Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Inside the VaticanDecember 25, 2019
Pope Francis speaks during his annual audience to give Christmas greetings to members of the Roman Curia at the Vatican Dec. 21, 2019. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) 

On Saturday, Pope Francis gave his annual Christmas speech to the Roman curia, which in past years has been the time that the pope speaks very clearly about where he thinks the curia needs improvement. In 2014, Pope Francis used his Christmas address to lead the curia through an examination of conscience, pointing out what he called the “curial diseases” of careerism, gossip, rivalries, and so on. In years since, he has spoken on the need for ongoing reforms and updated his collaborators on his restructuring of the Vatican bureaucracy.

This year, the pope’s talk focused on the need to fight rigidity and be open to change. He quoted St. John Henry Newman, canonized this year, who famously wrote about the way that doctrine develops and how change is natural and important both in human life and for the church. Francis also warned against rigidity which comes from a fear of change.

On this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and I talk about why the pope chose this theme for his speech, who he spoke to, and how these Christmas addresses fit into the pope’s larger effort to reform the Roman curia.

Links from the show:

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

July 16 marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was detonated. The specter of nuclear annihilation has been with us ever since.
James T. KeaneJuly 15, 2025
David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman" (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The first time we see the titular hero of James Gunn’s new film “Superman,” he doesn’t descend from the heavens. He plummets.
John DoughertyJuly 15, 2025
If we imagine ourselves as satisfying a God who will “give us” things only if we do the “right things,” then our relationship with God becomes less a friendship and more a chore.
James Martin, S.J.July 15, 2025
For 13 years, Josep Lluís Iriberri, S.J. has guided pilgrims along the same trail St. Ignatius walked over 500 years ago.