservatives and some in the Vatican bureaucracy.
He called on Vatican officials on Monday to work to build communion inside and outside the church.
“In a world scarred by discord, violence and conflict, where we are also witnessing the growth of aggression and anger, often exploited in the digital sphere and in politics, Christmas invites everyone to work for peace and universal brotherhood,” he said.
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