In what appears to be an attempt to rectify the biggest misstep of his pontificate, Pope Francis has appointed an investigator with a strong track record to look into sexual abuse allegations that have dogged Bishop Juan Barros, the pope’s controversial pick to lead the diocese of Osorno, Chile. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta has…
Today, 28 April, the Austrian Catholic website Kath.net has published an important report written by a Maltese Knight about a recent audience with Cardinal Raymond Burke in which the (“de facto suspended“) Cardinal Patron revealed much of the background of the current crisis in the Order. Burke, who has not spoken publicly on the matter himself,…
When Fra’ Matthew Festing abdicated his position as Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta — at the pope’s direct request — it left many scratching their heads. How could he allow himself to be pushed out so easily? How was it that his earlier resistance to interference in the sovereign order over which…
Over the past few months, we’ve covered the saga of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta rather extensively. If you’re unfamiliar with the main events surrounding this thousand-year-old chivalric Catholic order toppled by Pope Francis, this summary is probably the best place to start. To recap: since that summary was written, several additional events of…
In a new pastoral letter issued for Lent, the Maltese bishops have attempted to downplay the permissiveness of their guidelines on Amoris Laetitia. A look at the guidelines themselves tells the real story.
(Image Source: EWTN) Last month, we recounted the long and sordid story of the toppling of the Knights of Malta. Three particularly troubling events stood out at the conclusion of that story: First, the resignation of Fra’ Matthew Festing, Grand Master of the Order, forced by Pope Francis with an alleged demand that he state for the…
The focus is back on the Maltese bishops this week after it was revealed that in a meeting with the priests of his archdiocese, Archbishop Charles Scicluna had said that he had no choice in issuing the deeply controversial Maltese bishops guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, because in his conscience he could not oppose the wishes of…
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta — known as “the Sovereign Military Order of Malta” or the “Knights of Malta” for short — is one of the Catholic Church’s oldest and most respected institutions. Founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century, the lay religious order began as…
(Image courtesy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta website) Fra’ Matthew Festing, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, offered his resignation at the pope’s request earlier this week. Today, the Sovereign Council of the Order — the only body with the authority to permit his resignation — has accepted his decision. Further,…
On May 28, 2011, in the small island nation of Malta — nestled in a Mediterranean archipelago between Italy’s boot and Africa’s northern coast — a referendum was held on the topic of divorce. The official religion of the Maltese Republic is Catholicism, and the country traces its Christian origins back all the way to St. Paul,…
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat recently published a widely circulated commentary on the recent fall-out from Amoris Laetitia entitled, “The End of Catholic Marriage”. In it, he argued persuasively that if Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on marital love comes to be generally interpreted and applied as liberally as it has been in the Diocese…
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