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In Christmas message, Pope Francis criticizes gossip among Vatican staff
Pope Francis told Vatican bureaucrats on Saturday to stop speaking ill of one another, as he once again used his annual Christmas greetings to admonish the backstabbing and gossiping among his closest collaborators.
A wheezing and congested-sounding Francis, who just turned 88, urged the prelates instead to speak well of one another and undertake a humble examination of their own consciences in the Christmas holiday season.
“A church community lives in joyful and fraternal harmony to the extent that its members walk in the life of humility, renouncing evil thinking and speaking ill of others,” Francis said. “Gossip is an evil that destroys social life, sickens people’s hearts and leads to nothing. The people say it very well: Gossip is zero.”
“Beware of this,” he added.
By now Francis’ annual Christmas address to the priests, bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican Curia has become a lesson in humility — and humiliation — as Francis offers a public dressing down of some of the sins in the workplace at the headquarters of the Catholic Church.
Andrew Medichini / AP
In the most biting edition, in 2014, Francis listed the “15 ailments of the Curia,” in which he accused the prelates of using their Vatican careers to grab power and wealth. He accused them of living “hypocritical” double lives and forgetting — due to “spiritual Alzheimer’s” — that they’re supposed to be joyful men of God.
In 2022, Francis warned them that the devil lurks among them, saying it is an “elegant demon” that works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith.
This year, Francis revisited a theme he has often warned about: gossiping and speaking ill of people behind their backs. It was a reference to the sometimes toxic atmosphere in closed environments such as the Vatican or workplaces where office gossip and criticism circulate but are rarely aired in public.
Francis has long welcomed frank and open debates and even has welcomed criticism of his own work. But he has urged critics to tell it to his face, and not behind his back.
Francis opened his address Saturday with a reminder of the devastation of the war in Gaza, where he said even his patriarch had been unable to enter due to Israeli bombing.
“Yesterday children have been bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war,” he said.
The annual appointment kicks off Francis’ busy Christmas schedule, this year made even more strenuous because of the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year on Christmas Eve. The Jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to Rome over 2025, and Francis has a dizzying calendar of events to minister to them.
Andrew Medichini / AP
After addressing the Vatican prelates, Francis issued a less critical address to the Vatican’s lay employees who gathered in the city state’s main audience hall along with their families. Francis thanked them for their service and urged them to make sure they take time to play with their children and visit grandparents.
“If you have any particular problems, tell your bosses, we want to resolve them,” he added at the end. “You do this with dialogue, not by keeping quiet. Together we’ll try to resolve the difficulties.”
It was an apparent reference to reports of growing unease within the Vatican workforce that has been called out by the Association of Vatican Lay Employees, the closest thing the Vatican has to a labor union. The association has in recent months voiced alarm about the health of the Vatican pension system and fears of even more cost-cutting, and demanded the Vatican leadership listen to workers’ concerns.
Earlier this year 49 employees of the Vatican Museums — the Holy See’s main source of revenue — filed a class-action lawsuit in the Vatican tribunal complaining about labor woes, overtime and working conditions.
Unlike Italy, which has robust labor laws protecting workers’ rights, Vatican employees often find they have fewer legal recourses available to them when problems arise. Employment in the Vatican however is often sought-after by Italian Catholics: Aside from the sense of service to the church, Vatican employment offers tax-free benefits and access to below-market housing.
Popular retail chain Party City filed for bankruptcy protection Saturday, a day after it disclosed to employees that it would be implementing mass layoffs at its New Jersey headquarters.
The filing was made in bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Texas, according to court documents obtained by CBS News. The company had liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to the filing.
On Friday, Party City’s chief human resources officer Karen McGowan informed employees in an email obtained by CBS News New York that it was conducting an immediate “mass layoff” at its headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
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CNN reported Friday that Party City CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees in a meeting that the company was “winding down” operations. Some store employees also received letters Friday that all the chain’s stores would be closing in February, CNN said.
Party City, which specializes in party supplies and was founded in the mid-1980s, has more than 700 company-owned and franchise store locations across North America, according to its website. It also has an e-commerce operation that it manages through PartyCity.com. It’s unclear if the online arm will continue.
