Pope Leo XIV reverses Francis-era salary cuts for cardinals

Pope Leo XIV has repealed the Vatican’s pandemic-era wage restrictions imposed by Pope Francis in 2021, restoring salaries and seniority increments for cardinals, senior officials and other affected Holy See staff. The measures had cut cardinals’ pay by 10%, reduced salaries for certain department heads and secretaries by 8%, imposed a 3% reduction on some clerical and religious staff, and froze some biennial raises. Leo said the restrictions were adopted to address the exceptional challenge of COVID-19 and expressed confidence that the Holy See and Vatican City State can now pursue financial sustainability through other means.