Relegation: PM’s meeting with Pope Francis no longer an official visit - Vatican sources

Rachel Attard

Thursday, 5 December 2019, 15:38

Last update: about 13 hours ago

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s visit to the Vatican “is no longer an official visit”, Vatican sources have told The Malta Independent.

In fact, the PM will only have a private audience with the Pope and will not be accompanied by Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela. It is customary for Foreign Affairs Ministers to accompany their PMs on state visits.

The sources said the media will also not be allowed to cover the audience. Muscat is expected to be accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their children.

“This is no longer an official visit. Not even the Ambassador can be there”, the source said. “There will be no meeting with the Vatican Foreign Minister either.”



Foreign Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela will not attend the private audience with the Prime Minister

Pressure has been mounting on Pope Francis not to meet Muscat, as the Maltese government sinks deeper into the scandal surrounding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. A petition urging people to write to Pope Francis, asking him not to meet Muscat, has been doing the rounds on social media. On Wednesday, a group of 22 academics urged the Pope not to receive the outgoing Prime Minister and to distance himself from this "propaganda exercise." The letter was also sent to the Apostolic Nuncio in Malta.

This newsroom also sent questions to the Vatican and the Apostolic Nuncio last Monday. This newsroom was told that His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio (pictured below) "cannot respond to the numerous requests that come from the newspapers". "Eventually you can contact the Holy See Press Office", the newsroom was told.



In the meantime, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has also cancelled a lunch meeting he had scheduled with Muscat on Friday.

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Reflections on the Maltese EU Presidency

Europe Infos - christian perspectives on the EU

Newsletter monthly of Comece and the Jesult European Office - eleven issues per year.

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Jesuit European Social Centre

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Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union offers the Church the opportunity to revitalize faith in the European project, says the Archbishop of Malta Charles J. Scicluna.

The Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union takes place in very challenging times for the Union. Unfolding events could possibly change the Presidency’s planned tempo and dynamics.



EU leaders meeting in Bratislava on 16 September 2016 agreed to reconvene in Malta in the beginning of this year and to use the March 2017 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties, when the Heads of Government meet again in Rome, to set out orientations for the EU’s common future. Malta should take the opportunity to give a strong impetus to revitalise faith in the European Project.



The Catholic Church and European Christian Churches (CEC) urge the EU to return to the values of the EU founding fathers by solving common problems together building on their shared history, and to consider the European project as more than just a common market.



The single market is essential for economic growth. However, social inclusion should remain central to economic growth.



Many children in Europe live in poverty and young people are affected by high unemployment rates. There are also issues with long-term unemployment and workers who suffer deprivation from in-work poverty and precarious working conditions. The EU needs to act quickly to rescue the poor and the weak.



All efforts should include family-friendly measures. The family is the heart of the “culture of life”.



Energy security and climate change are closely related issues and concern the rights of present and future generations. Meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change provides a strong opportunity for integrating security of energy supply and accessibility, and sustainability.



The Maltese Presidency needs to urge all EU Member States to maintain the course towards achieving the post-2020 national climate action plans (INDCs) and to keep up the momentum of COP 21 and COP 22. The EU needs to maintain global leadership on climate change.



Malta should also consider promoting the proposal put forward by the European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) to the European Commission for setting up within its institutions an ‘ombudsperson’ structure to protect the interests of future generations.



The proposed reforms to the European Union’s Common Asylum System fall short of ensuring a fair, transparent and efficient asylum system based on high protection standards. Burden-sharing, or “responsibility sharing”, and reform to the Dublin Regulation are the two most important issues which have divided the EU and which exert most pressure on the Maltese presidency.



The Church in Malta hopes that the Maltese EU Presidency will continue to consolidate and implement the values of human dignity, democracy, human rights, justice, solidarity and the rule of law, cherished by the founding fathers of the European Union, in the areas of the six priorities adopted for its Presidency: migration, security, the single market, social inclusion, neighbourhood policy and the maritime sector.

