THE ASSOCIATED PRESSNICOLE WINFIELDJanuary 17, 2017
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican struck back Tuesday at the Knights of Malta, rejecting its attempt to discredit a Vatican-appointed commission investigating the ouster of a top official over a condom scandal.
In a sharply worded statement, the Holy See also said it plans to take action to resolve the dispute, setting the stage for one sovereign entity intervening in the internal affairs of another.
The remarkable showdown is the latest example of Pope Francis clashing with more conservative elements in the Catholic Church, especially those for whom sexual ethics and doctrinal orthodoxy are paramount.
The Vatican said Tuesday it "reaffirms its confidence" in the commission appointed last month by Francis to investigate the ouster of Albrecht von Boeselager as the Knights of Malta's grand chancellor. The Vatican called the issue a "crisis of the central direction" of the ancient aristocratic lay Catholic order.
The Order's leader, Fra' Matthew Festing, suspended Boeselager on Dec. 8 over revelations that the Knights' charity branch had distributed thousands of condoms to poor people in Myanmar under his watch.
Church teaching forbids artificial contraception. Boeselager has said he stopped the programs when he learned of them. The order's leadership has said the scandal was grave and called it "disgraceful" that Boeselager refused an order to obey Festing and resign.
Francis appointed a commission to investigate after Boeselager said he had been told by Festing that the Holy See wanted him to resign over the scandal. The Vatican secretary of state has said the pope wanted nothing of the sort and wanted the dispute to be resolved through dialogue.
The order's leadership has already announced it won't cooperate with the pope's commission, citing its status as a sovereign entity under international law.
In a Jan. 14 letter, Festing questioned the credibility of the pope's commission, saying there were "serious accusations of a conflict of interest" involving three of its five members. The three, he wrote, were linked to a Geneva-based fund in which the Knights had a financial interest and therefore couldn't be trusted to address the spat objectively.
He didn't elaborate. The National Catholic Register has reported that three of the commission members were involved, along with Boeselager, in a $118 million bequest to the order. Festing has decided to launch an internal inquiry into the matter.
The commission is made up of a noted Jesuit canon lawyer, three members of the order said to be close to Boeselager, and the Vatican's former U.N. envoy to the U.N. in Geneva.
In its statement, the Vatican hinted that it plans to take measures based on the commission's final report — a move that could rile the Knights' over their sovereignty claim. The order is also a Catholic lay order and its leadership takes an oath of obedience to the pope.
The Vatican said it "counts on the complete cooperation of all in this sensitive stage" — an apparent reference to the order's refusal to cooperate.
https://apnews.com/836bafe3c6bc42e482542c6acde4148b?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=2211cc3a79-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-2211cc3a79-400018169
BBC
January 11, 2017
A row has broken out between the Vatican and the Knights of Malta, an ancient Catholic order, after a top official was sacked over a contraception scandal.
It followed revelations that the Knights' charity branch had distributed thousands of condoms in Myanmar.
The order's grand chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, was suspended over the matter on 8 December.
The Catholic Church forbids the use of artificial contraception.
Mr Boeselager has said he did not know about the condom distribution programme, which was an anti-HIV and family planning initiative, and stopped it when he learned of its existence.
Now the 900-year-old order is refusing to co-operate with a Vatican investigation into his sacking, and warning members that if they speak with Pope Francis's team, they must not contradict the decision by the order to replace Mr Boeselager.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Knights called the Pope's review a legally "irrelevant" move aimed at limiting the order's sovereignty.
Pope Francis appointed a five-member commission to investigate the sacking in December, amid evidence that his own envoy to the group, conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, helped engineer it without his blessing.
In some ways, the condom dispute reflects the broader ideological divisions in the Roman Catholic Church that have intensified during Francis's papacy.
The pontiff is prone to emphasising the church's merciful side over its more doctrinaire traditions, and this stance has sometimes grieved more hardline Catholics.
The row also highlights internal divisions within the order, which dates back to the Crusades - and whether its members are fulfilling their vows of obedience.
What is the Order of Malta?
The Sovereign Order of Malta traces its history to the 11th Century, with the establishment of an infirmary in Jerusalem that cared for pilgrims of all faiths.
The lay religious order of the Catholic Church now has 13,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers, who provide healthcare in hospitals and clinics around the world.
The Order of Malta enjoys many of the privileges of a nation state. It issues its own stamps, passports and licence plates - and holds diplomatic relations with 106 states, the Holy See included.
The BBC's David Willey gave his impressions of the Knights' headquarters during the order's 900th anniversary:
"Today the Knights are a unique sovereign entity in that they rule over no territory except a palace in one of Rome's smartest shopping districts, a church and an elegant villa overlooking the city.
"The order's international headquarters is in a palace situated in Rome's Via Condotti, a short distance from the Spanish Steps. High fashion boutiques nearby offer neat handbags for sale at prices ranging up to $3,000.
"The atmosphere inside reminded me of an Oxbridge College or a London Club. Inside the porter's lodge there are cubby holes for letters addressed to His Highness, the Grand Master - who is British - and to senior officials."
Though the order sounds like a masculine institution, the Knights are not exclusively male. As of 2013, women made up about 30% of its members - known as the Dames.
The group is reportedly keen to shed its aristocratic image, and to attract new talent to continue its humanitarian work.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38580278
