Pope Francis reprimands Vatican staff for gossiping

WHERE THERE ARE HUMAN BEINGS Pope Francis, in his Christmas address to the Vatican Curia, urges the prelates to speak well of one another and avoid toxicity in the workplace. —AP

ROME, Italy — Pope Francis told Vatican bureaucrats on Saturday to stop speaking ill of one another, as he once again used his annual Christmas greetings to admonish the backstabbing and gossiping among his closest collaborators.

A wheezing and congested-sounding Francis, who just turned 88, urged the prelates instead to speak well of one another and undertake a humble examination of their own consciences in the Christmas holiday season.

“A church community lives in joyful and fraternal harmony to the extent that its members walk in the life of humility, renouncing evil thinking and speaking ill of others,” Francis said. “Gossip is an evil that destroys social life, sickens people’s hearts and leads to nothing. The people say it very well: Gossip is zero.”

“Beware of this,” he said.

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‘Spiritual Alzheimer’s’

By now Francis’ annual address to the priests, bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican Curia has become a lesson in humility—and humiliation—as he offers a public dressing down of some of the sins in the workplace—the very headquarters of the Catholic Church.

In the most biting edition, in 2014, Francis listed the “15 ailments of the Curia,” in which he accused the prelates of using their Vatican careers to grab power and wealth. He accused them of living “hypocritical” double lives and forgetting—due to “spiritual Alzheimer’s”—that they’re supposed to be joyful men of God.

In 2022, Francis warned that the devil lurks among them, saying it is an “elegant demon” that works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith.

Toxic atmosphere

This year, he revisited a theme he has often warned about—gossiping and speaking ill of people behind their backs. It was a reference to the sometimes toxic atmosphere in closed environments, such as the Vatican or workplaces where office gossip and criticism circulate.

Francis has long welcomed frank and open debates and even has welcomed criticism of his own work. But he has urged critics to tell it to his face and not behind his back.

The annual appointment kicks off Francis’ busy Christmas schedule, with this year made even more strenuous because of the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year on Christmas Eve. —AP