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Letter #5, 2017: Knights of Malta and Freemasonry, #2[2017-01-27][Engleză]January 22, 2017, Wednesday -- Knights of Malta and Freemasonry, #2"One of the difficulties with the Order (of Malta) is that there is a split between those like Matthew Festing who regard the Order as a religious institution doing charitable work in the light of the teachings of the Church and others who would like to see it becoming a merely secular institution following the mores of the world at large. This is the essence of the Festing v Boeselager issue. The distribution of contraceptives was part of the issue..." a comment several days ago on the American Catholic website onePeterfive "It seems that pills and condoms are diverting attention from another very serious story, involving money. A huge bequest from a French member directed towards the French association was instead secretly placed in a slush fund of some sort. The lawyer who did the work on it in Switzerland is under investigation, and those in the know include various members of the Vatican commission, who would in effect be examining their own actions." private email from a member of the Knights of Malta "In 1314, the Order of the Knights Templar was dissolved and the major part of its property was conferred on the Hospitallers, that is, on the elite troops of the Knights of Malta." interview in La Stampa of Turin with Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, for 28 years professor of Medieval History at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, an expert on the history of the Knights of Malta. His words indicate that the Knights inherited much of the the enormous wealth of the dissolved Knights Templar "Deep Throat: You thought I'd help out on specifics? I'll confirm what you get, try to keep you on the right track, but that's all. Are you guys really working? [Woodward nods] How much? Woodward: I don't know maybe 16, 18 hours a day -- we've got sources at Justice, the FBI, but it's still drying up. Deep Throat: Then there must be something, mustn't there. Look, forget the myths the media's created about the White House -- the truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand. Woodward: If you don't like them, why won't you be more concrete with me? Deep Throat: Because the press stinks too -- history on the run, that's all you're interested in. You come up with anything? Woodward: John Mitchell resigned as head of CREEP to spend more time with his family. That doesn't exactly have the ring of truth. Howard Hunt's been found -- there was talk that his lawyer had $25,000 in cash in a paper bag. Deep Throat: Follow the money. Always follow the money. Woodward: What do you mean? Where? Deep Throat: Oh, I can't tell you that. Woodward: But you could tell me that. Deep Throat: No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just... follow the money." dialogue from the film All the President's Men, a 1976 film about the Watergate investigation. "Deep Throat" told the two young journalists that to get to the bottom of the Watergate affair, they needed to "follow the money" "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 6:3 ============== Once they told tales of the Knights of Malta, young soldiers fighting for their beliefs against impossible odds. In some battles, they were just a few thousand against as many as 100,000, or more, and yet they stood fast, with even the wounded returning to the front lines to help avoid defeat. In 1565, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sent an invasion force of about 40,000 men to besiege the 700 knights and 8,000 soldiers and expel them from Malta and gain a new base from which to possibly launch another assault on Europe. At first the battle went badly; about half the knights were killed. On August 18, the position of the besieged was becoming desperate: dwindling daily in numbers, they were becoming too feeble to hold the long line of fortifications. But when his council suggested the abandonment of Birgu and Senglea and withdrawal to Fort St. Angelo, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette refused. On August 23 came yet another grand assault, the last serious effort, as it proved, of the besiegers. It was thrown back with the greatest difficulty, even the wounded taking part in the defense. The perplexed and indecisive Ottomans heard of the arrival of Sicilian reinforcements in Mellieħa Bay. Unaware that the force was very small, they broke off the siege and left on September 8. The Great Siege of Malta ended, barely, in victory. Today, the Order is a shadow of its former self. Perhaps the present crisis will, in a paradoxical way, lead to a rebirth and renewal of the Order. Would that it be so... Follow the Money The memorable phrase "follow the money," used by "Deep Throat," the anonymous "source" who helped American journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein unravel the mystery of the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s, really means "discover the motive and follow it back to its source." It might more fully be stated "follow the money until you trace it back to its source and you will have the key to explain all of the actions that have unfolded." The case we are now investigating, the recent chaos in the leadership of the 900-year-old, highly-respected Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, has grown tangled. The latest, startling development was the decision of Pope Francis to summon the Master General of the Order, Fra Matthew Festing, 67, to the Vatican on January 24, the day before yesterday, to inform him that his resignation as head of the Knights of Malta was desired. We have no other details as yet about that meeting. Were the two alone, face to face? Were others present? Did Festing protest? Was there an argument? Festing agreed to resign. His decision was made public yesterday. It was an abrupt retreat from his