ROME – In a little-noticed facet of a new fundamental law for the Vatican City State issued by Pope Francis May 13, a provision allowing employees to raise workplace disputes with the Labor Office of the Apostolic See has been eliminated.
While the main headline from the new law was that Francis has permitted laity to serve on the governing commission of the City State, critics suggest the disappearance of a conflict resolution process suggests the rights of laity who actually work there may be compromised.
The Labor Office of the Apostolic See was created by Pope John Paul II in 1989, and in his own 2000 fundamental law for the Vatican City State, the Polish pope assigned it responsibility for resolving disputes between employees and management.
At the time, John Paul II wrote that the role of the labor office was to “ensure that the dignity of each employee is effectively honored in the work community, under the pope’s authority [and] that the economic and social rights of each employee are recognized, protected, harmonized and promoted.”
The function of mediating disputes was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI in a 2009 motu proprio decreeing a new statute for the labor office.
The provision, however, has disappeared in the new fundamental law, which takes effect on June 7. There’s also no reference to the new Directorate for Human Resources for the Holy See created by Francis last September and located within the Secretariat for the Economy.
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