Last weekend, Pope Francis issued a new constitution for the Order of Malta, appointing a provisional Sovereign Council as part of an ongoing renewal process, ending years of dispute with the Order about its sovereignty. The Decree established the new Constitutional Charter, revoked the High Offices, and dissolved the Sovereign Council, while calling for an Extraordinary Chapter General in 2023. 

Although the Order is recognised as a sovereign entity with its own passports, the Pope said the prerogatives of the Order do not constitute the set of powers and prerogatives proper to sovereign entities “in the full sense of the word,” as stipulated in the 1953 ruling issued by the Tribunal of Cardinals. As a religious order, therefore, it “depends in its various forms, on the Holy See.” This, despite the fact nearly all its activities are carried out by lay members.

This sovereignty issue has been a matter of dispute for years, given that the Order’s old constitution separated it from the oversight of any Vatican department. Now of course Pope Francis has acted to bring about a new constitution. But this could have implications for the Holy See itself, opening up the possibility of Italy muscling in on Vatican City’s sovereign status.

Now control will be vested in the clergy, under the direct authority of the Pope. But how does this move square with the Pope’s Synod on Synodality and drive to engage the lay community? This is the same Pope who recently released a new constitution – Praedicate Evangelium – which affirms “the power of governance” in the Roman Curia “does not come from the sacrament of [Holy] Orders” but from the “canonical mission” given by the Pope. 

In basic terms, this means lay people can become a prefect or secretary of dicasteries and other offices of the Curia.  It should be said that the question of whether governance comes from ordination or the canonical mission was discussed at the Second Vatican Council. Still, the Pope’s recent move was seen as a major change and chimes with the thinking of progressives, such as the Synodal Path in Germany, which wants to see a greater role for lay Catholics in pastoral and administrative areas.

That may be going too far for the Pope, but certainly the Synod on Synodality points to a desire for greater engagement of laypeople, even if the numbers who participated are somewhat underwhelming. Aside then from the implications for the Vatican of encroaching on the sovereignty of the Order of Malta, the move may appear to contradict the spirit of synodality itself.

The Pope’s clericalist move with the Knights proposes a transfer of power from the tens of thousands of laypeople to under fifty professed members, at the same time as Francis is proposing to open up offices to laypeople and expand their participation in the life of the Church. Meanwhile, the possibility is increased of tensions with Italy and greater scrutiny of Vatican finances.

Of course, tensions between Pope Francis and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke – a possible dark horse candidate for the papacy and patron of the Order – may have catalysed much of this saga. This would not be the first time the Pope had intervened against a perceived critic, having done so with Cardinal Robert Sarah when the latter invited priests to celebrate Mass facing east. 

Crucially, could reforms to the Order all be part of the Pontiff’s legacy-building in the run-up to 2023 and the completion of the Synod of Synodality, at which time the Holy Father may see fit to announce a long-predicted retirement? Who knows? But the tension between clericalism and synodality is now visible for all to see.

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