+ Charles J. Scicluna

Archbishop of Malta

Download the Reflections of the Church in Malta on Malta’s EU Presidency

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Knights to conquer New York Times

Sunday, August 31, 2014, 00:01 by
Victor Calleja




Steve Berry


Some say we all have a story to tell – something deep inside us which only needs a tap and it will magically flow out.

Steve Berry had more than one story embedded inside him and, once he managed to tap them out, they flowed on and on.

And people flocked to read his stories – he’s sold more than 18 million copies – all riveting, all page-turners, nearly all bestsellers.

Berry was on the island to write a book about the Knights of Malta. I met him at the Westin Dragonara, St Julian’s, where he was staying while he researched the knights, their history, their ways and how they have changed throughout the centuries.

The novel, which will feature Malta in a big way, will be a modern-day yarn featuring Cotton Malone.

Malone is a former Justice Department operative who can’t stay out of trouble. In various Steve Berry bestsellers Cotton Malone has criss-crossed the globe on electrifying quests.

With the smart and capable Cassiopeia Vitt by his side, Malone faces down the world’s deadliest threats – unravel-ling, along the way, some of history’s most legendary and iconic mysteries.

With his last seven suspense thrillers, Berry has managed to get into the prestigious New York Times bestsellers list.

Actually, if you ask people in the know, this is beyond prestigious –it is the bar by which publishers and anyone involved in the book trade gauge the success, or otherwise, of authors.

While working as a trial lawyer – with all its stress and tough demands – he realised he had innervoices crying out to get on with it and write thrillers.

Finally, after 85 rejections, a publisher accepted a book of his

So he researched and scribbled away in his spare time, penning suspense thrillers which he finalised and sent to publishers.

However, he kept receiving those horrid slips which no author likes to even think of ­– rejection slips. He plodded on and persisted in writing – and sending off – his manuscripts. But that wasn’t enough and he also sought office as one of the county commissioners of Camden in Georgia.

Berry was elected and held office for 14 years, one of five who ran the county which is larger than Malta, as Camden is 35 miles long (Malta is approx. 19 miles) although it only has a population of 50,000.

While all this was going on he was coming up with yarns that make you want to turn the page quicker than you can blink but which required a lot of planning, research time and writing.

Finally, after 85 rejections, a publisher accepted a book of his, The Amber Room, along with two others and success was immediate.

Top books like The Templar Legacy and The Lincoln Myth followed and Berry has had a spiralling of bigger successes.

The world had changed and suspense thrillers were then back in fashion after losing their stellar quality for publishers when the Cold War had ended.

The Da Vinci Code broke new ground and publishers realised this genre of books, which Berry was writing even before Dan Brown had made a name for himself, were hot property and millions of them could be sold.

And hugely sold they were. Berry left his law practice and now concentrates only on writing and churning out good plots.

While discussing plots, books, voices and super success, I ask Berry rather conspiratorially – trying hard to sound like one of his books’ characters – if there is anything wrong with Malta. He bellows a loud “Yes!” in his Georgia twang, as he laughs away.

“There’s one big problem with this country and that is that my time here is limited. I’m loving it here. The level of hospitality at the hotel and throughout Malta is really high. Malta is truly blessed with grand vistas and remarkable heritage and architecture. The story of the knights will be fun to plan and write,” Berry says.

The book is due out in 2018 and Berry tells me he would just love to see its international launch with Fort St Angelo as a backdrop. “It would be just magic,” says Berry, who is also a founder member of the 2,600-member International Thriller Writers.

Malone, the modern-day protagonist of Berry’s latest thrillers, is, however, rather destructive and will surely have a few difficult escapades in Malta and Gozo.

Some places here on the island will witness carnage and mayhem. “Thankfully,” Berry adds, “all this will happen in fiction so Malta’s palaces and art will remain intact and impressive even after the book is finalised.”