stance of several days earlier. Then, Festing had proclaimed the sovereignty of the Knights of Malta against even the Vatican, which was attempting to begin a 5-person "investigation" into the order's decision in early December to dismiss one of its top officials, Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager. The charges against Boeselager amounted to a type of "dereliction of duty," not preventing the distribution of condoms and other contraceptive pharmaceuticals over several years as part of the order's well-known medical charity initiatives worldwide. Boeselager has stoutly denied the charges, saying he did not know of the irregularities, and when he discovered them, he took action to end them. Some reports have made the interesting suggestion that a document, drawn up prior to the meeting, was put before Festing for him to sign, and that he did sign it. This document is said to have included passages detailing the events leading up to the decision to dismiss Boeselager, including specific testimony on the advice and actions of the Order's Cardinal Protector, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, an American, during the process. This suggests that Festing was being asked to fill out a sort of affidavit, a record of the recent events in the Order, which could possibly be used at some future time even against Burke. Some are whispering that that is what is about to happen: that Burke will be accused of having mishandled the matter. It will be said that, despite the clear instructions of the Pope in their meeting on November 10 to "handle the matter quietly" through "dialogue" and "without the dismissal of anyone" from any post, Burke nevertheless went ahead and pushed for the dismissal of Boeselager. If this accusation is about to be made, then what we are now watching is the final act in a long and elaborate process to prepare a case against Burke, playing out before our eyes. If Burke is judged to be guilty of such an accusation, some are saying, then the Pope could be justified in taking severe disciplinary action against him, up to and including removing him from the College of Cardinals. So, we have several questions: What instructions did Pope Francis give to Burke during their November 10 meeting? Did Burke carry out those instructions? Was this entire matter of Boeselager and the resignation of Festing merely a cover for developing a case against Cardinal Burke for negligence or disobedience in carrying out the wishes of the Pope with regard to the Knights of Malta, with the ultimate goal to discredit him? One problem with all human affairs is that they involve humans(!). That is, they involve beings who are, by definition, limited, not omniscient; imperfect; subject to being moved by emotion rather than by reason; doomed to choosing a course of action on the basis of partial, or even false, information. So, when attempting to understand the decisions men take, we must always try to reconstruct what information was available when to those who take decisions. Clearly, Francis had been told something about the Knights of Malta situation, and as a consequence of that, he decided to summon Festing and to ask for his resignation. But what had Francis been told? And when? And by whom? And for what purpose? In order to follow this case in an orderly case, we need a chronology: November 10, 2016 -- Cardinal Burke meets with Pope Francis. Burke tells Francis of his concerns about some non-Catholic, immoral activities being carried out under the sponsorship of the Knights of Malta. The Pope shares his deep concern over this news, and allegedly urges Burke to do all he can to end such activities. Edward Pentin will later report that the Pope tells Burke to "clean out" all "Freemasons" in the Order of Malta. December 1 -- Pope Francis writes a follow-up letter to Cardinal Burke, encouraging him, as discussed, to promote the Catholic faith in the life of the Order of Malta. The contents of this letter have not been made public, but Cardinal Parolin will refer to the contents in his letter of December 12 and 21. December 6, 2016 -- The moment of decision. At a meeting of the top leadership of the Knights of Malta, Boeselager is asked to submit his resignation. The reason? That he has not prevented the distribution of various contraceptive devices and pills over a number of years. But Boeselager refuses. The Order leadership then forcibly removes him from his post, voting him out. Boeselager is not happy with this outcome. December 6-11 -- Boeselager contacts Vatican officials, tells them what has happened, and, it appears, the Vatican promises him support. December 12, 2016 -- Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, reportedly a personal friend of Boeselager, writes a letter to Festing, saying that Pope Francis, in his November 10 meeting with Burke, had not instructed Burke to counsel or embark on a course of action which would lead to the dismissal of any of the Order's leaders. December 13, 2016 -- The Order of Malta issues a statement on the case. Here is that text: The Current Situation between the Order of Malta and Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager "Because, unfortunately, some details of the events of last week are being circulated and discussed in an unbalanced manner, the Grand Master of the Order, HMEH Fra Matthew Festing, would like to communicate the following. On Tuesday, December 6, an extremely grave and untenable situation became apparent concerning Albrecht von Boeselagers position as Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta, and the Grand Master called Boeselager for a meeting in presence of the Grand Commander, Fra Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke as the Holy Fathers representative to the Order of Malta. Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com Contor Accesări: 1244, Ultimul acces: 2026-07-28 14:41:59
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