A man and a woman have been sacked from their jobs at a Vatican bank for breaking a ban on marriages between employees, The Guardian reports.
The young couple, dubbed “Romeo and Juliet” by the Italian media, married in August, believing they would be spared because the new rule only began to take effect in September. Instead, the newlyweds were given 30 days for one of them to resign and the other to keep his or her job.
Neither spouse was willing to do so, so both were fired when the deadline expired on Tuesday, Il Messaggero reported.
The Vatican bank, which has spent much of the last decade getting its books and reputation in order after a reorganisation sparked by several scandals, announced the rule in early June.
The policy, aimed at preventing nepotism, had been in the works for a long time but was reportedly implemented only after one of the spouses of the last remaining married couple among the bank’s employees retired.
The rule, which also prohibits employees from marrying someone working at another Vatican institution, was only made public after disgruntled employees shared details with the Italian press.
Defending its policy, the bank said in September that its aim was to “ensure equal treatment,” adding that it was “fundamental to prevent inevitable conflicts of interest of a professional nature among potential spouses, as well as possible doubts about family governance among clients and the general public.” The Vatican bank has more than €5bn in assets but employs just 100 people.
The newlyweds appealed last month to Pope Francis, who approved the rule, expressing their displeasure at the “unfair” situation in a lengthy letter, Il Messaggero reported. The newspaper reported that the couple may appeal to the Vatican court.
The ADLV, the Vatican’s association of secular workers, spoke in defence of the couple, saying that “the birth of a new family should not be jeopardised by bureaucratic rules.”
This is not the first employee dispute the Holy See has gotten involved in. In May, dozens of employees at the Vatican Museums launched an unprecedented legal dispute over working conditions and workplace safety. They sent a petition to the Vatican governorate, arguing that the city-state’s labour regulations “undermine the dignity and health of every worker,” including overtime hours paid at underpaid rates and insufficient health and safety measures.
