Vatican City – “Having considered the need to broaden the representativeness of the Council of the Office of Labour of the Apostolic See, to encourage the active involvement of the Administrations represented therein, and to improve the efficiency and internal coordination of the Office.” For these reasons, Leo XIV, by means of a Rescriptum ex Audientia Sanctissimi signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, ordered the approval of the amended Statute of the ULSA (Office of Labour of the Apostolic See).
The publication of the new text follows the audience granted by Leo XIV to the Secretary of State on 10 November 2025and bears the date 25 November 2025. It is a step that fits into a normative corpus already “consolidated” in previous years: the version hitherto in force, desired by Benedict XVI, in fact incorporated the amendments ordered by Pope Francis, including those relating to the composition of the Council and to the conciliation/appeal procedure.
What really changes
The core of the amendments does not rewrite the general framework of the Statute, but intervenes on two nodes: Council governance (Art. 6) and convocation/agenda (Art. 7), with a targeted adjustment also to the Appendix on the Register of Lawyers.
A more “representative” and more operational Council
In the 2016 text, the Council was composed—besides the President and the Assessors—of representatives of certain dicasteries/entities (including the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Secretariat for the Economy, APSA, the Secretariat for Communication, the Fabric of St. Peter, the Governorate) and of four staff members.
In the new Statute, the composition is expanded and realigned to the current structures, introducing presences that were not there before: a representative of the Secretariat of State, a representative of the Pension Fund, a representative of the Healthcare Assistance Fund, a representative of the Vicariate of Rome. The “missionary” area is reformulated: no longer the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, but the Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
There remain, however, as structural presences, the representatives of the Secretariat for the Economy, APSA, the Fabric of St. Peter, the Governorate, the Dicastery for Communication, in addition to the four staff members (ecclesiastical, religious, two lay persons). In essence, there are more “management” actors within the Council, coherently with the declared objective of strengthening coordination and efficiency.
Convocations: telematic means and the dynamics of the agenda change
In 2016, convocation was предусмотрed by registered letter with an agenda, at least ten days in advance. Moreover, the agenda included the matters proposed by at least four members. In the new text: convocation may also take place by telematic means, provided there is proof of receipt (the ten-day term remains). The possibility that at least four members propose items to be included remains, but a novelty is added: each member, individually, may also propose items, which may enter the agenda at the discretion of the President. The machinery is modernized (telematic with traceability) and, at least potentially, the initiative of individual members in bringing issues to the table is broadened.
Register of Lawyers: competence explicitly extended also to “Vatican law”
The Appendix on the Register of Lawyers remains, overall, in line with the previous framework, but introduces a decisive element: among the requirements, competence in labour law is no longer sufficient; a “proven competence” in Vatican law is also explicitly required. A point far from marginal, on which Silere non possum has insisted several times: in the Vatican it is not rare for professionals to operate who, in fact, do not have a real familiarity with sources, practice and manuals of Vatican law, with a concrete risk for the protection of the rights of the persons involved. In the previous text, instead, a generic “special competence in labour matters” was required, without the explicit reference to the necessary preparation in Vatican law.
A text long in the making
In its overall framework, the new Statute does not redefine the purposes of the ULSA nor does it substantially modify the architecture of the procedures. The 2016 text, in fact, had already incorporated the most significant amendments introduced by Pope Francis: from updating the composition of the Council to inserting the mandatory attempt at conciliation, up to uniform time limits for forfeiture. The novelties published today—fruit of a work of reflection matured over time—focus above all on two profiles: who sits on the Council and how the Council is convened and placed in a position to operate, with a further technical refinement relating to the Register of Lawyers. At this point, however, a consequence becomes inevitable: the choice of who sits in this body should also fall on persons with real competence in Vatican law, and not on profiles who bring exclusively a baggage of labour law “imported” from other legal systems such as Pasquale Passalacqua. Otherwise, the risk is to entrust delicate decisions to those who “know” (?!) only a labour-law framework—such as the Italian one—marked by not a few critical issues, without the necessary tools to move rigorously among sources, practices and peculiarities of the Vatican legal order.
A step forward for workers
For the Vatican, the ULSA is not an “accessory” office: it is a hub that directly affects the working community of the Holy See, the way in which disputes are managed, and the coordination of practices and protections. In this perspective, Leo XIV intends to strengthen the representation of the administrations truly involved—in particular on pensions and assistance—and to make governance more linear, also through telematic instruments that guarantee traceability and certainty of procedures. The ULSA has the task of protecting and promoting the rights of workers of the Holy See and of the connected entities, ensuring the correct application of labour regulations. It carries out functions of representation, consultancy and oversight, intervenes in the settlement of disputes, expresses opinions on contracts, regulations and economic treatments, and fosters dialogue between administrations and staff, with the aim of guaranteeing equity, transparency and justice in labour relations.
fr.M.C.
Silere non possum