Posted on 01/26/2017 4:03:24 PM PST by BlessedBeGod
Pope Francis has declared that all actions taken by the head of the Order of Malta and its governing council since the dismissal of Albrecht von Boeselager last month are “null and void,” including the election of Boeselager’s replacement.
The Pope…ordered [Fra’ Festing] to write his resignation letter on the spot, according to informed sources.
….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 …
If the Grand Master was pressured to resign, some…are speculating about the validity of his resignation as it was demanded immediately without giving him time to consider…They...are concerned it heralds a future purge of the Order.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Can you go back and explain, rather summarize, the situation in Malta that started this all.
Are you a practicing Catholic?
That quotation appears to assert or deal with papal authority over the RC Church. The Church recognized the
sovereignty of the knights of Malta as long ago as 1113. Pope Benedict also recognized the order’s sovereignty in modern times. The order and Vatican relate via embassies to each other. The order enjoys recognition of its independent sovereignty by 106 nations. I’m not it’s apologist and it has been accused of a lot of very questionable activities ( it may not be just a medical assistance outfit) — but be that as it may, the sovereign order of knights of malta , etal....certainly doesn’t appear to be an integral part of the RC Church organization ———? ?? That’s all I was reacting to. I will let other, more informed folks carry this question forward as that’s all I knows. Thanks
And please note that the Vatican is not one of the seven hills on the other side of the river.
I'm thinking that the four cardinals may have already served the "Merciful One" privately with the correction for Amoris laetitia and this thuggish, bully-boy assault on the Knights is Francis' response.
It tells me that Francis is very fond of sin.
Yes. Well. It’s that “valid “ thingy that is the question.
His Eminence is not a Freemason, I know several people who know him well, they all vouch for his piety and humility. Pray for him, The Merciful One is attacking him.
Heres what I found from my research, but first, here is what practicing Catholics believe about Holy Communion.
“In Pope St. John Paul II’s letter, it states, “the church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon sacred scripture, of not admitting to eucharistic communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the church which is signified and effected by the eucharist.”
“Besides this there is another special pastoral reason,” said Pope St. John Paul II. “If these people were admitted to the eucharist the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.”
Cardinal Burke, and other Cardinals, have asked the Pope for a clarification of Amoris Laetitia, specifically because there is confusion over part of Amoris that relates to the above. The Pope has not addressed it.
Issues with Order of Malta arise because of this confusion. Big issues - concerning obedience, doctrine.
What St. Pope John Paul II wrote in his letter is Church doctrine, it is Truth.
Practicing faithful Catholics, including Cardinals, Bishops and priests, are bound to follow St. John Paul II’s letter.
In a lot of ways, the Pope’s handling of the Order of Malta is like a drunk father coming home from a bar and beating the hell out of his family’s old, loyal dog in front of the children. There is no doubt that, in the very end, he has the legal power to do so. But everyone knows that what he has done is unspeakably wrong and evil. Never again will the man be seen in the same light by his family as he wipes the blood of the beloved old pooch off his hard, old fists.
Yes, I’m a practicing Catholic. Unfortunately, the answer to your other question is going to be a lot longer. ;-)
The Order of Malta is a unique animal, since it’s both a religious order (think Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, or the Jesuits) and it’s the world’s smallest sovereign state. The Pope has spiritual authority over the Order of Malta, but he does NOT have any authority over how they govern.
The #3 guy in the Order of Malta, Boeselager, was caught having allowed condom distribution on his watch for years, unbeknownst to the rest of the Order. It was documented by the UN, WHO, and a third organization that I’ve never heard of before, so there’s absolute proof that he’s guilty. (The documentation was given to the spiritual director of the Order, Cardinal Burke, who’s currently in a fight with Francis over Francis trying to change the doctrine of the Church. Burke then turned it over to the #1 guy, Festing.) Since contraception is totally against Catholic teaching, Boeselager was called on the carpet for it.
He lied about it, tried to cover it up (and was caught), and refused to obey two direct orders (he has taken vows of poverty, chastity, and ***obedience***). So, Festing, fired him. He has the authority.
Boeselager is a buddy of the Secretary of State of the Vatican and contacted him to complain. The SoS told the Pope about it and Francis set up a commission to investigate. But since the Order of Malta is a sovereign state, Festing refused to cooperate. Festing also objected that the commission was biased, because it consisted of four friends of Boeselager and a Jesuit friend of Francis. He ordered the rest of the Order not to cooperate, too, also because it might affect their sovereignty to allow themselves to be investigated by another sovereign country (Vatican City).
The Pope ordered Festing to resign, and since he had also taken a vow of obedience, he did. Francis reinstated Boeselager. What’s weird is that when the #1 guy resigns, he’s supposed to do it to the Order’s council, which then informs the Pope of the resignation. This is happening backwards; Festing submitted his resignation to Francis and the council doesn’t meet until Saturday to decide whether to accept the resignation or not.
According to international law and the constitution of the Order, this whole thing is illegal because the Order is a sovereign state. And everyone believes this is a way for Francis to discredit Cardinal Burke and get him off his back. But who’s going to call Francis on it?
already done....
I'm not sure, if they are a group of Catholics, how they wouldn't be part of the Catholic Church and required to submit to a valid Catholic pope's requests.
I highly doubt that Francis' actions wrt the Order will cause the Order to do such a thing. He didn't do anything outside his rights (by Church law or Divine Law) as purported pope.
That is very possible.
Sure is.
I will continue to disagree with your assessment here per Vatican I: If anyone thus speaks, that the Roman Pontiff has only the office of inspection or direction, but not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the universal Church, not only in things which pertain to faith and morals, but also in those which pertain to the discipline and government of the Church spread over the whole world; or, that he possesses only the more important parts, but not the whole plenitude of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate, or over the churches altogether and individually, and over the pastors and the faithful altogether and individually: let him be anathema.
There are no exceptions for Catholic orders that are "sovereign nations" or any other such exceptions. I'm not sure why Catholics keep wanting to give exceptions here. Francis may be governing poorly or even in an evil manner, but if he is a true pope then he has the right to govern the whole Church by God.
I have been confused by the whole incident. Thank you for your comments - and I agree - true Popes have the right to govern the whole Church by God.
Found this on LifeSite and it filled in some missing information for me:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/order-of-malta-at-odds-with-vatican-over-grand-chancellors-dismissal
Thank you for the information.
“He lied about it, tried to cover it up (and was caught), and refused to obey two direct orders (he has taken vows of poverty, chastity, and ***obedience***). So, Festing, fired him. He has the authority.”
I found that information on the LifeSite News article: He lied about it, tried to cover it up (and was caught), and refused to obey two direct orders (he has taken vows of poverty, chastity, and ***obedience***). So, Festing, fired him. He has the authority.
Some of us like to see what is up with your communist Pope.
Seems you wasted your time replying to me. In the grand scheme of things, who runs the Order of Malta doesn’t matter a solitary damn.
I am not aware of anything in Vatican I indicating that the Pope’s primacy extends to purely civil matters outside of the work of the Church, such as the internal administration of a civil government that is not part of the Church. The Knights of Malta have drawn a distinction between their obedience as Catholics and their operations as a sovereign nation state that is outside of the structure of the Church (demonstrated both by treaty and by the fact that the Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with them.) The Pope and/or Secretary of State disagree with this view and see them as a religious order.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.