LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO THE CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE
ON THE REFORM  PROCESS OF CERTAIN STRUCTURES OF THE ROMAN CURIA

To my Dear and Venerable Brother
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State

While the reform process of certain structures of the Roman Curia, on which the Council of Cardinals — that I instituted on 28 September 2013 — has been working, is progressing according to the established programme, I feel bound to disclose that in the meantime several issues have arisen, which I intend to address without delay.

I would like first of all to reemphasize that the current period of transition is certainly not a time of vacatio legis. Therefore, I confirm that the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, with the subsequent amendments thereto, and the General Regulations of the Roman Curia remain fully in force.

Since the observance of common norms is necessary both to guarantee the correct procedure of the work of the Roman Curia and the related Institutions of the Holy See, and to ensure impartial treatment, including economic retribution, of all employees, I dispose that the provisions of the aforementioned documents, as well as the Regulations for the senior lay staff of the Holy See and of Vatican City State, and the Regulations of the independent evaluation commission for the engagement of lay personnel at the Apostolic See be scrupulously observed.

It also follows that the hiring and transferral of personnel must be effected within the framework of the organizational structure, excluding all other criteria, with the approval of the Secretariat of State and in keeping with the prescribed procedures, including reference to the established retributive scale.

All this, to the extent it is compatible with the Regulations themselves, also applies to the Governorate of Vatican City State and the Institutions which depend on the Apostolic See, even if not expressly indicated in the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, with the exception of the Institute for Works of Religion.

I therefore request that you, Your Eminence, inform the heads of the Dicasteries, the Offices and the Bodies of the Roman Curia, and also of the Commissions, Committees and related Institutions, as well as of the Governorate, of the dispositions that I have indicated, emphasizing in particular the aspects requiring greater attention, and to monitor their observation.

As I thank you for your cooperation, in the communion of prayers and intentions, I cordially salute you in the Lord.

From the Vatican, 14 October 2015

FRANCIS