Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on December 21, 2025. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 21, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday highlighted four virtues of St. Joseph — “piety and charity, mercy and trust” — as guides for Catholics in the final days of Advent leading up to Christmas.

Speaking during his Angelus address from the window of the Apostolic Palace on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the pope said the day’s liturgy invited the faithful to reflect on St. Joseph, especially “at the moment when God reveals his mission to him in a dream.”

Calling the Gospel episode “a very beautiful page in salvation history,” Leo described Joseph as a man who is “fragile and fallible — like us — and at the same time courageous and strong in faith.”

Referring to the Gospel of Matthew, the pontiff recalled that Joseph of Nazareth was a “just man,” a devout Israelite who observed the law and frequented the synagogue, while also being “extremely sensitive and human.”

In the face of Mary’s mysterious pregnancy — a situation that was difficult to understand and accept — the pope noted that Joseph did not choose “the way of scandal” or public condemnation. Instead, he opted for the discreet and benevolent path of planning to divorce her quietly.

In doing so, Leo said, Joseph demonstrated he had grasped the deepest meaning of religious observance: mercy.

The pope added that Joseph’s purity and nobility became even clearer when the Lord revealed his plan of salvation in a dream, showing Joseph the unexpected role he would assume as the husband of the Virgin Mother of the Messiah.

Leo pointed to Joseph’s “great act of faith,” saying the saint left behind the last of his certainties and set out into a future fully in God’s hands.

Referring to St. Augustine, the pope said that from Joseph’s piety and charity, “a son was born of the Virgin Mary — Son at the same time of God.”

“Piety and charity, mercy and trust,” Leo said, are the virtues the liturgy proposes for the faithful today so that they may accompany Christians through these final Advent days toward “holy Christmas.”

The pope emphasized that these attitudes “educate the heart” for encountering Christ and one another and can help believers become for each other “a welcoming manger, a comfortable home, a sign of God’s presence.”

He urged Catholics not to miss opportunities during this season of grace to put the virtues into practice — forgiving, encouraging, offering hope to those they live with and meet — and renewing in prayer a childlike trust in the Lord and in his providence.

Leo concluded by entrusting the faithful to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, who were the first to welcome Jesus, the Savior of the world, “with great faith and love.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Zyabich/Shutterstock

London, England, Dec 21, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church must be bolder in sharing its vision of human anthropology, expert voices in the Church have warned in response to reports about poor mental health among teenagers in England and Wales.

On Dec. 9 the Guardian UK reported that 40% of 13–17-year-olds in England and Wales affected by violence are turning to AI companions for support because the waiting lists for counseling are so long, with youth leaders emphasizing that vulnerable young people need human connection.

Edwin Fawcett, a Catholic psychotherapist based in England and Wales, told CNA in an interview: "Young people would benefit from more readily available resources which boldly and clearly share the beautiful truth of the Church's anthropology, so lacking in secular mental healthcare.” 

“And yet it could be tempting to simply fuel the machinery of our strong structures (e.g. dioceses, parishes, faith schools) with brilliant podcasts and videos - arguably still no match for an AI companion,” he said.

 “If what's really lacking is healthy human connection and its modeling, then to better support young people in the long run, I believe we must go upstream, to problems such as inadequate seminary formation and marriage prep, poor support and accountability in Church leadership, and few opportunities for professional training in Catholic psychology,” he continued.

“And we also have to remember that as cells in Christ's body, none of us gets a pass on discerning how we're each called to take some ownership of the difficult work of individual and corporate integration and growth — which includes caring for the young people right around us, today."

Father Michael Baggot, a professor in bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, has written extensively on AI companionship. He told CNA that the “best insights from contemporary psychological sciences” could be integrated with “a broad and rich traditional Catholic anthropology.”

“Youth need flesh-and-blood mentors who embody the messiness and joy of living the Gospel,” he argued. “Mentors can accompany young people in engaging in the embodied community activities (worship, dance, sports, hiking, music, etc.) that AI companions cannot provide. … The entire Catholic moral life is directed to flourishing, that is, happiness in the fullest sense.” 

“The Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person shows how to integrate the best insights from contemporary psychological sciences within a broad and rich traditional Catholic anthropology,” he argued.

“Formation programs for youth, whether conducted in classrooms, churches, on playing fields, lakes, or mountains, should communicate the adventure of the faith. Formators can help youth discover their talents and unique vocation.”

