After clash, the ancient order of the Knights of Malta reaffirm their loyalty to pope

The Order of Malta, the ancient Catholic order of knights which is now a worldwide charity, on Thursday sought to reassure members and donors that a recent showdown between its former leader and the Vatican had not weakened its loyalty to the pope.

At the same time, senior members of the Order, which was founded in 1038, acknowledged that the highly public clash led by its former top Knight, Grand Master Matthew Festing, had hurt donations.

Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, the Grand Chancellor of the aristocratic order, was reinstated last Saturday. He had been fired in December by Festing, who accused von Boeselager of turning a blind eye to the use of condoms in aid projects in the developing world.

“The order reaffirms its loyalty to the Holy Father. Let me reassure our members and everybody that the government of the order is and will remain at the service of the Holy Father. Our devotion to the teachings of the Church is irrevocable and beyond question,” von Boselager told a news conference.

Festing, backed by conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, had stood up to the pope, saying the pontiff, who pushed for von Boselager’s reinstatement, could not intervene in the internal affairs of the Rome-based institution that has sovereign status and is run like a small country.

Festing lost his battle with the Vatican, which said the condom issue was just an excuse by Festing and Burke to wield more power. Von Boselager has said he shut down the programmes that distributed condoms as soon as he could after he found out.