Pope Francis sacks Vatican charity organization accused of bullying employees

Pope Francis on Tuesday fired the entire leadership of the international charitable wing of the Roman Catholic Church and appointed a commissioner to manage it following accusations of bullying and abuse of employees.

The pontiff’s surprise decision was announced in a papal decree and concerned the leaders of Caritas Internationalis (CI), a Vatican-based confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries with over a million employees and volunteers. . . .

Those affected include Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the outgoing nominal president of Caritas, who is often hailed as the next pope. Tagle will remain in a different role to help the commissioner maintain relations with Caritas national offices and prepare for the election of new leaders in 2023.

A separate statement from the Vatican’s Development Department, which oversees CI, revealed that a review of the working environment by outside psychologists and management experts found that the charity’s headquarters suffered from poor management practices and a toxic atmosphere.

“No evidence of financial mismanagement or sexual misconduct has been identified, but the commission’s work has identified other important topics and areas that require urgent attention,” the development department said in a statement.

“Real deficiencies in management and procedures were noted, which seriously undermined team spirit and staff morale,” the company added.

It also states that while “financial matters are being handled well and fundraising targets are regularly met”, management standards and procedures need to be improved.

Current and former employees spoke to Reuters about alleged instances of favoritism, verbal abuse and general staff mismanagement that led some employees to leave.

Two insiders and a former employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, also testified that the order targeted the outgoing secretary-general’s office management practices and the board.

A former intelligence official said that the headquarters staff resigned because of the atmosphere of bullying, fear and “ritual humiliation”.

The representative of the CI sent all questions to the statement of the Vatican department.