Baggot also suggested that those individuals who have been hurt by AI could share their stories.

“Church institutions should foster a welcoming, inclusive community that challenges members and promotes growth in virtue,” he said. “Parishes, schools, orphanages, hospitals, and every family should create space for youth to share their hopes, dreams, and struggles. This daily effort to build healthy communities is central to the Lord’s call to live in communion with Him and with our neighbors.”

In a statement to CNA the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said there is “little doubt that AI will, increasingly, be a technology that will help people in practical ways. This will include people who need medical and social care and who could be monitored remotely or reminded to undertake certain tasks.”

“However, AI companions can never replace real human relationships and, in our parishes as well as in our personal lives, we must re-invigorate the personal relationships— and a relationship with God — that are at the heart of real human fulfillment,” the bishops said. 

“The interest of so many in the Catholic Church in AI is heartening as it is only through careful discernment that we can ensure that this technology promotes the common good and human dignity.”

The ancient Aqaba Church witnesses to early Christianity in Jordan. / Credit: Sanad Sahliyeh/ACI MENA

ACI MENA, Dec 21, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In Aqaba, a port city on the Red Sea in Jordan, an archaeological church site dating to the late third or early fourth century is being highlighted as one of the world’s oldest purpose-built Christian worship spaces, constructed before Christianity received official recognition in the Roman Empire.

Discovered in 1998 during excavations led by a team under American archaeologist Thomas Parker, the structure is being considered a significant milestone in early Christian history.

The team of researchers described a basilica-style layout, central nave, side aisles, and an eastern apse, suggesting an already organized local Christian community.

Artifacts reported at the site include preserved walls, glass lamps, pottery, and Roman coins, which helped date the building to roughly A.D. 293–303.

Nearby, archaeologists also uncovered a cemetery thought to be tied to the same community, with small metal pieces interpreted as parts of a bronze cross.

With the site now officially reopened to visitors, Jordanian authorities are framing it as both a cultural landmark and a symbol of the country’s long-standing religious plurality, underscoring Aqaba’s place (ancient “Aila”) in the broader Christian landscape of the region.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Giotto’s Nativity fresco projected on the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. / Credit: Buffy1982/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Dec 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

It’s a well-known origin story: how the young and wealthy Francis of Assisi freely abandoned his noble patrimony to serve Christ’s Church as a poor, itinerant preacher.

One of the world’s most beloved saints, the founder of the Franciscan order cared deeply for God’s creation. He also loved Christmas, the solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.

St. Francis’ meditations on the life of Christ led him to create the first-ever Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy, in 1223.

From the Holy Land to Italy

It is believed Francis’ inspiration to do a live representation of the birth of Jesus came from his time in the Holy Land in the years 1219 and 1220.

Seeing the holy sites of Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection made them feel all the more real — and he wanted to recreate that experience.

In November 1223, three years before his death, St. Francis was in Rome to await the pope’s approval of the final rule of his friars.

The friar and deacon was already very familiar with the hill town of Greccio, about 50 miles north of Rome. He had first arrived there over a decade prior and would frequently return to preach to the people of the surrounding countryside.

Eventually, a hermitage was built for St. Francis a short distance outside the town.

Ahead of his return to the hermitage, two weeks before Christmas, Francis asked his friend, Lord of Greccio Giovanni Velita, to prepare a cave with live animals and a hay-filled manger.

The friar had, during his audience with the pope, already received permission to stage the scene of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

According to the first biographer of St. Francis, Brother Thomas of Celano, the friar desired to “re-present the birth of that Child in Bethlehem in such a way that with our bodily eyes we may see what he suffered for lack of the necessities of a newborn babe and how he lay in a manger between the ox and ass.”

That was how, in December 1223, in the rocky crags a short distance outside Greccio, people flocked to see the simple scene during Christmas Mass.

St. Francis, who was a deacon, proclaimed the Gospel and preached the homily.

According to accounts of the moment, fires lit the dark scene while crowds arrived at the spot carrying candles and torches.

An eyewitness says a miracle happened at Mass that night.

Giovanni Veleti asserted that he saw a real infant appear in the empty manger and that St. Francis took the beautiful child into his arms, holding him to his chest in an embrace.

