VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has announced a ban on visible tattoos and body piercings for workers at St. Peter’s Basilica to uphold “decorum.” This new rule, issued over the weekend, affects the 170 lay employees of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the department responsible for the basilica.
Father Enzo Fortunato, head of communications for the basilica, explained to Reuters on Monday that this regulation formalizes guidelines that have existed in different forms in the past.
Father Fortunato also dismissed Italian press reports suggesting that unmarried laypeople would be barred from working at the Fabbrica di San Pietro, calling such reports “gossip.”
The new regulation requires staff to exhibit “exemplary religious and moral conduct, including in private and family life, in conformity with the doctrine of the Church.”
The Catholic Church teaches that sex outside of marriage is sinful and encourages engaged couples to remain chaste.
Pope Francis has faced criticism from some conservatives for emphasizing mercy and forgiveness over the strict enforcement of church rules.