BREAKING: Knights of Malta Council Accepts Grand Master's Resignation

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Fra’ Ludwig Hoffman von Rumerstein

The Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta has voted to accept the resignation of their current Grand Master, Fra' Matthew Festing.

They resignation had been ordered by Pope Francis.

The Council consists of ten members, including the Grand Master. According to Edward Pentin of National Catholic Register, there was only one dissenting vote.

UPDATE: Pentin would correct this a few hours later to "handful."

In addition, the Council acceded to the Pope's demand that all disciplinary decrees against the expelled Grand Chancellor Albrecht Boeselager be immediately annulled. Boeselager is again Grand Chancellor.

The Order will be now be temporarily run by Grand Commander Fra’ Ludwig Hoffman von Rumerstein until a new Grand Master is Elected.

However, real power is expected to reside in a Special Delegate appointed by the Pope.

There had been some question as to whether the Order would accept the Special Delegate, but they appear to have done so, today.

From the Order of Malta, a few minutes ago:

The Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing resigns from office 

Fra’ Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein assumes the office of Lieutenant ad interim, Albrecht Boeselager resumes his office as Grand Chancellor 

The Sovereign Council, the government of the Sovereign Order of Malta, met this afternoon in the Magistral Palace in Rome. On the agenda was the resignation from Office of Grand Master presented by Fra’ Matthew Festing, in accordance with article 16 of the Constitution of the Order of Malta. The Sovereign Council accepted his resignation from office. Conforming to the Constitution, the Pope has been notified of the resignation of Fra’ Matthew Festing, which will be communicated to the 106 Heads of State with whom the Order has diplomatic relations. In accordance with Article 17 of the Constitution, the Grand Commander, Fra’ Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, has assumed the office of Lieutenant ad interim and will remain the Order of Malta’s head until the election of the successor of the Grand Master. The Sovereign Council thanked Fra’ Matthew Festing for his great commitment during his nine years in office. 

Subsequently, the Sovereign Council presided over by the Lieutenant ad interim annulled the decrees establishing the disciplinary procedures against Albrecht Boeselager and the suspension of his membership in the Order. Albrecht Boeselager resumes his office as Grand Chancellor immediately. 

In a letter sent yesterday, 27 January 2017, to Fra’ Ludwig Hoffman von Rumerstein and the members of the Sovereign Council, Pope Francis reaffirmed the special relationship between the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Apostolic See. The Pope affirmed that the Lieutenant ad interim assumes responsibility over the Order’s government, in particular regarding relationships with other States. Pope Francis noted precisely that his Special Delegate will be operating on “the spiritual renewal of the Order, specifically of its professed members.” The Sovereign Order of Malta ensures its full collaboration with the Special Delegate whom the Holy Father intends to appoint. 

The Sovereign Order of Malta is most grateful to Pope Francis and the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin for their interest in and care for the Order. The Order appreciates that the Holy Father’s decisions were all carefully taken with regard to and respect for the Order, with a determination to strengthen its sovereignty. 

The Lieutenant ad interim together with the Sovereign Council will soon convoke the Council Complete of State for the election of the successor of the Grand Master, according to Art. 23 of the Constitution.

Pentin: Pope Ordered Knights Commander to Write Resignation on Spot, Make Sure it Implicated Burke

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Yesterday, I cited a source claiming that the Pope's recent "annexation" of the Order of Malta was a "Mafia-like transaction." I personally made comparisons with the Nazi seizure power in Germany and neighboring countries.

That may have sounded over the top, though in my partial defense, I wasn't alone.

But recent reporting on what actually happened is making the comparison seem more and more apt. What Edward Pentin described today (see excerpt below), could almost be a scene out of Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, as another independent ministry is taken over by the Party, or a monarch or president is ordered to validate the absorption of his country into the Reich.

