Pope Says Vatican Administration Is Sick With Power And Greed; Lists 15 "Ailments of the Curia"

The Vatican's top administrators would have been expecting an exchange of pleasantries at their annual Christmas meeting with Pope Francis on Monday.

Instead, he chose the occasion to issue a stinging critique, telling the priests, bishops and cardinals who run the Curia, the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, that careerism, scheming and greed had infected them with "spiritual Alzheimer's".

Based on AP/Reuters reports Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, has refused many of the trappings of office and made plain his determination to bring the Church's hierarchy closer to its 1.2 billion members.

To that end, he has set out to reform the Italian-dominated Curia, whose power struggles and leaks were widely held responsible for Benedict XVI's decision last year to become the first pope in six centuries to resign.

"The Curia needs to change, to improve ... a Curia that does not criticize itself, that does not bring itself up to date, that does not try to improve, is a sick body," he said in a sombre address.

He listed no fewer than 15 "sicknesses and temptations", from the "spiritual Alzheimer's" of those who had become enthralled by worldly goods and power to the "existential schizophrenia" of those who had succumbed to a joyless, hard-hearted mindset.

Francis said some in the Curia acted as if they were "immortal, immune or even indispensable", an apparent reference to retired cardinals who remain in the Vatican and continue to exert influence.

He told his audience that too many of them suffered from "rivalry and vainglory"; superiors favoured protégés and underlings fawned on bosses to further careers; others fed gossip or false information to the media.

But the pope did finish on an upbeat note. Before wishing them all a Happy Christmas, Francis urged the Vatican's administrators to be more joyful, saying how much good a "dose of humour" could do. Pope Francis listed 15 "ailments" of the Vatican Curia. 

Here's the list:

1) Feeling immortal, immune or indispensable. "A Curia that doesn't criticize itself, that doesn't update itself, that doesn't seek to improve itself is a sick body."

2) Working too hard. "Rest for those who have done their work is necessary, good and should be taken seriously."

3) Becoming spiritually and mentally hardened. "It's dangerous to lose that human sensibility that lets you cry with those who are crying, and celebrate those who are joyful."

4) Planning too much. "Preparing things well is necessary, but don't fall into the temptation of trying to close or direct the freedom of the Holy Spirit, which is bigger and more generous than any human plan."

5) Working without coordination, like an orchestra that produces noise. "When the foot tells the hand, 'I don't need you' or the hand tells the head 'I'm in charge.'"

6) Having 'spiritual Alzheimer's.' "We see it in the people who have forgotten their encounter with the Lord ... in those who depend completely on their here and now, on their passions, whims and manias, in those who build walls around themselves and become enslaved to the idols that they have built with their own hands."

7) Being rivals or boastful. "When one's appearance, the color of one's vestments or honorific titles become the primary objective of life."

8) Suffering from 'existential schizophrenia.' "It's the sickness of those who live a double life, fruit of hypocrisy that is typical of mediocre and progressive spiritual emptiness that academic degrees cannot fill. It's a sickness that often affects those who, abandoning pastoral service, limit themselves to bureaucratic work, losing contact with reality and concrete people."

9) Committing the 'terrorism of gossip.' "It's the sickness of cowardly people who, not having the courage to speak directly, talk behind people's backs."

10) Glorifying one's bosses. "It's the sickness of those who court their superiors, hoping for their benevolence. They are victims of careerism and opportunism, they honour people who aren't God."

11) Being indifferent to others. "When, out of jealousy or cunning, one finds joy in seeing another fall rather than helping him up and encouraging him."

12) Having a 'funereal face.' "In reality, theatrical severity and sterile pessimism are often symptoms of fear and insecurity. The apostle must be polite, serene, enthusiastic and happy and transmit joy wherever he goes."

13) Wanting more. "When the apostle tries to fill an existential emptiness in his heart by accumulating material goods, not because he needs them but because he'll feel more secure."

14) Forming 'closed circles' that seek to be stronger than the whole. "This sickness always starts with good intentions but as time goes by, it enslaves its members by becoming a cancer that threatens the harmony of the body and causes so much bad — scandals — especially to our younger brothers."

15) Seeking worldly profit and showing off. "It's the sickness of those who insatiably try to multiply their powers and to do so are capable of calumny, defamation and discrediting others, even in newspapers and magazines, naturally to show themselves as being more capable than others."