 

 

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An island fit for a Duchess! How stunning Malta is gearing up to welcome Kate on her first solo foreign tour

Former British colony is set to get a planet-sized chunk of attention

The trip will be Kate's first official overseas trip without Prince William
Duchess will represent the Queen on the official visit later this month
Tour will celebrate 50th anniversary of Maltese independence

By Harry Mount for MailOnline

Published: 05:23 EST, 1 September 2014 | Updated: 09:58 EST, 1 September 2014


Malta is a small island - and Valletta is the smallest capital in the EU. But now the former British colony is getting a planet-sized chunk of attention.

Later this month, the Duchess of Cambridge will represent the Queen on her first official overseas trip without Prince William (or Prince George) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Maltese independence.

Already the island has gone Kate-crazy. People could talk of little else as I travelled around Malta and its neighbour, Gozo.



In the spotlight: The Duchess of Cambridge will visit Malta’s pretty capital, Valletta





Red letter day: The Duchess will feel at home on Malta, where 150 years of British rule have left their mark




Leaving the family behind: Kate and William took Prince George to New Zealand and Australia in July but this time the Duchess will travel solo

As if that wasn't enough, Brangelina - the newly wed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - have been in Gozo filming By The Sea, written by Jolie. The couple took over the secluded pebble beach of Mgarr ix-Xini.

Brangelina - the newly wed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - have been in Gozo filming By The Sea, written by Jolie. The couple took over the secluded pebble beach of Mgarr ix-Xini.



The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Solomon Islands as part of a Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012




Kate and William received a warm welcome when they visited a primary school in the Solomon Islands in 2012



Short hop: A 25-minute ferry takes passengers across the channel that separates the islands

The Duchess will feel at home on Malta, where 150 years of British rule have left their mark. The Maltese drive on the left, British phone and post boxes are everywhere, there's even a M&S in Valletta - and they still use three-pin electric plugs.

What's more, Malta has been held in great affection by the Queen for nearly 70 years. Between 1949 and 1951, as Princess Elizabeth, she lived just outside Valletta, when Prince Philip was stationed there as a naval officer.

Kate recently cut the ribbon to start English leg of Tour De...




Star attraction: Newly weds Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie took over the pebble beach of Mgarr ix-Xini in Gozo



Secluded spot: Brad and Angelina were in Gozo filming By The Sea, which was written by Jolie



Angelina travelled to Malta ahead of Brad, who was finishing some promotion work for his upcoming film, Fury

The links were strengthened during the war when the island came under Luftwaffe bombardment. It held out and was awarded the George Cross by George VI as a result.

It's a pity the Duchess will be there for only two days - there's so much to see on these small, but fascinating islands.

Malta is by far the larger of the two and the more crowded, while Gozo is the deserted, rural cousin. Do take the regular 25-minute ferry across the channel that separates the islands.

Both are so rich in history that I swam off the golden-red sands of Ramla Bay, on northern Gozo, without realising its significance. Only later did I discover this was the beach where Odysseus, hero of Homer's Odyssey, was washed up, clinging on to a timber, the last fragment of his shipwrecked boat.

He was given refuge in a nearby cave by Calypso, a drop-dead gorgeous nymph. He promptly hopped into bed with her. Calypso's Cave, on the hill overlooking the bay, was depressingly short on attractive nymphs.

Back on Malta, Valletta was a delight. It's only a three-hour flight from London, but it feels tropical: a former British colony meets Italy meets Arab Africa. Sicily is only 50 miles north; Tunisia 176 miles west.



Legendary beach: Odysseus, hero of Homer's Odyssey, was washed up on the golden-red sands of Ramla Bay



Ornate: St John's Co-Cathedral in Valetta was built by the Knights of Malta from 1573



All that glitters: St John's Co-Cathedral is a blingy series of gilded rooms, studded with baroque monuments

The city is built on a grid, like an early Manhattan, but there are no skyscrapers and all but essential traffic is banned.

