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Ex-Kings of Malta leader to defy papal order and attend succession meeting | Ex-Kings of Malta leader to defy papal order and attend succession meeting |
(35 minutes later) | |
The ousted grand master of the Catholic charity Knights of Malta will attend a meeting that could elect his successor, the group has said, in direct defiance of Pope Francis’s order for him to stay away. | |
A spokesperson for the Knights said Matthew Festing, who resigned on 24 January, had informed the group that he would come to the meeting this Saturday at its headquarters in Rome. | A spokesperson for the Knights said Matthew Festing, who resigned on 24 January, had informed the group that he would come to the meeting this Saturday at its headquarters in Rome. |
It was not clear whether he would stand for re-election, as some of his supporters have urged him to do. | |
On 15 April, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vatican’s deputy secretary of state whom the pope named “special delegate” to the ancient chivalric group, ordered Festing not to travel to Rome for the election. | On 15 April, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vatican’s deputy secretary of state whom the pope named “special delegate” to the ancient chivalric group, ordered Festing not to travel to Rome for the election. |
“Your presence would reopen wounds only recently healed and would prevent the event taking place in an atmosphere of peace and regained harmony,” Becciu said in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters from a Vatican source. | |
Becciu said in the letter that the pope shared his decision and asked Festing to stay away as “an act of obedience”. | |
Festing tendered his resignation to the pope after a month-long, highly public spat with the Vatican over the group’s sovereignty. | Festing tendered his resignation to the pope after a month-long, highly public spat with the Vatican over the group’s sovereignty. |
The turmoil began in December when Festing, a Briton, fired Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, the German-born grand chancellor of the aristocratic order. | The turmoil began in December when Festing, a Briton, fired Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, the German-born grand chancellor of the aristocratic order. |
Festing and a conservative US cardinal, Raymond Leo Burke, the group’s chaplain and a frequent critic of the pope, had accused Boeselager of violating church rules by turning a blind eye to the use of condoms in aid projects in the developing world when he was in a previous post. | |
Festing, who ordered members not to cooperate with a papal investigation of events surrounding Boeselager’s dismissal, lost his battle with the Vatican and became the first grand master in centuries to resign instead of ruling for life. | |
The Vatican concluded the condom issue was just an excuse by Festing and Burke to wield more power in the 970-year-old organisation, and Boselager was reinstated. | |
The Knights of Malta comprises 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and about 25,000 paid employees, mostly medical staff who run charities and development projects around the world. | The Knights of Malta comprises 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and about 25,000 paid employees, mostly medical staff who run charities and development projects around the world. |
The all-male top leaders are not clerics but take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope. | The all-male top leaders are not clerics but take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope. |
The Vatican wants this weekend’s vote to elect an interim leader to run the group for a year while its constitution is changed. But the group could also decide to elect a new grand master. | The Vatican wants this weekend’s vote to elect an interim leader to run the group for a year while its constitution is changed. But the group could also decide to elect a new grand master. |