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Pope Francis (R) meets Robert Matthew
Festing,
Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta
during a
private audience at the Vatican June 23, 2016.
REUTERS/Gabriel Bouys/Pool/Files
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This Reuters Article grabbed my attention. The full text of the article and several preceding articles is reprinted below.
| ROME
After clash, Knights of Malta reaffirm loyalty to pope
The Order of Malta, the ancient Catholic order of knights which is now a worldwide charity, on Thursday sought to reassure members and donors that a recent showdown between its former leader and the Vatican had not weakened its loyalty to the pope.
At the same time, senior members of the Order, which was founded in 1038, acknowledged that the highly public clash led by its former top Knight, Grand Master Matthew Festing, had hurt donations.
Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, the Grand Chancellor of the aristocratic order, was reinstated last Saturday. He had been fired in December by Festing, who accused von Boeselager of turning a blind eye to the use of condoms in aid projects in the developing world.
"The order reaffirms its loyalty to the Holy Father. Let me reassure our members and everybody that the government of the order is and will remain at the service of the Holy Father. Our devotion to the teachings of the Church is irrevocable and beyond question," von Boselager told a news conference.
Festing, backed by conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, had stood up to the pope, saying the pontiff, who pushed for von Boselager's reinstatement, could not intervene in the internal affairs of the Rome-based institution that has sovereign status and is run like a small country.
Festing lost his battle with the Vatican, which said the condom issue was just an excuse by Festing and Burke to wield more power. Von Boselager has said he shut down the programs that distributed condoms as soon as he could after he found out.
"What the order has experienced was a government crisis brought about by an act illegal under the constitution. We are grateful for the Holy Father to have provided guidance that led to a swift solution," von Boselager said.
The future role of Burke, the institution's "patron," or chaplain, who has openly challenged the pope on a host of doctrinal issues, was not clear.
The pope is due to name his own delegate to help run the order until a new Grand Master can be elected in several months. Von Boselager said the delegate will be the only interlocutor with the Vatican, effectively side-lining Burke.
Von Boselager would not comment on Burke, except to say that Festing had been "ill advised" in his attempt to take on the pope.
The all-male top leaders of the Knights of Malta are not clerics, but they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope.
Dominique Prince de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, the Order's health minister, said the crisis had led to a drop in donations, including a fall of about 30,000 euros in a recent fundraising campaign in France.
He said leaders of the Order, which counts some 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and about 25,000 paid employees, mostly medical staff, would have to work hard to regain lost trust.
The Knights of Malta-Vatican feud - a tale of chivalry and sovereignty
On the afternoon of Jan. 24, a black BMW pulled out of a 16th century palace in Rome, crossed the Tiber River and headed for the Vatican, a short trip to end a brazen challenge to the authority of Pope Francis.
Inside the car was 67-year-old Englishman Matthew Festing, the head of an ancient Catholic order of knights which is now a worldwide charity with a unique diplomatic status.
Festing was about to resign, the first leader in several centuries of the Order of Malta, which was founded in 1048 to provide medical aid for pilgrims in the Holy Land, to step down instead of ruling for life.
The move was aimed at ending a highly-public spat between Festing and the reformist pope over the running of the chivalric institution. The weeks-long conflict had become one of the biggest internal challenges yet to Francis' efforts to modernize the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church.
At issue was the Order's reaction to the discovery that condoms had been distributed by one of its aid projects in Myanmar. The Order had fired its Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, whom it held responsible for the condom distribution. Von Boeselager declined to comment for this article.
Though condom use goes against Catholic teaching, the Vatican had ordered an investigation into the firing of von Boeselager. It subsequently publicly castigated Festing, who had refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Backing down, Festing, a former Sotheby's art auctioneer, gave a hand-written resignation letter to Francis in the pope's private residence, according to a senior Vatican source. Festing, who has the title of prince, declined an interview request.
Instead of quelling the conflict, however, Festing's resignation was followed by yet another challenge to Francis' authority -- led by vocal pope critic American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, according to Vatican and Knights sources.
In particular: Burke tried to convince Festing to withdraw his resignation and keep fighting the pope, these sources say. On Saturday, the Knight's Sovereign Council accepted Festing's resignation and re-instated von Boselager, a clear defeat for Burke.
Burke declined to comment for this article.