Party City did not respond to a request for comment when reached by CBS News New York Friday.
2024 has been a rough year for U.S. retailers. There were more than 7,100 store closures through the end of November 2024, a 69% jump from the same time last year, according to data from research firm CoreSight.
contributed to this report.
Rickey Henderson, a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer who was the league’s all-time stolen bases leader, has died at 65, the MLB announced Saturday.
MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred confirmed Henderson’s death in a statement, calling him “the gold standard of base stealing and leadoff hitting.”
“Rickey was one of the most accomplished and beloved Athletics of all-time,” Manfred wrote. “He also made an impact with many other Clubs during a quarter-century career like no other. Rickey epitomized speed, power and entertainment in setting the tone at the top of the lineup. When we considered new rules for the game in recent years, we had the era of Rickey Henderson in mind.”
Henderson would have been 66 on Christmas Day.
The Chicago native, who was one of the greatest players to don the Oakland Athletics jersey, was also widely considered to be one of the best leadoff hitters and base stealers in the sport. During his 25-year career, he compiled 2,055 hits, 297 home runs and 1,115 RBIs. His 1,406 stolen bases and 2,295 career runs remain Major League records.
Jeff Chiu / AP
He was a 10-time All-Star and won the league MVP in 1990 with the Oakland Athletics, where he played the bulk of his career – 14 years over four different stints. He also spent seven years in New York – five with the Yankees and two with the Mets. He played with several other teams including the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blye Jays, Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Henderson won two World Series titles, once with Oakland in 1989 and again with Toronto in 1993. After retiring from playing, Henderson coached one year with the Mets.
He was inducted into Cooperstown as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2009 and just six days later the Oakland Athletics retired his jersey.
Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce President-elect Donald Trump to a national television audience with “The Apprentice,” is being tapped by the president-elect to the newly-created post of special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration.
Burnett, who was born in London, helped produce hits like “Survivor” and “The Voice,” but is perhaps best known for teaming up with Trump for “The Apprentice,” which first aired on NBC in 2004.
Trump had been well-known in real estate and pop culture circles for decades. But the show helped again make him a household name — though Trump severed ties with NBC in 2015, the same year he launched his first White House run.
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A source familiar with the decision told CBS News that Burnett was originally on the list for consideration as U.S. ambassador to the U.K., but as a dual national, that made the situation complicated. That selection ultimately went to Republican donor Warren Stephens, CEO of investment bank Stephens Inc.
It is unclear exactly what Burnett’s envoy role will consist of.
“With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role,” Trump announced Saturday.
The selection of Burnett continues Trump’s trend of filling out his incoming administration with people who have high-profile backgrounds in television or politics, or both — including his choice to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” and ex-television doctor and unsuccessful Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz.
Trump’s first campaign in 2016 was rocked by allegations about his conduct on “The Apprentice” and other appearances during his association with NBC, notably in footage in which he said he could sexually assault women and get away with it because he was a “star.”
Almost a decade after he left his reality TV role, Trump’s television career remains central to his biography and political rise. The show presented Trump Tower to tens of millions of people as a symbol of power and success before Trump launched his first campaign from the building’s lobby.
“Mark is known for creating and producing some of the biggest shows in Television History,” Trump wrote in his statement on Burnett, listing many of his biggest hits before adding, “most notably, ‘The Apprentice'” and noting that Burnett “has won 13 Emmy Awards!”
Special envoys are usually picked by presidents for the world’s traditional hotspots, including the Middle East — where Trump has already said he’d like Steven Witkoff to fill the role. The United Kingdom, which has long enjoyed a “special relationship” with the U.S. that makes it one of Washington’s strongest global allies, is not typically a candidate for such posts.
But Trump has announced a series of special envoy positions to several top loyalists ahead of Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, including his former ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell who he chose as envoy for special missions. That announcement joined previous ones including Adam Boehler as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, and Keith Kellogg to serve as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
The president-elect said Burnett “will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges.”