In the period that followed, other miracles were reported, brought about by touching the straw of the manger where the Child Jesus had appeared.

Miraculous healings took place after pieces of hay were placed on sick animals or laboring women in difficulty.

Greccio today

The place where the first Nativity was staged can still be seen today in the Franciscan hermitage and sanctuary outside the main town. The rock is topped by an altar for celebrating Mass and adorned with frescoes depicting Jesus’ birth.

Pope Francis visited the spot two times: once in 2016 and again on Dec. 1, 2019, when he signed an apostolic letter on the meaning and importance of Nativity scenes.

“All those present” at St. Francis’ Christmas Mass, Pope Francis wrote in Admirabile Signum, “experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist. At Greccio there were no statues; the Nativity scene was enacted and experienced by all who were present.”

Every year at Christmas, the people of Greccio stage a live, historical reenactment of St. Francis and the first Nativity scene. The performance is now in its 50th year.

This story was first published on Dec. 23, 2022, and has been updated.

Downtown Kansas City, Kansas. / Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Multiple Catholic schools in Kansas were targeted by what were apparently hoax bomb threats this week, according to authorities.

Law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area reported investigating threats at numerous Catholic schools on Dec. 19. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas confirmed in a press statement that “several” Catholic schools in the archdiocese had “received bomb threats” on both Dec. 18 and Dec. 19.

“At this time, students and staff are safe,” Archdiocesan Superintendent Vince Cascone said in the statement. “Law enforcement continues to investigate, and we are following their guidance closely.”

The archdiocese did not post a list of the schools affected by the bomb threats, though local media reported at least 13 schools targeted, 12 of which were Catholic.

The Olathe, Kansas, Police Department posted on Facebook that it had investigated a threat at the city’s Prince of Peace Catholic School. “The threat was unfounded, and it was determined that other cities in the metro were receiving similar hoax calls,” the police department said, adding that it was investigating the origin of the call.

Roeland Park Mayor Michael Poppa similarly wrote on Facebook that the threats were “unfounded.” The mayor described the hoaxes as “cowardly and deplorable attempts to spread fear and disrupt our community.”

Poppa praised authorities as well as staff at St. Agnes Catholic School “for jumping into action immediately to prioritize student safety.”

Multiple local outlets, meanwhile, reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is participating in the investigation.

The pope with boys and girls from Italian Catholic Action on Dec. 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV told the young people of Italian Catholic Action that they can perform a simple gesture that would be the best gift this Christmas: make peace.

“Before the holy night of Christmas, think of someone with whom you can make peace,” the pontiff urged members of the organization, founded in 1868, which has established itself as one of the main lay organizations of the Church in Italy.

‘A gift more valuable than those you can buy in stores’

“It will be a gift more valuable than those you can buy in stores, because peace is a gift that is truly found only in the heart,” he added.

He said peace is the “Catholic action par excellence,” because it is “the gesture that transforms us as witnesses of Jesus, the redeemer of the world.”

In this way, Leo made it clear that peace “is not only the absence of war” but above all “a friendship between peoples founded on justice.”

“We all desire this peace for the nations wounded by conflict, but let us remember that harmony and respect begin in our daily relationships, in the gestures and words we exchange at home, in the parish, with our schoolmates and teammates,” he explained.

Christians, called ‘to be better every day’

The pontiff also asked them that when they pray before the Nativity scene, they “ask to be able to be like those angels who announce the glory of God and peace to men.” This peace, he continued, is the “commitment of every person of goodwill, and especially of us Christians, who are called not only to be good but to be better every day.”

Leo thus invited his listeners to “become saints” and gave the example of the two young Italians: Pier Giorgio Frassati — who was part of Catholic Action — and Carlo Acutis, whom he canonized together on Sept. 7.

“I encourage you to imitate their passion for the Gospel and their works, always inspired by charity. By acting like them, your proclamation of peace will be radiant, because in the company of Jesus you will be truly free and happy, ready to reach out to your neighbor, especially those in difficulty,” he emphasized.

Italian Catholic Action has more than 229,000 members and is present in approximately 5,000 parishes in almost all the dioceses of the country.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In an era when artificial contraception often dominates public discussions on family planning, the Catholic Church continues to champion natural family planning (NFP). 