The tussle suggested Francis is still battling to consolidate his power over the Church almost four years into his tenure, Vatican insiders say.
Beyond a fight over condoms, the clash pointed to lingering divisions between the Church's conservatives and more progressive factions who support the pope's reformist agenda, they add.
Francis is trying to make the Church less dogmatic and more welcoming to whose who have felt excluded, such as homosexuals and the divorced.
"While this whole saga was an internal matter that probably should have stayed that way, it metamorphosed into a clash that showed the divide between conservatives and progressives," said Andrea Tornielli, author of several books on Pope Francis.
The Vatican declined to comment on the clash and on Pope Francis' efforts to consolidate his power. It directed Reuters to two public statements. One, on Dec. 22, relates to the Vatican order to investigate the firing of von Boeselager. The second, on Jan. 17, followed a pledge by Festing on the Knights' web page not to cooperate with the Vatican. It decried his resistance and ordered members of the order to cooperate.
GERMAN ARISTOCRAT
The all-male top leaders of the Knights of Malta are not clerics, but they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope.A German aristocrat whose father participated in a failed plot to kill Hitler in World War Two, von Boeselager was fired by Festing in December, and accused of having allowed the use of condoms while he was head of the Knights' global humanitarian projects.
Festing fired him in Burke's presence, arguing that the German had hidden the condom use from the order's leaders when he was named Grand Chancellor, according to Knights and Vatican sources.
Immediately, the firing set off the conflict between the Knights' hierarchy and the Vatican.
Von Boeselager , a devout Catholic, said in a statement on Dec. 23 that he was fully behind Church teachings. He closed two projects in the developing world when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running in Myanmar for a while because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people.
The Church does not allow condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.
In the same statement, von Boeselager said Festing and Burke told him the Vatican wanted him to resign and that there would be "severe consequences" for the Order if he did not.
The Vatican denied, in a letter from its secretary of state to the Order and seen by Reuters, that it had mandated the resignation, saying it had told the Knights the pope wanted a solution through dialogue.
The German said his sacking was against the Knights' constitution and appealed to the pope, who ordered the investigation.
Festing refused to cooperate, issuing a series of increasingly strident public statements. In one, he called the papal commission that was investigating the firing "legally irrelevant".
In a Jan. 14 confidential letter to the top echelons of the order and seen by Reuters, Festing wrote: "In refusing to acknowledge this group of people's jurisdiction, I am trying to protect the order's sovereignty".
The institution has the status of a sovereign entity, maintaining diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union and permanent observer status at the United Nations.
The pope was irritated by Festing's defiant stand, a senior Vatican source said, and the Vatican shot back with a public statement ordering the Knights to obey.
After that public order, Festing changed his tune and resigned in the pope's residence a week later.
Festing's resignation came as a shock for many inside the Knights: some of them told Reuters it was akin to the resignation of Pope Benedict in 2013.
Four sources said that for many others in the order, it came as a relief. They feared the clash was damaging the image of the institution whose 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and 20,000 paid medical staff help the neediest around the world.
The day after Festing handed his resignation to the pope, Cardinal Burke drove to the order's headquarters from his apartment near the Vatican and sought to persuade Festing to withdraw his resignation, a source from the Vatican and one from the Knights said.
Burke declined to comment on his meeting with Festing.
Burke has long been leading challenges against the pope. Pope Francis demoted him from a top Vatican job in 2014 with no official explanation and assigned him to be the "patron" of the Order of Malta.
Such "patron" positions are usually given to older cardinals after they retire at 75. Burke was only 66 then and the demotion was widely seen as a sign of the pope's irritation with the cardinal's constant sniping over Francis’ reforms.
In particular, Burke has contested moves by the pope that would allow Catholics who have divorced and re-married outside the Church without an annulment to return to the sacrament of communion. Burke declined to comment on his demotion.
Since the demotion, Burke has become even more of a rallying point for conservatives, flying around the world to give lectures to conservative groups and often giving interviews criticising the pope's decisions.
In November, he led a rare public challenge to the pope with three other cardinals who accused the pontiff of sowing confusion on important moral issues such as that of communion for the divorced.
Burke later said in an interview that if the pope did not respond to their letter, the cardinals might need to "correct" the pope themselves for the good of the Church.
The Vatican did not comment on the uprising at the time but many of the pope's supporters publicly criticised the four cardinals.
