After a whirlwind of structural changes in the Diocese of Rome, and the departure of six auxiliary bishops in the span of a year, several signs point to morale problems among Rome’s clergy.
Coupled with the diocese’s serious economic challenges, clerical dissension makes for complicated situation in the diocese at the heart of the Church.
Diocesan reform
Major structural change came to the Diocese of Rome came in January 2023 with the publication of the apostolic constitution In ecclesiarum communione.
The constitution divided the Diocese of Rome into five zones: north, south, east, west, and historic center - although the historic center zone was abolished the next year, in October 2024.
Each zone is meant led by an auxiliary bishop of Rome as a vicar. The auxiliaries make up the episcopal council of the Vicariate, or Diocese, of Rome, along with the cardinal vicar of Rome — appointed by the pope to functionally lead the diocese — and the vice-regent, who are the second and third in command of the diocese, after the pope himself.
Although the change was publicly described as making the government of the Diocese of Rome more synodal, it tied the diocesan leadership more closely to the pope.
In its first article, the constitution stated that “every activity carried out within the scope of the Vicariate of Rome ... is always by its nature pastoral, oriented according to the synodal style.”
However, other parts of the apostolic constitution centralize power in the figure of the pope.
For example, the document indicates that the pope shall lead all meetings of the episcopal council, and virtually all major pastoral, administrative, and financial decisions require his personal approval.
Many of these decisions previously required only the approval of the cardinal vicar.
Even the appointment of new parish priests must now be approved by the pope; the cardinal vicar can only appoint assistant priests without the pope’s direct consent.
Not all the plans expressed in the constitution have come to fruition. For example, while the text says that the territorial vicars of Rome should be auxiliary bishops, the pope has appointed several priests as vicars, despite having two auxiliary bishops who are not vicars of any zone, and serve in other pastoral capacities.
And while the constitution set out to make the diocese more “synodal”-- critics in the diocese have said it instead removed structures which had existed in the diocese for consultation with clergy.
And with poorly attended meetings of the Roman clergy with Pope Francis some observers have speculated that priests of the diocese are intentionally avoiding them out of frustration over the text’s implementation.
Last autumn, a move to dissolve one of the five territorial zones created by the 2023 constitution proved especially controversial.
On October 1, 2024, the day before the inauguration of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, the pope abolished the historic center sector of the Diocese of Rome with a motu proprio stating that the center “has become increasingly isolated, risking becoming more of a tourist destination than a living expression of all the holiness of Rome.”
The announcement came a few months after the ouster of the sector’s vicar, Bishop Daniele Libanori, S.J.
Libanori had been a figure of controversy since last March, when local media outlet Silere Non Possum published an article saying that the bishop accused people within the vicariate of “carrying out a battle against him,” and claiming that perhaps Fr. Marko Rupnik himself was the “mastermind” behind a campaign against him.
The next day, the press office of the Diocese of Rome published a statement signed by the “priests of the historic center sector of the Diocese of Rome” in support of Libanori.
But hours later, priests of the historic center published another statement in which they denied having drafted or approved the initial statement, seeming to suggest they were misrepresented in a kind of astroturfed appearance of support for the bishop.
“The historic center sector has about two hundred presbyters but the parish priests, rectors, or chaplains were not contacted to draft the press release. This is also evidenced by our group chats to which no one sent anything. Unfortunately, only a few [priests] were contacted,” the statement said.
Libanori was transferred from his office as an auxiliary bishop of Rome and as vicar for the historical center a month later, on April 6.
While it seems clear that tensions between Libanori and the priests of his sector contributed to his departure, local observers say it also led the pontiff to dissolve the sector altogether.
In his moto proprio announcing the abolishment of the historical center sector, the pope made an apparent reference to the Libanori controversy, saying, "Today, it makes no sense to multiply affiliations to subcultures that, instead of strengthening diocesan unity, often foster conflict ... there can be no fiefdoms in the ecclesial division of territories.”
The handling of the situation proved to be a source of frustration for the local presbyterate.
