On Tuesday, the Grand Master from the Order of Malta delivered a speech to the Ambassadors present in Rome. However, he only briefly addressed one of the most important issues they are facing at this time.
The Knights of Malta say they will not cooperate with an investigation to be launched by Pope Francis to look deeper at a dispute within the order.
The investigation comes after Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta, Albrecht von Boeselager, was asked to resign by the Order for unknown reasons. After he refused, the Order's Grand Magistry decided to remove him from the position of Chancellor. The Vatican has launched the investigation to find out the exact reason.
The Grand Magistry of the Sovereign Order of Malta responded saying 'the replacement of the former Grand Chancellor was an internal act of the government of the Order. Thus, 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.â?
While the order is a Catholic lay religious order, its constitution separates them from oversight of Vatican departments since they are a sovereign entity under international law, with their own passports and stamps.
The order is located in more than 120 countries and has 13,500 Knights, Dames and auxiliary members, in addition to employing 25,000 medical workers and 80,000 volunteers.
Every year, the Order meets with the pope around June, let's see if this traditional meeting will take place again this year.
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