PopeWatch: Bad Boss

When the clergy misbehave it tends to be the laity who get the bill:

The papal decree March 24 cut the pay of Vatican cardinals by 10% and decreased salaries for the heads of Vatican departments and secretaries by 8%, “according to criteria of proportionality and progressivity.” Also, all seniority-linked salary raises have been blocked until 2023.

The papal decision was made in an effort to “safeguard existing jobs,” but for the disgruntled Vatican employees, the decision unfairly targets lay employees with seniority who have been financially struggling due to the pandemic. Francis’ document, they wrote in the letter, together with the increased level of work responsibility and the lack of options for working remotely, “only aggravate the working conditions of Vatican employees.”

According to the authors of the complaint, working at the Vatican does not guarantee the same benefits that can be expected elsewhere, including “productivity bonuses, promotions based on achieved objectives, merit-based systems of selection and professional growth.” The pope’s “radical” reform efforts, they continued, are useless as long as the structure at the Vatican is not deeply changed.

Go here to read the rest.  Laity working for the Church often take it on the chin financially.  This would be tolerable but for the endless bloviating of clerics about the outlays private sector employers should make on behalf of employees, completely oblivious as to the economic factors of individual businesses.  The most effective leadership tends to be leadership by example, and unfortunately the Church has seen precious little of that over the past half century.  Go thou and do otherwise might well be the current motto of the leadership of Mother Church.