CRISIS IN THE ORDER OF MALTA

In December,  the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, an organization of professed Catholic knights overseen by the Vatican, announced that it removed a top official over the distribution of condoms in the developing world, an act unfaithful to Church teaching.

The Prince and Grand Master of the Order on Wednesday appointed Fra’ John Critien as Grand Chancellor ad interim to replace Albrecht von Boeselager after he was removed from his post on the grounds that he violated his promise of obedience.  The Order’s website reported that Critien will assume the post until the next election in 2019. Critien is a professed Knight of Justice.

Von Boeselager was relieved of his office by Prince and Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing.  

Boeselager is a German noble (“Freiherr”) and would have had his mandate as Grand Chancellor until 2019.  Von Boeselager has called his dismissal a “violation” of the Knights’ constitution, a statement denied by Festing.

Festing explained that the removal of Boeselager is a “matter between the Holy See and the Order” now. That means that Cardinal Raymond Burke will be involved. Appointed on November 8, 2014, as Patronus of the Sovereign Order of Malta and as the Pope’s personal ambassador to the Grand Master and the Order, Burke together with the Grand Master will be responsible for sorting the matter out.

Von Boeselager has alleged that he was being denounced as a “liberal Catholic unwilling to accept the teaching of the Church,” because evidence has surfaced demonstrating that condoms were distributed in various parts of the world by Malteser International (an international institution focused on humanitarian aid) during the period that Boeselager was both member of the Sovereign Council as the Order’s Grand Hospitaller and member of Malteser International’s board. 

While it appears that the distribution of condoms might have ceased, this breach of Church teaching could have been discovered earlier if it been reported to the Grand Master by Boeselager when he was Grand Hospitaller.

In an explanatory post on the Order’s website titled “The current situation between the Order of Malta and Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager”, the Order gives a direct answer to the public saying that “unfortunately, some details of the events of last week are being circulated and discussed in an unbalanced manner.” 

This statement confirmed that “an extremely grave and untenable situation” became apparent about Boeselager who was called for a meeting in the presence of the Grand Commander, Fra’ Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, and Cardinal Burke as the Holy Father’s representative to the Order of Malta.

In the meeting, the Grand Master called upon Boeselager to resign. Cardinal Burke is alleged to have informed Boeselager that the Holy Father had asked for his resignation, a claim that the Holy See later denied.

After Boeselager refused to vacate his post, “the Grand Master ordered him under the Promise of Obedience” to resign. 

Boeselager has refused ostentatiously.

The Knights of Malta are a religious order formed of lay members. The Order’s members can be divided into three categories, the Knights of Justice or “First Class,” the Knights and Dames in Obedience or “Second Class” and the Knights and Dames of the “Third Class.”

Only the professed Knights of Justice take all three religious vows, that is of poverty, chastity and obedience. The Knights and Dames in Obedience take only the one binding Promise of Obedience. When Boeselager took this promise, he bound himself to religious obedience to the Superior of the Order. 

The Grand Master is alleging that, by refusing to step down, von Boeselager broke that promise. This is the reason disciplinary measures were taken against him.

The Sovereign Order of Malta operates in 120 countries around the world and is best known for its charitable work in zones of war or humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands join them to help as professionals or volunteers.

The Order retains sovereignty under international law, including United Nations permanent observer status, and issuing its own passports, currency, and postage stamps with the insignia of the Maltese Cross.

Now this story is complex enough in itself, but becomes even more confounding when we remember remarks by Pope Francis back in February of 2016 as he responded to questions from journalists aboard his flight from Mexico back to Vatican City.

With physicians across Central and South American urging women to postpone pregnancy because of the Zika virus that causes birth defects, Pope Francis said using contraceptives could be a "lesser evil."

The Pope was asked if the use of artificial contraceptives or abortion could be considered "a lesser evil" when the baby had a high risk of birth defects.  "Abortion is not a lesser evil -- it's a crime," Pope Francis said. It is the deliberate taking of an innocent human life. "It's an absolute evil."  "Don't confuse avoiding pregnancy with abortion," the Holy Father stated.

The concept of a "lesser evil" may apply to artificial birth control, however, he said, pointing to Blessed Paul VI's consent in the early 1960s for women religious in the then-Belgian Congo to take the pill when rape was being used as a weapon of war. 

Unlike abortion, Francis said, "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear."  

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, speaking to Vatican Radio about the Pope's remarks, said Pope Francis distinguished between abortion and "the possibility of a recourse to contraception or condoms in cases of emergency or in special situations, which does not involve the suppression of a human life, but avoiding a pregnancy."  "He does not say this recourse can be accepted and used without any discernment, but in fact clearly said that it can be taken into consideration in cases of particular emergency," Father Lombardi said.

Pope Benedict XVI made similar comments in his book-interview "Light of the World," where "he spoke about the use of condoms in situations where there is a risk of contagion, for example, with AIDS," Father Lombardi said


Health officials in South America have urged women to postpone their pregnancies for two years, because the Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly, a rare neurological condition that causes smaller heads in newborns, affecting the normal development of their brain.

Given the Holy Father’s nuanced statement about contraceptive use, one is left to wonder why von Boeselager’s alleged distribution of condoms in the developing world should not be considered as act “of serious discernment of conscience” and whether, in effect, his doing so was indeed contrary to the moral teachings of the Church.

One wonders how much the Order’s Chaplain, Cardinal Burke, has been involved in this latest flap. Pope Francis has called a Special Commission to investigate the removal of von Boeselager, a move which the Order of Malta has strongly criticized and rejected.

The resolution of this dispute will be eagerly awaited and, without doubt, be quite controversial on its own merit.