Vatican announcement
![Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's second-highest official, takes an oath on behalf of the College of Cardinals as the conclave begins on Sept. 7 (local time). [AP]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/14/news-p.v1.20250512.6f4b00ef36dc495483981eae82b1166d_P1.jpg)
The Vatican said Monday (local time) it would reverse the clergy salary cuts imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pope Leo XIV issued an apostolic letter to that effect that day. An apostolic letter is a document the pope issues to address special or urgent needs within the Church.
"Those measures were necessary to respond to the exceptional challenges of the pandemic," Leo XIV said. "The Holy See can now continue its efforts toward financial sustainability through other means."
His predecessor, Pope Francis, had introduced the cuts in March 2021 as a last resort to address a fiscal crisis brought on by the pandemic, reducing Vatican cardinals' salaries by 10 percent, among other measures.
Under the new apostolic letter, clergy salaries will return to their original levels, though the reductions that took effect in the interim will not be paid retroactively. "The letter in the form of an apostolic letter of March 2021 is abrogated, but the effects produced at that time remain," the pope said.
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