Vatican compromise allows married couple dismissed from IOR to retain jobs, splitting roles amid backlash over anti-nepotism rule.
Newsroom (10/11/2025 Gaudium Press)The Vatican has brokered a compromise in a contentious labor dispute involving two employees of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, who were fired after marrying each other in defiance of new internal regulations prohibiting spousal employment.
According to a report in the Italian daily Il Messaggero, the agreement concludes months of internal strife within the Holy See, triggered by the couple’s September 2024 wedding. The employees had publicly announced their marriage plans well before the rule’s implementation, yet were informed that one must resign or both would face dismissal to uphold “transparency and impartiality” in the bank’s operations. Both refused, leading to their terminations effective October 1, 2024.
The couple mounted a legal challenge, asserting that the decision violated Church principles on family life. Under the negotiated settlement, both individuals will remain in Vatican employment: one reinstated at the IOR, the other reassigned to a separate Holy See institution.
At the heart of the controversy is the IOR’s regulation, which explicitly bars “the employment of spouses, relatives up to the fourth degree, and in-laws in the first and second degree” within the institute. It further stipulates that a canonical marriage between two employees “constitutes a cause for loss of employment requirements,” with a 30-day window for one spouse to resign; failure to do so permits “immediate termination” of both contracts.
The dismissals sparked widespread criticism. Vatican staff and Catholic labor groups decried the move as overly rigid. The Association of Lay Vatican Employees (ADLV) argued that the IOR’s action lacked a “real legal reason” and relied on an internal policy applied retroactively, contravening fundamental legal principles.
The Catholic-inspired Acli union echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that “internal regulations can always be reviewed” and that individual cases warrant evaluation. Massimo Visconti, president of the Confintesa union, penned a direct appeal to Pope Francis, cautioning that such policies could “alienate people from the Church” and calling for reconsideration in line with Gospel teachings on the family’s centrality.
Established in 1942 by Pope Pius XII, the IOR manages financial assets exclusively for religious and charitable works, serving clergy, religious orders, dioceses, and Vatican personnel rather than the public. The institution has undergone repeated reforms amid transparency scandals, with popes from John Paul II onward imposing stricter governance measures.
The resolution highlights ongoing tensions between modern administrative reforms and traditional Catholic values within the Vatican’s unique employer-employee framework. No further details on the couple’s identities or the exact terms of their reassignments have been disclosed.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Catholic Herald
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