Knights of Malta fear direct Vatican attack on sovereignty (Pillar)

Leaders of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta are voicing fears of a direct attack by the Vatican against their sovereign status, after the Pope’s appointed delegate barred a representative for the Order from discussions of a new constitution for the group.

Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, who has been given authority by Pope Francis to reform the Order’s statutes, refused to allow Marwan Sehnaoui onto a committee drafting the new constitution. Sehnaoui had been named by Albrecht Von Boeselager, the Order’s grand chancellor, after Von Boselager removed himself from the process, saying that he saw threats to the ancient group’s sovereignty.