The pope will now appoint a "pontifical delegate" to help run the order, at least until elections can be held for a new Grand Master.
In a personal letter to the Sovereign Council on Jan. 27 and seen by Reuters, Francis made clear that the Vatican did not want to interfere with the Order's sovereignty but said his delegate would seek to "renew the spirituality of the Order, specifically of those members who take vows."
Pope intervenes in Knights of Malta after head resigns under pressure
Pope Francis will name his own man to run the Knights of Malta temporarily after the head of the ancient chivalric and charity institution resigned in the climax of a bitter dispute over sovereignty with the Vatican.
The pope asked Grand Master Matthew Festing, 67, to step down at a meeting on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Rome-based Catholic institution said. Grand masters usually rule for life.
Festing and the Vatican had been locked in a dispute since the Knights' Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager was sacked in December in the chivalric equivalent of a boardroom showdown - ostensibly for allowing the use of condoms in a medical project for the poor.
The two-month battle of wills reflected broader opposition inside the Roman Catholic Church to Francis's efforts to modernize the Holy See and gently unravel the legacy of his conservative predecessors.
The Vatican, which is a sovereign state, said the pope would name a "pontifical delegate" to run the group, which also enjoys sovereign status and is recognized by about 100 countries.
Vatican sources said this was a temporary solution until the Knights were in a position to elect their own leader again.
The move was similar to one in 1983 when the Pope John Paul II named a delegate to temporarily run the Jesuit order, which he feared was becoming too leftist. More recently, the Vatican named a delegate to run the conservative Legionaries of Christ, which has hit by a sexual abuse scandal.
The Knights' top governing body, the Sovereign Council, was convened for Saturday to take stock of the crisis.
When the dispute broke out, von Boeselager appealed to the pope, who appointed a commission to investigate. Festing, a Briton, refused to cooperate, saying that violated the order's sovereignty.
CONDOM CONTROVERSY
Some insiders said the push against von Boeselager was an excuse by Festing and arch-conservative American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, the order's patron, to increase their power.
Burke, who was demoted from a top Vatican job in 2014, is one of four cardinals who have made a rare public challenge to Francis, accusing him of sowing confusion on moral issues.
The all-male top leaders of the Knights of Malta are not clerics but take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope. The institution has 13,500 members, 25,000 employees and 80,000 volunteers worldwide.
The order was formed in the 11th century to provide protection and medical care for pilgrims to the Holy Land.
When Festing fired von Boeselager, he accused the German of hiding the fact that he allowed the use of condoms when he ran Malteser International, the order's humanitarian aid agency.
The church does not allow condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.
Von Boeselager said he closed two projects in the developing world when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running for a while because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people.
Vatican orders Knights of Malta to cooperate with papal inquiry
The Vatican demanded on Tuesday that the leaders of the Knights of Malta, a worldwide Catholic chivalric and charity group, cooperate with an inquiry into alleged irregularities ordered by Pope Francis.
In the latest salvo of a battle of wills between the heads of two of the world's oldest institutions, a Vatican statement also rejected what it said was an attempt by the Rome-based Knights to discredit members of a papal commission of inquiry.
Both sides have been locked in a bitter dispute since one of the order's top knights, Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, was sacked on Dec. 6 in the chivalric equivalent of a boardroom showdown - ostensibly because he allowed the use of condoms in a medical project for the poor.
The all-male hierarchy of the group, whose top leaders are not clerics but take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, have defied the pope, refusing to cooperate with the investigation of the sacking or recognise the inquiry's legitimacy.
"The Holy See counts on the complete cooperation of all in this sensitive stage," the statement said, adding that it "rejects ... any attempt to discredit (commission) members."
That was a clear rebuttal of statements and letters by the Knights' top official, Grand Master Matthew Festing. He has denounced the papal commission as intervention in the order's sovereign affairs, accused members having a conflict of interest, and has set up his own internal commission.
In a confidential letter sent to top members on Jan. 14 and seen by Reuters, Festing said the five-member papal commission was "clearly unfit to address the situation objectively".
"There are serious accusations of a conflict of interest for at least three of the members who have been proved to be linked to a fund in Geneva," Festing says, without giving details.
