According to uzinform.com.ua: Recently, the Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta was informed that Pope Francis canceled all decisions of Grand Master Matthew Festing, which were made after December 6, 2016.
On the same day, the Sovereign Council of the Order, at a meeting held at its residence in Rome, accepted the resignation of the Grand Master, Brother Matthew Festing. Until a new head is elected, the order will be led by the big commandant, brother Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein. Further, under his leadership, the Sovereign Council revoked the disciplinary decrees, the former master imposed on Albert Beselager. He returned to the duties of the great chancellor.
What is the reason for such a sharp change of power in the mysterious order? - We ask Natalya Kochan, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Political and Ethnonational Studies. Kuras National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
- The Grand Master dismissed the Grand Chancellor on December 6 for the alleged fact that the Maltese were distributing condoms to local girls involved in prostitution in Myanmar three years ago. Since the use of condoms is still contrary to the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, such actions were regarded by conservatives as connivance of prostitution.
The released Grand Chancellor Beselager asked the Holy See to intervene and conduct its own investigation of the conflict. Pope Francis heeded this request and appointed a commission. However, Grand Master Festing stated that such a step violated the sovereignty of the order, and the release of the Grand Chancellor was an internal matter of the order. And then the end of his career came swiftly.
Can this conflict be considered part of the confrontation between liberals and conservatives in the Catholic Church?
- There really is such a competition, and there will certainly be opposition, so to speak, to the Pope's liberal-democratic line in the Church. Pope Francis tries to approach problems, taking into account the time in which he lives and based on the real needs of people. And if there are such problems as in Myanmar, then we should try to solve them in different ways, at different levels. Even by providing the same precautions promptly in order to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, abortion and other disasters now.
Many legends have been told about the Order of Malta at all times. And what exactly is known?
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- This is the oldest Catholic spiritual-knightly order, the prehistory of which reaches 1023. It was then that merchants from southern Italy founded a charitable brotherhood in Palestine to provide shelter and protection to pilgrims who came to the Holy Land, to help the sick and needy. From the name of this institution (hospital, hospitale) comes the first name of the order - hospitallers. The first such hospital appeared in Jerusalem - just opposite the Holy Sepulcher. Soon such shelters appeared in other cities of the New Testament East. However, the chivalrous spirit of sacrificial deeds in the name of the Lord more and more prevailed over mercy in the name of Christ, and military goals began to increasingly overshadow charitable goals. Until 1291, when Muslims drove Christians out of the East,the order was already a powerful and rich organization with huge land holdings and estates obtained mainly by military means.
At the beginning of the XIV century, the profit of the order-state was 18 - 20 times higher than the income of the French king, reaching 35,000,000 francs. Forced to leave the Holy Land under the onslaught of the Muslim Arabs, the Hospitallers acquired the island of Rhodes in 1306 and founded an island state there, which for more than two hundred years remained an outpost of Christianity in the East. However, yielding to the increasing strength of the Turkish army, the Hospitallers were eventually forced to go from Rhodes.
And why the order began to be called Malta?
- In 1530 the order received from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in possession of the island of Malta. For this, the monastic army must protect the Mediterranean from the Turks and African corsairs. So the members of the order received a new name - the Knights of Malta. The Maltese once fought with the Turks, but they were unable to stop the destructive processes that lasted from the end of the 16th century and throughout the entire 17th century in the most knightly environment. Moral decline, constant strife, disputes between various national-territorial units of the order - "languages", the decline in the authority of the Grand Master … The French Revolution put an end to the existence of the Order of Malta in the country. By a decree of the Convention of September 19, 1792, he was deprived of all possessions in France, and the members of the order were expelled from the state.1798 Malta is occupied by Napoleon's expeditionary corps. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the order has lost considerable possessions in many European countries, most of all in German lands. In 1834, the Chapter of the Order settled in Rome, and since then, for many decades, its fate is closely linked with the Roman Curia. In the second half of the 19th century, the order turned into a large international spiritual and charitable organization.
What is the order now?
- Now it is the most sovereign state in the world, which declares its neutrality. In 1960, an agreement was concluded between the Italian government and the Order of Malta, which settled mutual obligations and rights. The Chapter of the Order of Malta in Rome covers 2 square kilometers - it is the residence of the Grand Master at 68 Via Condotti, and the villa on the Aventine Hill. His possessions are endowed with the right of extraterritoriality. The Order of Malta has its own constitution, law, national anthem, citizenship (there are passports recognized by many countries), issues stamps, mints coins (escudos, tare, verge). It contains several hospitals, numerous nursing homes, small medical centers, especially in the USA, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Ireland. After the Salvation Army, the Order of Malta is the world's largest charitable organization. The source of the Order's material resources are donations, as well as income from real estate in many countries of the world. This is a billion dollar real estate. In addition, the Hospitallers are actively involved in banking operations and trade in movable and immovable property, and have interest on the capital invested in industry.
How many members are in the order? Who can be a member of the order?
- The order has 13,500 members. They are divided into three main ranks: knights of "justice", monks and knights of "obedience". In addition, there are honorary knights and ladies. The composition of the Order of Malta is elite: its members are mainly well-known political and public figures, representatives of big business. In addition, 80,000 volunteers are employed. The Order maintains diplomatic relations with more than a hundred countries. The order and the state are headed by the Grand Master, elected for life by the Grand Council of State. The election to this position must be additionally confirmed by the Pope, despite the fact that the Vatican officially recognized the sovereignty of the Hospitallers in 1983 and diplomatic relations were established between the two states.