At its heart is St John's Co-Cathedral, built by the Knights of Malta from 1573. The knights — from Italy, Provence, Auvergne and Aragon - competed to produce the most ornate chapels. The result is a blingy series of gilded rooms, studded with baroque monuments.

The generous knights gave two Caravaggios, of St Jerome and The Beheading Of John The Baptist, to the cathedral. Both are still there.

As a crucial naval port, Valletta once had a rackety side, concentrated on Strait Street, in the heart of the city. Nicknamed 'the Gut' by heavy drinking sailors, it was once thick with brothels, bars and seedy lodging houses.




Charming: For a grander experience of Malta, stay at the Phoenicia, which the Queen and Prince Philip visited for naval parties when they lived on Malta



Long friendship: The Queen is pictured on a state visit to Malta in 2005

These days, the Gut has cleaned up its act - I ate well at Palazzo Preca, a 16th-century palace at 54 Strait Street, run by the pretty, young Preca sisters, Ramona and Roberta.

For a grander experience of Malta, stay at the Phoenicia, which the Queen and Prince Philip visited for naval parties when they lived on Malta. It has all the charms of a grand colonial hotel — along with free wi-fi and excellent service.

I can understand how Odysseus couldn't tear himself away from Malta and Gozo for seven years. You might find it just as difficult to leave.


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Hospital’s 150-year relationship with Order of Malta ‘to alter’

Latest News


By Staff Reporter on Wednesday, 9 April 2014


In This Article British Association of the Order of Malta, Charity Commission, Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, Order of Malta

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The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in St John's Wood, north London (PA)

The relationship between the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in London and the Order of Malta “is likely to alter”, the order has said.

In a statement, the order said: “Following an extraordinary general meeting on March 31 at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in north London (the Company) to change the Company’s articles of association, a special resolution was passed, by a vote of the majority, rescinding the right of the British Association of the Order of Malta to nominate members to the Board and to the Company.

“As a result, the relationship of the British Association of the Order of Malta with the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in north London is likely to alter. The changes, if implemented in the hospital’s Scheme, will require the approval of the Charity Commission.

“In line with its 900-year old commitment to the poor and the sick, the order currently runs inner-city soup kitchens and 78 care homes in England providing an array of services for the elderly.”

The order’s relationship with the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, known informally as “John and Lizzie’s”, dates back to the hospital’s foundation in 1856.

A spokesman for the hospital declined to comment.


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Order of Malta's interfaith aid to refugees

Charity & Solidarity 

2013-09-23 12:50:32

(Vatican Radio) As refugees continue to flee from Syria into Lebanon and other neighbouring countries, aid agencies and organisations on the ground are working hard to deliver medical assistance and humanitarian support.

The Sovereign Order of Malta is among the organisations working in Lebanon, where it runs medical centres open both to local residents and to refugees. It works closely with the Imam al Sadr Foundation in Lebanon, to provide humanitarian aid through interreligious collaboration. It also works closely with the International Blue Crescent Foundation in Syria, to deliver emergency aid in Damascus and Aleppo.

Giulia Cirillo spoke to Marianna Balfour, Press Officer of the Sovereign Order of Malta, about her recent visit to the Khaldieh medical centre, on the border between Lebanon and Syria.


Listen to Giulia Cirillo’s interview with Marianna Balfour:


“The humanitarian emergency has increased immensely over the last few months, in particular because there are some new epidemies, due to the terrible hygienic conditions in which the refugees live. […] The Khaldieh centre is in northern Lebanon, it’s approximately 30/40kms away from the border with Syria. The kind of assistance it offers ranges from cardiology to gynecology, endocrinology, and so forth. […] It’s a very remote area, it’s a very rural area with very few services. The Sovereign Order of Malta with this Khaldieh centre carries out a very important task because it also carries out, for example, vaccination campaigns. […] It distributes sanitary kits, so shampoo, detergents, nappies for children, obviously water for powder milk – a lot of women have very small children, and because they’re undernourished they can’t feed them personally, so they have to give them processed milk.”