SOVEREIGN ENTITY
The order, formed in the 11th century to provide protection and medical care for pilgrims to the Holy Land, has the status of a sovereign entity. It maintains diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union and permanent observer status at the United Nations. It has about 120,000 members.
Festing, 67, a Briton, fired von Boeselager, accusing him of hiding the fact that he allowed the use of condoms when he ran Malteser International, the order's humanitarian aid agency.
Von Boeselager said his sacking was illegitimate and appealed to the pope.
The Vatican statement appeared to reject the order's claim of total sovereignty. It said that after he receives the commission's report this month, the pope will make "the most fitting decision" not only for the order but for the whole Church.
The German's supporters say the condom issue was excuse by Festing and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, an arch-conservative who has criticised the pope on other issues, to increase their power.
The Church does not allow the use of condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.
Von Boeselager said in a statement he shut down two projects in the developing world when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running for a while because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people.
Francis has said he wants the 1.2 billion-member Church to avoid so-called "culture wars" over moral teachings and show mercy to those who cannot live by all its rules, especially the poor.
Knights of Malta defy pope's investigation into sacking of top member
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All members of the ancient Roman Catholic order, which now runs charities, hospitals and disaster relief in 120 countries, swear allegiance to the pope.
However, its leaders have been locked in a legal tussle with the Holy See since one of its top knights was sacked in the chivalric equivalent of a boardroom showdown.
Pope Francis effectively came to von Boeselager's defence, urging dialogue to resolve the internal dispute and appointing a five-member committee to investigate the circumstances of his Dec. 6 ousting.
The order, which last month told the pope the ouster was an internal affair, raised the stakes late on Tuesday with a bold statement rejecting the Vatican investigation as illegitimate.
"Considering the legal irrelevance of this group and of its findings relating to the legal structure of the Order of Malta, the Order has decided that it should not cooperate with it," a statement on its website said.
It also instructed members not to "directly or indirectly" contradict the official position if they talk to Vatican investigators.
The Church does not allow the use of condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.
But the pope wants the 1.2 billion-member Church to avoid so-called "culture wars" over moral teachings and show mercy to those who cannot live by all its rules.
Von Boeselager said in a statement that he "felt bound by the teachings of the Church".
He said he shut down two projects in Myanmar when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running for a period because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people.
The order's chaplain is Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, an American whom the pope demoted from a senior Vatican position in 2014 and who has been a leading conservative critic of the pontiff. Burke backed the sacking of von Boeselager.
The order, which was formed in the 11th century to provide protection and medical care for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land, has the status of a sovereign entity.
It has extraterritorial rights in Rome and maintains diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union and permanent observer status at the United Nations.
The order has offices in central Rome and a large palace on the Aventine Hill overlooking the Tiber River with a breathtaking view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, which is a sovereign state.
Both the Order and the Vatican have their own car licence plates and print their own stamps.
The Knights of Malta, an ancient Catholic order which operates as global charity, has its headquarters on one of Rome's most exclusive streets, the cobble-stoned Via Condotti where red-and-white flags bearing the Maltese Cross fly above the entrance.
The leadership of the order -- formally, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta -- has been locked in a battle with the Vatican for the past two months
Here are some facts about the order:
- The Knights of Malta started in 1048 as the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, a monastic community which ran a hospital for pilgrims in the Holy Land. In 1113, it became a lay religious order, with all knights bound by the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. It later became a military order to defend its centres and access roads.
- In 1291, after the loss of the Holy Land, it moved to the island of Cyprus. In 1310, it moved to Rhodes and became a major naval force in the Mediterranean. The Knights were defeated by the forces of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1523 and moved to Malta, where they stayed until 1798, when they were forced to leave by Napoleon.
- The order settled definitively in Rome in 1834 and since then it has concentrated on its original mission, mostly through its humanitarian aid arm, Maltaser International.
- Today the institution is a worldwide charity that counts 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and some 25,000 paid employees, most of them medical staff.
- The top leadership consists of the Grand Master, the Grand Commander, the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Hospitaller and the Receiver of the Common Treasure (finance minister). They sit above a Sovereign Council, made up of six members.
- The all-male top leaders are not clerics, but they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope.
- The institution has the status of a sovereign entity, maintaining diplomatic ties with more than 100 states and the European Union. It also has permanent observer status at the United Nations.
Sources: Sovereign Order of Malta
(Reporting By Philip Pullella)
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