Daniel del Castillo González
Pope Leo XIV has issued a Motu Proprio revoking pay cuts for cardinals, senior officials of the dicasteries, and Vatican employees.
In 2021, Pope Francis ruled that, in light of the Holy See’s budget deficit and the Covid-19 emergency, the financial allocations for these Vatican employee groups would be reduced.
GFX
Given the need to ensure sustainability and a balance between revenue and expenditures, the remuneration—regardless of its designation—paid by the Holy See to cardinals shall be reduced by ten percent from the last payment received.
Pope Francis, who decided not to receive a salary while holding the keys of St. Peter, also temporarily froze the biannual pay-rise for employees, although this measure did not affect the lowest pay grades.
In his apostolic letter, the Argentine pope also noted that he was doing so to safeguard all jobs and ensure financial sustainability.
Now that Leo XIV has repealed Francis’s decree, what does the restoration of part of the salaries mean?
The Vatican’s salary structure is divided into employee categories, ranging from maintenance staff to journalists and technicians.
According to Vatican expert Javier Martínez-Brocal, these salaries range from 1500 to 3000 euros monthly.
Next are high-ranking officials, members of the Curia whose salaries are also used to cover the needs of their pastoral mission.
In 2014, salaries were set for them. It ranges between 2900 and 3600 euros, plus representation expenses, so the total could reach 5000 per month.
Now, under Pope Leo XIV, that 10% bonus for cardinals and 8% for heads and secretaries of dicasteries has been reinstated.
Pope Leo XIV also reinstated the biennial pay raise for workers, rewarding the seniority of Holy See employees.
This does not mean that Pope Leo XIV’s decision goes against that of Pope Francis; in fact, the pope states the following:
GFX
The wage restraint measures adopted by my predecessor—which were necessary to address the exceptional challenge posed by the pandemic—can now be phased out.
Of course, the fact that Pope Leo XIV has reversed the salary changes does not mean that the economic situation has been resolved.
Rather, it means that strict economic measures regarding salaries are no longer necessary, and that efforts toward economic sustainability will continue using a variety of tools.