Far from merely another birth control technique, NFP invites couples to cooperate with God’s plan for married love, which “is a ‘great mystery,’ a sign of the love between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:32),” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  

NFP — also known as a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) — relies on observing and measuring a woman’s natural signs of fertility, such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and hormone levels, in order to identify fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle. 

Unlike chemical or mechanical contraceptives, which suppress or block fertility, NFP respects the woman’s body and its natural rhythms and allows spouses to achieve or postpone pregnancy, after mutual discernment, through informed abstinence during fertile windows. 

Most importantly, NFP honors the sacredness of the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act, which the Church teaches must always be a total gift of self between the spouses and open to the gift of new human life. 

“Suppressing fertility by using contraception denies part of the inherent meaning of married sexuality and does harm to the couple’s unity,” according to the USCCB. “The total giving of oneself, body and soul, to one’s beloved is no time to say: ‘I give you everything I am — except…’ The Church’s teaching is not only about observing a rule but about preserving that total, mutual gift of two persons in its integrity.”

In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, St. Paul VI affirmed that couples may space births for serious reasons, using natural methods that honor the “inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings” of the marital act. 

The USCCB explains that “NFP is not a contraceptive, it does nothing to suppress or block conception.”

“On the surface, there may seem to be little difference (between NFP and contraception),” according to the bishops. “But the end result is not the only thing that matters, and the way we get to that result may make an enormous moral difference. Some ways respect God’s gifts to us while others do not.”

The bishops continue: “When couples use contraception, either physical or chemical, they suppress their fertility, asserting that they alone have ultimate control over this power to create a new human life. With NFP, spouses respect God’s design for life and love. They may choose to refrain from sexual union during the woman’s fertile time, doing nothing to destroy the love-giving or life-giving meaning that is present. This is the difference between choosing to falsify the full marital language of the body and choosing at certain times not to speak that language.”

The practice of NFP traces its modern roots to the mid-20th century, evolving from early, relatively unreliable calendar-based methods in the 1930s to the smartphone app-based approaches of today. 

Common methods include the Billings Ovulation Method, which tracks cervical mucus changes, and sympto-thermal methods, which combine the charting of mucus observations, temperature shifts, and cervical changes. The Marquette Model uses “several different biomarker devices to detect urinary biomarkers (estrogen, LH, and progesterone),” according to its website.

Per USCCB data, NFP, with perfect use, yields 88% to 100% effectiveness in avoiding pregnancy, with imperfect use at 70% to 98%. For couples trying to achieve pregnancy, it typically occurs in about one year for approximately 85% of couples not using NFP, and within three to six months for those who are. 

Pope Francis praised the Billings method in 2023 as “a valuable tool” for “responsible management of procreative choices,” urging a “new revolution in our way of thinking” to value the body’s “great book of nature.” He noted its simplicity amid a “contraceptive culture,” promoting tenderness between the spouses and an authentic freedom.

Beyond efficacy at planning, preventing, or postponing pregnancy in a morally licit way, couples who use NFP acknowledge that it can be difficult but say it builds intimacy and improves communication as well as self-mastery, transforming what can be otherwise difficult times of periodic abstinence into opportunities for deeper intimacy.

Jessica Vanderhyde, a nurse and mother of seven who is using the Marquette method because she and her husband do not feel ready to welcome another child, told CNA that while NFP can be frustrating because of the periods of abstinence it requires, it also “leads to a lot more closeness in the marriage.”

“If it’s been a long period of abstinence, we try to come up with other ways to be close. I need to make sure I’m more affectionate with him because sexual intimacy is one of the primary ways he feels I love him. If that can’t happen, I have to be conscious of that,” she said.

“We have become good at taking each other’s feelings and needs into consideration. I work at providing what he needs as much as I can.”

Vanderhyde also noted how charting symptoms can bring the couple closer as it allows the husband to really appreciate his wife’s body as well as her needs.

“The husband should be involved in the tracking of it,” she continued, “so that he fully participates in the process and doesn’t feel like he’s at the whims of his wife’s moods.”

She said it can also reveal underlying health issues like infertility or hormonal imbalances, which artificial forms of birth control can mask.

Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, seeks to form active missionary disciples. / Credit: Iskali

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Fifteen years ago, Vicente Del Real felt called to create a way to reach out to young Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. and provide them with a space to encounter God and use their gifts and talents for the Church. He went on to found Iskali, a nonprofit based in Chicago that promotes the leadership and holistic development of Latino youth, helping them flourish spiritually, personally, academically, and socially. 

Inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe’s role in the Americas as “the star of the new evangelization,” Iskali works to form, empower, and equip young Latinos to become transformative leaders and to invigorate the Catholic Church.

The name “Iskali” comes from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, language symbolizing growth, resurgence, and new beginnings. This was also the language Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke when she appeared to Juan Diego. Despite Juan Diego being from the Chichimeca people, and not an Aztec, the two groups of people shared the same language. 

Del Real told CNA in an interview that he felt the need to “respond to the urgent need to walk with young Hispanics as they navigate the questions of life, the struggles of life, and to be able to provide to them what the Church has to say and has to offer.”

He added that “at the heart of Iskali is the work of evangelization.” This is done through providing young Latinos with an “adequate formation so they can understand the faith,” which will hopefully lead them to have a “personal encounter with God.”

Iskali is founded on four pillars: faith and community, mentorship and scholarship, sports and wellness, and service to the poor. 

The pillar of faith and community involves members coming together each week for fellowship. Anywhere from five to 600 young adults gather to spend time getting to know one another and learning more about God and the Catholic faith. 

Through Iskali’s mentorship program, individuals are matched with a Latino professional who serves as a mentor and helps them with professional development. Iskali also provides scholarships for young people to attend colleges and trade schools, and works with parishes to set up a variety of sports leagues to help young people build relationships, provide another form of faith formation, and stay active. 

Additionally, once a month, Iskali communities serve those most in need — the homeless, people in hospitals, nursing homes, and immigrant families who have been affected by detentions or deportations.

Several recent studies show that the Latino population is the fastest-growing demographic in the Catholic Church. Del Real said he believes this is because “Latino young people are very attentive to the faith.”

“They have seen their faith lived in their families, our home, with their grandmas, with their mothers. Faith is kind of embedded in our culture,” he added.

In response to this growth being seen among Latinos in parishes, Iskali is launching a missionary program where a full-time missionary will be assigned to a parish that has a Hispanic population of over 50% to work in Hispanic ministry.

“We are very, very excited … this is the first missionary program that helps to serve the Latino Church in the U.S., and we hope that this missionary program will bear the fruits of vocations to marriage, vocation to priesthood in the Hispanic community,” Del Real shared.

Del Real said he also hopes that those who are a part of Iskali leave the formation knowing that they “are beloved, know that God is seeking intimacy with you, and know that he wants you to flourish as a person.”

“We always say that we hope the people flourish,” he said. “God is a God of love and he wants to see us flourish. If we are a flower in his garden, he wants us to bloom.”

Children greet the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, during his visit to Gaza’s Holy Family Parish on Dec. 19, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 18:35 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, arrived in Gaza City on Dec. 19 for a pastoral visit to Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, just days before Christmas.

Accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali, the Latin patriarchal vicar, and a small delegation, the cardinal’s visit comes as a sign of solidarity with the small Catholic community that has endured over two years of conflict and severe hardship, including what Israel Defense Forces said was an accidental deadly attack on the parish compound last June.

Upon his arrival at the parish, Pizzaballa was greeted by children, some wearing Santa hats, amid festive decorations including twinkling lights, Christmas trees, and Nativity scenes. 

The parish has sheltered hundreds of displaced people — both Christians and Muslims alike — since the war began in October 2023.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem informed that as part of the patriarch’s three-day visit, he will seek to assess the parish’s current situation, including humanitarian aid efforts, ongoing relief work, and plans for the future. He is scheduled to meet with local clergy, led by parish pastor Father Gabriel Romanelli, as well as parishioners to hear directly about community needs and support initiatives.

On Sunday, Dec. 21, Pizzaballa is scheduled to celebrate an early Christmas Mass at the parish, marking the start of celebrations in a community still facing many challenges, including continued restrictions on humanitarian efforts despite recent improvements under the fragile ceasefire.

“Every time I come here also during the war, there is one baptism to do,” he remarked. “So there is no Christmas without baptism. It is wonderful, the best way to say that we believe in life and Jesus.”

His visit “reaffirms the enduring bond of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza with the wider diocese of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and expresses the patriarchate’s commitment to accompany its faithful in hope, solidarity, and prayer,” a statement from the patriarchate said. 

