A senior member of a lay Catholic order whose dismissal prompted a public spate involving Pope Francis has been reinstated.
Albrecht von Boeselager was ousted from his post as grand chancellor at the Knights of Malta after it emerged a condom distribution programme was held in Myanmar under his watch.
Mr Boeselager protested at being sacked by the Knight of Malta's grandmaster, Matthew Festing (pictured above), and argued he had put a stop to the programme as soon as it came to his attention.
The Catholic Church bans the use of contraception but the Pope opened an investigation into Mr Boeselager's dismissal earlier this week.
Mr Festing refused to cooperate with the papal commission investigating his decision to suspend Mr Boeselager and last week offered his resignation.
Defending his refusal to cooperate with the papal commission, Mr Festing cited the Knights of Malta's status as a sovereign entity.
The leadership of the Knights of Malta order take an oath of obedience to the pope.
Mr Boeselager has had all disciplinary procedures against him dropped.
A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference
In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.
Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.
For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.
Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.
Support Us