Source::http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/09/23/order_of_maltas_interfaith_aid_to_refugees/en1-730936
of the Vatican Radio website

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The West is not Judeo-Christian; it is Judeo-Catholic

Tuesday

12 Apr 2011

THE WEST IS NOT JUDEO CHRISTIAN;  IT IS JUDEO CATHOLIC…

Issue on Whether Knights of Malta is a Christian or Catholic Order

Do not be deceived a mango seed produces mango fruits.The so-called Knights that were set up for the Catholic church remain the property of the Catholic church no matter what Rick Joyner says about Knights of Malta in his defence of being part of the group he has called it a Christian Order .

WRONG:  IT IS A CATHOLIC ORDER.  Rick Joyner is not Catholic, he is an Evangelical ..  Welcome to the world, the Evangelical Church is part of Pax Romana by having pastors that are slaves to Rome.

RICK JOYNER CALLS CATHOLIC ORDER KNIGHTS OF MALTA A CHRISTIAN ORDER ?? WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE ? ..PHOTO OF Pastor Rick Joyner of Morning STar MInistries wearing Knights of Mlata regalia...  courtesy discerning the world blog

Even Presidents are Knights of the POPE..Former President Thabo Mbeki is a Knight of Malta... courtesy truthseeker2473.blogspot.com

Mandela is also a Knight of Malta, A Slave of Papal Rome..  courtesy truthseeker2473.blogspot.com

Ladies are also subject to Rome, Queen Elizabeth a Dame of Malta ..  courtesy vaticanassassins

JUDEO CHRISTIAN IS FALSE ; JUDEO CATHOLIC IS TRUE

Actually Western Christians have been poisoned by many pastors into believing that the Western Lifestyle or worldview is Judeo Christian. WRONG.

Western Culture and system is Judeo-Catholic .  What they did is actually replacement theology,  politics and economics (copied and pasted and edited the Torah) .The system of government in the Old Testament was reconstructed and modified with European ideas, and then baptized it as Judeo-Christian when it was Catholic Dogma, and not the Bible that inspired Christian Europe; and is the foundation of Christian Europe’s theology minus Russian states

Well, they called it Judeo-Christian because it assumed that Christianity just borrowed some Old Testament features but borrowed New Testament features and on this basis the West was created.

Yet, the West (Europe ) before Christianity was as pagan as Africa ! They worshiped idols like the Incas.

So, Historians wrongly assert that the West became Judeo-Christian.  NO, it became Judeo-Catholic because it was Roman Catholic dogma that dominated Europe and not Sound Doctrine from the Bible.

So, beware of Pastors that are calling the West back to Judeo-Christian roots . YOU ARE GOING BACK TO ROME IF YOU HEAD THAT WAY.

IF THE WEST HAS JUDEO-CHRISTIAN ROOTS….

1. It would NOT celebrate Easter and Christmas, Sunday because these are PAGAN HOLYDAYS, not CHRISTIAN OR JUDEO for that matter.

2.  It would not have Rome as the Capital of its Judeo-Christianity… but it is, and guess what? The Pope is the PATRIARCH OF THE WEST… that is one of his official of titles.

3. THE WESTERN LEADERSHIP ( HITLER INCLUDED) WOULD NOT HAVE MURDERED JEWS IN THE NAME OF CHRISTIANITY, but they did because at that time they did not consider themselves Judeo-Christian, but Christians.

Judeo-Christian is a false construct that is being used to create war amongst Muslims and Christians to bring about their new world religion out of chaos.  BEWARE. IT IS JUDEO CATHOLIC.  THEREFORE, KNIGHTS OF MALTA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN ORDER, BUT A CATHOLIC ORDER..  KNIGHTS OF THE POPE.