According to Il Messaggero, the priests of the historic center only found out about the decision to abolish the sector in a meeting a few days before the decision was made public,
The decision was reportedly met with confusion among the local clergy. One priest told the outlet that “it is paradoxical that the Synod on Synodality should open just at this time. I wonder where the synodality is in this situation.”
Furthermore, following his resignation as auxiliary bishop of Rome, Libanori was made an advisor to the Holy Father for religious life, a position that is not mentioned in Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 constitution reforming the Roman Curia.
Episcopal changes
Libanori’s departure is not the only one that has proven controversial.
Within a year after the publication of In ecclesiarum communione, the Roman diocese had become an episcopal revolving door.
On February 23, 2024, the pope appointed Bishop Riccardo Lamba, who had previously served as vicar for the diocese’s eastern region, to the Archdiocese of Udine.
On October 31, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Dario Gervasi, until then vicar of the southern part of the diocese, as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity and Family.
A few weeks later, on November 21, 2024, the pope announced the appointment of Fr. Renato Tarantelli as auxiliary bishop and vice-regent of the Diocese of Rome. On November 25, Tarantelli was also assigned as the vicar of the southern sector of the diocese.
Most recently, on December 16, 2024, Bishop Daniele Salera, until then vicar of Rome’s north, was made Bishop of Ivrea. On January 28, 2025, the pope appointed Bishop Paolo Ricciardi, who had previously succeeded Lambas as vicar of the eastern region, as Bishop of Jesi.
Gervasi, Salera, and Ricciardi were allegedly moved away from Rome after issues with the vice-regent and the cardinal vicar.
Interestingly, most of the transferred bishops had relatively short terms as auxiliary bishops of Rome: Gervasi was consecrated in 2020, while Salera and Lamba were made bishops in 2022.
The Rupnik connection
Some of Rome’s episcopal departures may have been connected to the ongoing Fr. Marko Rupnik scandal, which has been a source of continued criticism in the Church.
Lamba’s departure is widely speculated to have been linked to the Rupnik case, as Lamba had been in charge of the Diocese of Rome’s anti-abuse commission.
Libanori’s departure may also have been partially influenced by ties to Rupnik, as he was in 2020 appointed as an extraordinary commissioner for the Loyola Community — a since-shuttered community of sisters in Rome founded by Rupnik, which is at the center of the allegations against him.
When allegations against Rupnik became public in December 2022, Libanori is credited with defending Rupnik’s alleged victims, and the bishop eventually led the disbandment of the Loyola Community in 2023.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, who had served as the cardinal vicar of Rome, took a lead role in defending Rupnik from accusations of abusing dozens of religious women.
In December 2022, De Donatis published a statement effectively disavowing responsibility for Rupnik or his reported crimes, even while conceding the priest had a “multi-level pastoral relationship with the Diocese of Rome.”
Instead, the cardinal took aim at “disconcerting communication, especially from the media” regarding Rupnik’s crimes “which disorients the People of God.”
As things unfolded, Libanori was perceived in Rome to be in open confrontation with De Donatis over the Rupnik case. The situation was apparently resolved when they both resigned, as auxiliary bishop and cardinal vicar of Rome, respectively, on the same day, April 6, 2024.
As with Libanori, though, there were likely other factors at play in De Donatis’ resignation.
De Donatis’ appointment as vicar of Rome in the first place was made after a consultation by Pope Francis with the parish priests of Rome.
The pope had reportedly favored Bishop Paolo Lojudice for the vacant role, but 80% of the Roman priests preferred De Donatis, leading ultimately to his appointment as vicar.
Thus, the relationship between Francis and De Donatis was marked by a slight tension from the beginning of the assignment. De Donatis was never the pope’s preferred choice as vicar, and he allegedly did not like some of the changes made by In Ecclesiarum comunione.
Moreover, De Donatis’ departure was not well received by parts of the Roman clergy, as the cardinal had been a popular figure.
In an April 8, 2024 meeting, priests complained to the pope about the way his departure had been announced, and about the fact that the customary farewell Mass held for all outgoing cardinal vicars of Rome would not take place for De Donatis.
