Pope Francis delivers Christmas pep talk to Curia

VATICAN CITY, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Pope Francis Saturday urged the Roman Catholic Church's governing body to maintain an attitude of service while on the job.

In his Christmas address to the church Curia, Francis said failing to maintain focus on the church's mission ran the risk of the entire church become insular and overly bureaucratic.

Francis warned that without an attitude of service from bishops on down, the entire church would begin "a slow drift downwards toward mediocrity."

"The structure of the Curia turns into a ponderous, bureaucratic customs house, constantly inspecting and questioning, hindering the working of the Holy Spirit and the growth of God's people," the pontiff said.

CNN said Francis had expressed the same theme earlier in the week at his general audience in St. Peter's Square when he spoke of the virtues of humility. "It is an ugly thing when you see a Christian who doesn't want to humble himself, who doesn't want to serve, a Christian who struts about everywhere," he said.