During the visit, Pizzaballa said he felt “a little bit of relief” for the first time since the war started more than two years ago and praised the Holy Family parishioners, who stayed “strong in faith during this terrible period.”

During his greetings, the cardinal said he brought good wishes “from all over the world … you cannot imagine how many churches, how many groups, associations, people from all over the world — are united with you at this moment.”

“We will rebuild. We will rebuild our schools … our houses … our life,” the cardinal said. “We are rooted here and we remain here. We want to be here.”

A new Vatican labor regulations decree was issued after an audience granted to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, pictured here with Pope Leo XIV. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2025 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV approved new labor regulations at the Office of Labor of the Apostolic See (ULSA, by its Italian acronym), the Holy See’s body responsible for managing labor relations for personnel working in the Roman Curia, the Governorate of Vatican City State, and other entities directly administered by the Apostolic See.

The reform, established through a pontifical rescript signed on Nov. 25, introduces significant changes that strengthen institutional representation, improve internal coordination, and underscore the pontiff’s care for employees and the application of the Church’s social doctrine.

The document that has been released — corresponding to the ULSA’s new statute — details, in precise legal language, how labor disputes should be handled in the Vatican, reinforcing protections, procedures, and deadlines for both current and former employees of the Holy See.

Specifically, the text regulates the chapter dedicated to labor disputes, clearly establishing who can appeal, to which authorities, and within what time frames.

The document indicates that anyone who believes they have been harmed by an administrative act in labor matters — unless it has been expressly approved by the pope — may file a complaint with ULSA or take it to the Vatican judicial authority.

However, it is emphasized that attempting conciliation with the ULSA director is a mandatory condition, an indispensable requirement before pursuing any other course of action.

The text also specifies that, when required by the internal regulations of each administration, the employee must first exhaust all internal remedies, failing which his or her claim will be deemed inadmissible. Only after completing this process can the procedure before ULSA or the courts of Vatican City State be initiated.

Solutions through dialogue before resorting to legal action

Labor disputes — whether individual or collective — will be resolved preferably through conciliation mechanisms, and only in case of failure will they be referred to the ULSA Conciliation and Arbitration Board or the Vatican court. In this way, the system prioritizes solutions through dialogue before resorting to legal action.

The document also establishes a five-year statute of limitations for rights arising from the employment relationship, although it clarifies that filing a request for conciliation interrupts this period until official notification of the document that concludes this phase.

Matters falling under the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Commissions established in the general regulations of the various Vatican administrations are expressly excluded from this procedure.

Regarding deadlines, the statute stipulates that the appeal must be filed within 30 days of notification — or actual knowledge — of the contested act. The same deadline applies after a negative decision on an internal appeal or in the case of administrative silence, if the administration fails to respond within the prescribed time.

Finally, the text details the formal requirements of the claim, which must include the claimant’s personal data, the identification of the administration involved,and the act being challenged, as well as the necessary elements to allow for the proper processing of the case.

The decree was issued after an audience granted to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and coincides with the approval of the new general regulations of the Roman Curia.

Overall, the document reflects an effort to provide greater legal certainty, transparency, and procedural order to labor relations within the Vatican, in line with the recent reform initiated by Pope Leo XIV to strengthen the protection of workers and promote a culture of conciliation before resorting to legal conflict.

A more representative council

Another major innovation of the new statute is the expansion of the ULSA Council, the advisory body responsible for developing regulatory proposals. For the first time, it will include a representative from the Secretariat of State as well as from the Vicariate of Rome, the Pension Fund, and the Healthcare Fund (FAS) used by employees of the Vatican and the Holy See. This addition brings the number of newly represented entities to four and aims to strengthen the technical expertise and effective protection of workers.

The council — whose members serve a five-year term — already included representatives from various Vatican dicasteries and bodies, such as the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Secretariat for the Economy, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and the Governorate of Vatican City State.

A more ‘synodal’ working style

The new statute also introduces a more participatory way of working. From now on, each council member will be able to propose topics for the agenda directly, a power that previously required the support of at least four members. According to Vatican sources, this measure emphasizes a more “synodal” working style and promotes the creative involvement of the various departments and staff representatives.

Leo XIV has confirmed the historical responsibilities of ULSA, an organization established by St. John Paul II in 1988 and operational since 1989, and which was further updated during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.