For anyone familiar with the Vatican over a long
stretch of time, there are a couple of truly juicy ironies involved in
its current probe of the Knights of Malta, and understanding those
ironies may help explain both the defiant reaction the Knights have
displayed publicly and the vertigo they may be feeling privately.
ROME - Just to be clear from the beginning, I have no insider
information regarding the news now making the rounds about the Knights
of Malta, either in terms of the factors that led to the ouster of
Albrecht von Boeselager, the group’s chancellor, or Pope Francis’s
decision to create a committee to look into the situation.