God bless you

Arthur Owiti

Source

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Vatican celebrates Knights of Malta's 900 years

7:55a.m. EST February 9, 2013


(Photo: AP)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Knights of Malta, one of the most peculiar organizations in the world, marked its 900th birthday Saturday with a colorful procession through St. Peter's Square, a Mass in the basilica and an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, himself a member of the onetime chivalrous order drawn from Europe's nobility.

The Knights are at once a Roman Catholic religious order, an aid group that runs soup kitchens, hospitals and ambulance services around the globe, and a sovereign entity that prints its own passports and enjoys diplomatic relations with 104 countries — yet has no country to call its own.

Some 4,000 people — volunteers in neon orange civil protection suits, children in red berets and members each draped in a black cloak with a white, eight-pointed Maltese Cross on the front — processed through St. Peter's Square and into the basilica for the Mass marking the 900th anniversary of the order's recognition by the Holy See.

After the Mass, which was celebrated by the Vatican No. 2, Benedict came to the basilica for an audience during which he thanked the order for its service and urged it to continue providing health care for the world's neediest while staying true to its Christian ideals.

The order's work, he said, "is not mere philanthropy but an effective expression and a living testimony of evangelical love."

The order traces its history to an 11th century infirmary in Jerusalem set up by a monk to care for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. During the Crusades, as the order's humanitarian efforts spread, it took on a military role to protect pilgrims and Christendom as a whole from Muslim attacks. In February 1113 Pope Paschal II recognized the order with a papal bull establishing its sovereign status by saying it was independent of both lay and other religious authorities.

During its heyday, would-be members had to prove nobility through all eight great-grandparents. Such requirements are now largely relaxed except in some European countries. Still, the order's members are drawn from some of the world's wealthiest Catholics, who fund its health clinics, homeless shelters and old folks' homes in 120 countries and rally for special appeals when disasters strike.

Sixty of the 13,500 members are so-called "professed knights," who make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and live like monks, albeit without being ordained priests.

The order's international legal status is entirely unique, a sovereign entity that prints its own stamps, coins, license plates and passports, yet has no territory over which it rules. Its forces once occupied Cyprus, Rhodes and Malta, but Napoleon expelled the order from Malta in 1798, depriving it of the final patch of land it ruled.

Nevertheless, the order still enjoys many of the trappings of a small country: U.N. observer status and diplomatic relations with 104 countries, most of them in the developing world where such ties can smooth the delivery of humanitarian aid. But the United States, for one, has no relations, precisely because it's a stateless state.

In his speech Saturday, Benedict affirmed the sovereign status that the order enjoys. He acknowledged its peculiar nature, saying the order's guiding spirit "aims not to exercise power and influence of a worldly character, but in complete freedom to accomplish its own mission for the integral good of man, spirit and body ... with special regard for those whose need of hope and love is greater."

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Who Are the Knights of Malta -- and What Do They Want?

They're a secretive religious order with a long and bloody history and unique status under international law, but that doesn't mean they run the world.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JANUARY 19, 2011

In a speech in Doha on Monday, veteran New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that the U.S. military's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) had been infiltrated by Christian fanatics who see themselves as modern-day Crusaders and aim to "change mosques into cathedrals." In particular, he alleged that former JSOC head Gen. Stanley McChrystal -- later U.S. commander in Afghanistan -- and his successor, Vice Adm. William McRaven, as well as many other senior leaders of the command, are "are all members of, or at least supporters of, Knights of Malta." What was he talking about?

Not exactly clear. There's not much evidence to suggest that the Knights of Malta are the secretive cabal of anti-Muslim fundamentalists that Hersh described. (For the record, when contacted by Foreign Policy, McChrystal said that he is not a member.) But they are certainly an anomalous presence in international politics and have provoked their share of conspiracy theories over the years.

