VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — In a historic change, the Vatican has abolished the mandatory use of Latin for curial acts, as part of a bundle of regulatory reforms to the Roman Curia.
In contrast to the prior stipulation that the drafting of curial acts be drawn up in Latin, the new Regulation of the Roman Curia, published on November 24, states that acts may also be drafted “in another language.”
According to The Catholic Herald, Vatican officials have “privately acknowledged” that with vernacular languages now approved for use by Curia officials, Latin will be abandoned “in practice.”
However, the “Office of the Latin Language” will continue under the Vatican Secretariat of State to serve all bodies of the Roman Curia.
The regulatory changes, approved by Pope Leo XIV, also centralize the Curia under the Secretariat of State, mandating that all acts intended for the pope pass through the Secretariat, currently headed by liberal Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “It is up to the Secretariat of State, by order of the Roman Pontiff, to coordinate the activity of the Dicasteries, the Organizations, the Offices of the Roman Curia and the Institutions connected with the Holy See and to ensure their unity of address,” states the regulation.
For Curia decisions pertaining to dioceses, the local bishops are to be consulted, and similarly, in decisions about religious institutes, major superiors are to be contacted.
Acts involving multiple dicasteries require co-signatures, and decisions must be logged in a “centralized and digital” registry, according to Silere Non Possum. The regulations also technologically modernize Curia procedure, mandating digital archiving, creating access logs, three tiers of classification of sensitive communications, and a procedure for the “controlled destruction” of documents.
Accompanying new personnel regulations require that Curia staff live out “exemplary religious and moral conduct, including in their private and family lives, in accordance with the doctrine of the Church.” A six-day work week and limits on part-time work have been codified, and new work evaluation systems based on “measurable standards” will also be implemented.
The regulations codify changes introduced by the late Pope Francis through the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium and replace those issued by Pope John Paul II in 1999.
They aim at “uniformity” across the Curia, “from drafting procedures and cooperation between dicasteries to personnel discipline,” noted The Catholic Herald. “Some inside the Vatican see the reforms as a welcome return to clarity; others fear that increased centralisation may burden officials and concentrate too much authority in the Secretariat of State.”
