VATICAN CITY, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Saturday dissolved the leadership of the Knights of Malta, the global Catholic religious order and humanitarian group, and installed an interim government ahead of the election of a new Grand Master. The change, which the pope issued by decree, came after five years of often acrimonious debate within the order and between some top members of the old guard and the Vatican over a new constitution that some feared would weaken its rule. The group, whose official name is the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, was founded in Jerusalem nearly 1,000 years ago to provide medical assistance to pilgrims to the Holy Land. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up It now has a multimillion-dollar budget, 13,500 members, 95,000 volunteers and 52,000 medical staff who run refugee camps, drug treatment centers, disaster relief programs and clinics around the world. The battalion was very active in helping Ukrainian refugees and war victims. It has no real territory apart from a palace and offices in Rome and a fortress in Malta, but is recognized as a sovereign entity with its own passports and license plates. It has diplomatic relations with 110 states and permanent observer status at the United Nations, allowing it to act as a neutral party in aid efforts in war zones. Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, the pope’s special representative to the order, told reporters at a briefing along with some members of the interim government that the order’s new constitution would not weaken its international dominance. But as a religious order, it should remain under the auspices of the Vatican, said Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a member of the working group that prepared the new constitution approved by the Pope on Saturday. Francis called an extraordinary general chapter for January 25 to begin the process of electing a new Grand Master. The last, the Italian Giacomo Dalla Torre, died in April. “We hope this will restore unity to the order and increase its ability to serve the poor and the sick,” Tomasi said. Tomasi and Lieutenant Grand Master, Canadian John Dunlap, will lead the team in the general chapter. A new Grand Master is expected to be elected by March, officials said. Under the previous constitution, leading Knights and the Grand Master had to be of noble birth, which reformers said precluded almost all but Europeans from serving in top roles. The new constitution abolishes the rule of nobility as well as the tradition of Grand Masters being elected for life. “It will be more democratic. The civility issue has now become secondary,” Tomasi said. Future Grand Masters will be elected for 10-year terms, renewable only once, and must step down at age 85. Reformers, backed by the Vatican, had called for a more transparent government that would bring in fresh blood and allow the order to better respond to the massive growth it has seen in recent years. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by Louise Heavens Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