Did Pope Francis threaten Knights of Malta Grand Master Matthew Festing with violence, or did he allude to the fact that tanks had already crossed the border? The answers are: obviously not to the latter, and I assume not to the former. Most accounts claim that Fra' Festing was under a huge amount of "pressure." But it's not immediately clear in what that pressure consisted. It does seem as if the poor man did take his vow of obligation to the Pope seriously, even though many have since claimed that his vow wouldn't apply in this sort of case.

The Sovereign Council of the Order could still refuse to accept Festing's resignation when they meet on Saturday.

In earlier stories by Pentin and others, it was claimed that there is in some ways an unprecedented level of fear among members of the Curia, though the reason or rationale for that fear was not completely obvious. What's the worst thing that could happen to a Vatican functionary or clergyman who refuses to go along with the Francis agenda? Is getting one's career advancement nipped, or getting re-assigned to or removed from this or that post the most horrible thing imaginable? It really is a mystery.

But what is actually happening is not a mystery. Francis may not be shooting people or throwing them into camps, but in the manner of any revolutionary dictator he's quickly moving to annex or destroy all independent sources of power that might conceivably oppose him, now or in the future.

You come when summoned, and you immediately comply with the order to transfer authority to the Party. You may even be asked to betray a comrade.  

From Edward Pentin in today's National Catholic Register. Read the rest here: 

The Pope summoned Fra’ Festing to the Vatican on Jan. 24 on the strict instruction not to let anyone know about the audience — a modus operandi that has been used frequently during this pontificate, the Register has learned. During the meeting, Francis asked Fra’ Festing to resign immediately, to which the Grand Master agreed. The Pope then ordered him to write his resignation letter on the spot, according to informed sources. 

The Register has also learned that the Pope told Fra’ Festing that the reason for asking for his resignation was the Pope's conviction that he has to do a new, “complete investigation” of the Order, and that such an investigation would be “more easily conducted” if the Grand Master resigned. 

The Register has been told that the Pope then had Fra’ Festing include in his letter of resignation that the Grand Master had asked for Boeselager's dismissal “under the influence” of Cardinal Raymond Burke, the patron of the Order. However, as patron the cardinal has no governance in the Order and can only counsel the Grand Master, meaning the decision to dismiss the Grand Chancellor belonged solely to the Grand Master.

Vatican Source on Pope's Malta Takeover: "This was a Mafia-like Transaction"

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Matthew Festing and Pope Francis, two years ago

Just about the only people on earth that Pope Francis has warned might go to hell are members of the Mafia.

How ironic then, that Francis is being increasingly compared to a Mafia-leader.

In a bombshell development yesterday, Fra’ Matthew Festing, the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta submitted his resignation to the Pope.

This was a surprise because just a few weeks ago, the Knights had told the Vatican that it had no authority over their internal governing affairs. Festing may have based yesterday's decision on the fact that all Knights have made a vow of obedience to the Pope. But vow or no vow, four weeks ago, the Knights had in in effect told Francis to buzz off.

After the resignation is validated by the Knights on Saturday (most think it will be accepted), the Order will apparently be run by a Papal appointee. Edward Pentin writes that this "is a significant and controversial development in view of the Order's sovereign status."

In the Catholic world, Malta has fallen. One might say that the Pope succeeded where Hitler failed.

Cardinal Burke remains as Patron of the Order. But he has been rendered powerless, like some holdover from the old governing aristocracy in 1930's Germany. Indeed, it appears that Burke himself may have been tricked into escalating the set of events that led to the coup, with Pope Francis encouraging him to go after "Freemasons" in the organization and then cutting him off at the knees.

One Vatican insider, relating the comment of a friend, has called the whole thing a "Mafia-like transaction."

Die-hard Pope defenders will no doubt claim that this was a necessary action to assert control over a "conservative" element that potentially threatened his agenda. Many Pope opponents would agree with that from the other side. But the same Vatican source believes that there is another angle to it that is at least as important to focus on.

There is a boatload of money involved. And the Holy See will get control of it.

The Church of Mercy rolls on.