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta is a Roman Catholic organization based in Rome with around 13,000 members worldwide. The group wasfounded in 1048 by Amalfian merchants in Jerusalem as a monastic order that ran a hospital to tend to Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. At the height of its power, the order was also tasked by Rome with the additional military function of defending Christians from the local Muslim population. The Knights of St. John were just one of a number of Christian military orders founded during this period -- including the fabled but now defunct Knights of Templar.

When the Sultan of Egypt retook Jerusalem in 1291, the Knights of St. John went into exile, settling in Rhodes 20 years later. In 1523 they were forced from Rhodes by the Sultan's forces and settled in Malta, which they ruled until they were dislodged by Napoleon's army in 1798. The order settled in Rome in the mid-19th century, where it remains to this day.

Despite its name, the Knights haven't had any military function since leaving Malta. Instead, the order has gone back to its charitable roots by sponsoring medical missions in more than 120 countries.

When the order was founded, knights were expected to take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience upon joining. Nowadays, obedience is enough. Membership is still by invitation only, but you no longer have to be a member of the nobility. In recent years, the organization has becomeincreasingly American in membership. The leader of the order, referred to as the prince and grand master, is elected for life in a secret conclave and must be approved by the pope.

Despite having no fixed territory besides its headquarters building in Rome, the order is considered a sovereign entity under international law. It prints its own postage stamps and coins -- though these are mostly for novelty value -- and enjoys observer status at the United Nations, which classifies itas a nonstate entity like the Red Cross. The Knights maintain diplomatic relations with 104 countries. The order does not have official relations with the United States, though it has offices in New York, for the United Nations delegation, and Washington, for its representation at the Inter-American Development Bank.

Because of its secretive proceedings, unique political status, and association with the Crusades, the order has been a popular target for conspiracy theorists. Alleged members have includedformer CIA Directors William Casey and John McCone, Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca, and GOP fixture Pat Buchanan, though none have ever acknowledged membership. Various theories have tied the Knights to crimes including the Kennedy assassination and spreading the AIDS virusthrough its clinics in Africa.

In 2006, a newspaper article in the United Arab Emirates claimed that the Knights were directly influencing U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, reprising their role in the Crusades. Following the article, Islamist websites in Egypt urged followers to attack the order's embassy in Cairo, forcing the organization to issue a statement denying any military role.

To be fair, the Knights have been involved in their fair share of political intrigues. In 1988, the charge d'affaires at the order's embassy in Havana confessed to being a double agent, reporting to both the CIA and Cuban intelligence. According to journalist Jeremy Scahill's book Blackwater,Joseph Schmitz, a former executive at the company who also served as inspector general for the U.S. Department of Defense, boasted of his membership in the Knights in his official biography. The defense contractor now known as Xe's chief executive, Erik Prince, reportedly espousedChristian supremacist beliefs, and its contractors in Iraq used codes and insignia based on the order's medieval compatriots, the Knights of the Templar. However, there's no evidence to suggest the Knights of Malta had any direct influence over the company.

So while the group is, for the most part, a charitable organization with little resemblance to the sinister portrait painted by its detractors, an image-makeover might be in order as it finishes off its 10th century.

Source

Initial Membership List of the Knights of Malta*

Compiled by Eric Samuelson, J.D.

