People are kind of just floating these days in the Roman Curia.

And for good reason. Three weeks after the new constitution for the Church's central bureaucracy came into effect, Pope Francis has yet to make any appointments.

This has created a rather strange atmosphere in the corridors of the various dicasteries.

When asked by his staff, one cardinal who heads an office said he is "obviously" still in place. Another said he knows nothing and that everything is in the pope's hands.

One Vatican prelate, who presented a papal message to journalists last week at the Holy Press Offices, was introduced without a precise job title.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who had been president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation until June 4, was presented simply as the "titular bishop of Voghenza". 

That's because the pontifical council simply disappeared when the new apostolic constitution came into force. It was joined with what was previously the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. 

The congregation's prefect, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, told KTO television on May 24 that he did not know what would happen to the old pontifical council.

"It's been three weeks and no one really knows who's doing what," said a dejected Italian layman who has worked at the Vatican for years.

"The superiors don't know if they're going to stay or if they're going to be sent elsewhere. Everything is at a bit of a standstill," he continued.

Another employee, whose dicastery has changed its name, deplores the fact that nothing's been prepared for the new changes.

"We don't even have letterheads anymore," he said.

As for the bodies that are supposed to merge, none of them have begun packing. Everyone is waiting for orders from superiors who have not yet been appointed!

"People would like to change everything overnight," observed a cardinal close to the pope. "That's not possible. If it were, it would be a long night."