Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Pope Francis criticised the Vatican bureaucracy on Monday in a pre-Christmas address, complaining of 15 "ailments" that he wanted cured in the New Year.

Pope Francis said the Curia – the administrative body of the Roman Catholic church – was suffering from "spiritual Alzheimer's" which has made them forget that they are supposed to be joyful men of God.

"The Curia is called upon to improve itself, always improve itself and grow in communion, holiness and knowledge to fully realise its mission," the Pope said. "Yet like every human body it is exposed to illnesses, malfunctioning, infirmity."

The Pope attacked what he called "existential schizophrenia", the "terrorism of gossip", and the risks posed by groups which "enslave their members and become a cancer that threatens the harmony of the body" and eventually kill it with "friendly fire."

Pope Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, has refused many of the trappings of office and made plain his determination to bring the Church's hierarchy closer to its 1.2 billion members.

To that end, he has set out to reform the Italian-dominated Curia, whose power struggles and leaks were widely held responsible for Benedict XVI's decision last year to become the first pope in six centuries to resign.

The final days of Benedict's pontificate were overshadowed by the so-called "Vatileaks" affair – in which Benedict's butler leaked sensitive documents alleging corruption in the Curia.

The Pontiff and his nine key cardinal advisers are drawing up plans to revamp the whole bureaucratic structure, merging offices to make them more efficient and responsive.

In a separate address to Vatican staff, Pope Francis asked them to pardon him and his colleagues for their "shortcomings" and "several scandals" that had "caused so much harm".

The Pope's address surprised members of the Curia. The speech was met with tepid applause, and few were smiling as Pope Francis listed the 15 "ailments of the Curia" one by one, complete with footnotes and Biblical references.

At the end of his speech, he asked the prelates to pray that the "wounds of the sins that each one of us carries are healed" so that the Church and Curia are made healthy.

However, the pope did finish on an upbeat note. Before wishing them all a Happy Christmas, Francis urged the Vatican's administrators to be more joyful, saying how much good a "dose of humour" could do.