Edward Fenech Adami
Drolor Bosso Adamti
General Allavena
George W. Anderson
James Jesus Angelton
Samuel Alito
Julian Allason
Joe M. Allbaugh
Roberto Alejos Arzu
Silvio Berlusconi
Grandmaster, Prince Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie (cousin of QEII) deceased.
(Former Prime Minister) Tony Blair
Michael Bloomberg
Elmer Bobst
Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs (Dame Lindy Boggs)
Geoffrey T. Boisi
John Robert Bolton
Charles Joseph Bonaparte
Prince Valerio Borghese
Gen. William Boykin
Dr. Barry Bradley
Nicholas Brady
Joseph Brennan
Monsignor Mario Brini
Pat Buchanan
James Buckley
William F. Buckley, Jr.
George H.W Bush
George W. Bush
Jeb Bush
Precott Bush, Jr.
Frank Capra
(King) Juan Carlos
Frank Charles Carlucci III
William Casey
Michael Chertoff
Gustavo Cisneros
(President) Bill Clinton
(Cardinal) Terence Cooke
Gerald Coughlin
(Senator) John Danforth
John J. DeGioia
Cartha DeLoach
Giscard d'Estaing
Giulliano di Bernardo
Bill Donovan
Allen Dulles
Avery Dulles
(Archbishop) Edward Egan
(Count) Franz Egon
Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr.
Noreen Falcone
John A. Farrell
Matthew Festing (79th Grand Master)
Edwin J. Feulner
Francis D. Flanagan
Raymond Flynn
Adrian Fortescue (16th century)
John C. Gannon
Licio Gelli
Reinhard Gehlen
Burton Gerber
Rudy Giuliani
Emilio T. González
Dr. Lawrence Gonzi
Sir John Gorman CVO
Thomas K. Gorman
J. Peter Grace
Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank
Gen. Alexander Haig
Cyril Hamilton
Otto von Hapsburg
William Randolph Hearst
Edward L. Hennessy, Jr.
(Baron) Conrad Hilton
Heinrich Himmler
Richard Holbrooke
J. Edgar Hoover
Leonard G. Horowitz
Daniel Imperato
Lee Iococca
Carl Nicholas Karcher
Francis L. Kellogg
Joseph Kennedy
(Senator) Ted Kennedy
Henry A. Kissinger
Bowie Kuhn
Cardinal Pio Laghi
Cathy L. Lanier
Joseph P. Larkin
Louis Lehrman
Leonard Leo
General de Lorenzo
Clara Booth Luce (Dame)
Henry Luce
Thabo Mbeki
Angus Daniel McDonald
George MacDonald
Nelson Mandela
Avro Manhattan
Alexandre de Marenches
John McCone
Thomas Melady
Sir Stewart Menzies
(Prince) Angelo di Mojana
Thomas S. Monaghan
Lord Christopher Walter Monckton
Rupert Murdoch
Robert James "Jim" Nicholson
Charles G. Noska, Sr.
Oliver North
Joseph A. O'Hare
Francis (Frank) V. Ortiz
Thomas 'Tip' O'Neill
George Pataki
Cardinal Patronus
Fra Giancarlo Pallavicini
Fra Hubert Pallavicini
Franz von Papen
Baron Luigi Parrilli
Juan Peron
Peter G. Peterson
Harold A.R. 'Kim' Philby
Augusto Pinochet
Eric Prince
John Francis Queeny
John J. Raskob
(President) Ronald E. Reagan
John Charles Reynolds
George Rocca
Nelson Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
Francis Rooney
Rick Santorum
General Giuseppe Santovito
Antonin Scalia
Walter Schellenburg
Phyllis Schlafly (Dame)
John E Schmitz
Joseph Edward Schmitz (Blackwater)
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Frank Shakespeare
Martin F. Shea
Clay Shaw
William Edward Simon Jr.
Jennifer Sims
Frank Sinatra
Frederick W. Smith
Cardinal Francis Spellman
Francix X. Stankard
Steve Stavros
Myron Taylor
George Tenet
Fritz Thyssen
Richard Torrenzano
Admiral Giovanni Torrinsi
(Prince) Anton Turkul
Albrecht von Boeselager
Winfried Henckel von Donnersmark
Thomas Von Essen
Amschel Mayer von Rothschild
Robert Ferdinand Wagner, Jr
Kurt Waldheim
General Vernon A. Walters
Col. Albert J. Wetzel
Canon Edward West
Gen. William Westmoreland
Gen. Charles A. Willoughby
William Wilson
Robert Zoellick
Gen. Anthony Zinni

Additions or corrections welcomed.

The Oath of the Knights of Malta

http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/

http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/kmlst1.htm

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