Leo winds back Francis-era reforms to Diocese of Rome

Pope Leo XIV rolled back key parts of Pope Francis’ 2023 reform of the Diocese of Rome on Jun. 30, issuing a new motu proprio that re-centers diocesan governance around the Cardinal Vicar.

Three years after Francis promulgated the apostolic constitution In Ecclesiarum Communione, Leo published motu proprio Confirma Fratres Tuos, making major changes to the Vicariate’s governing structure and restoring the Cardinal Vicar as the principal authority in the day-to-day government of the pope’s diocese.

Local observers have interpreted the move as an implicit rebuke of Bishop Renato Tarantelli Baccari, the vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome, whose rapid rise under Francis culminated in his appointment as auxiliary bishop and vicegerent in 2024.

Tarantelli Baccari was widely seen in Rome as one of the key figures behind Francis’ reform of the Vicariate, which gave greater authority to the vicegerent and the Episcopal Council.

After announcing the consecration of the four new auxiliary bishops of Rome on Feb. 25, Pope Leo established a commission formed by all the auxiliary bishops of Rome and the cardinal vicar to review In Ecclesiarum Communione.

The Diocese of Rome is divided into five zones: north, south, east, west, and historic center