Knights Of Malta - Season 2

Knights of Malta ended Season 1 with a cliffhanger: who will be the next Grand Master after Fra' Matthew Festing was supposedly ousted by Bergolio?

The start of Season 2 continues to keep watchers in suspense.  Instead of electing a permanent leader to replace Fra' Matthew Festing, who could still return to the cast since he had not been officially been terminated and replaced, the Knights of Malta "[had] elected Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre with the title of lieutenant of the grand master. He most recently has been the grand prior in charge of the order's Rome chapter. The election was necessary after the former Grand Master of the order, Fra' Matthew Festing was forced to resign after a dispute with Pope Francis over the attempted ouster of an official of the order." [1]

The "lieutenant of the grand master" is not the Grand Master. Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing who stepped down (in this blogger's opinion) still holds the title of Grand Master, or more accurately Emeritus Grand Master, just as the pope who resigned is still the Pope, but he is now Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.  There does not seem to be a rule against Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI "un-resigning" himself, nor does there seem to be any precedent stating that a previous Grand Master of the Knights of Malta who voluntarily departed could not be restored to his post.

In this blogger's opinion, the Knights of Malta on Saturday, May 6, 2017, voted not for a person to lead the Order but instead had adopted a "wait and see" approach to the problem, one they chose not to solve but to set aside.  This could not have been the outcome that pleased Bergolio.  In a way, it was a slap in the face, telling Bergolio that the Order still owns its sovereignty, and the fact that Fra' Matthew Festing personally agreed to step down did not mean that the Order had deemed it to be a formal resignation.

At this point, Bergolio has not won, and Fra' Matthew Festing's absence from the Order of Malta has not been made permanent.  The only winner here is the Order of Malta, with its sovereignty still very much intact.  The other character that was pivotal in bringing Season 1 to a close, Albrecht Von Boeselager, seems to have no significant role to play at the beginning of Season 2, which could also indicate that the curtain had closed on Bergolio's histrionics that sent political shock waves through the Order of Malta.

Could an observer looking at the Catholic Church that was instituted by Christ and the Christians that Christ had intended to carry on His work ever imagine all the power politics that are being played by those who allegedly are true followers of Christ?  If it could not have been imagined, then the imagination must rid itself of innocence and purity and substitute in their places iniquity and pride.  Only then, could one imagine what could actually be taking place behind the scenes at the Vatican.


[1] https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/04/29/knights-malta-vote-new-leader-papal-dispute/