Pope gives fathers working at Vatican 3-day paternity leave

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has decided to grant a three-day paternity leave to new fathers who work at the Vatican.

In a law published Tuesday, Francis amended the Vatican’s family leave policy, which sets out the benefits for Vatican employees who have children or must care for family members.

Under the policy, mothers already were entitled to six months’ maternity leave at full pay, which they can extend by another six months at half-pay. Parents who adopt a child are entitled to a similar benefit.

The new law sets out a three-day leave for new fathers, at full pay.

While the Vatican employs priests and nuns who don’t have children due to the nature of their religious vows, the city-state in the center of Rome also employs hundreds of lay people who work in the Holy See bureaucracy and at the Vatican Museums.