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(Vatican Radio) The Sovereign Order of Malta’s Sovereign Council on Saturday accepted the resignation of Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing.

A press release says that Fra’ Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein assumes the office of Lieutenant ad interim, and  Albrecht Boeselager resumes his office as Grand Chancellor

Please find the Sovereign Order of Malta’s official press release below:

The Sovereign Council, the government of the Sovereign Order of Malta, met this afternoon in the Magistral Palace in Rome. On the agenda was the resignation from Office of Grand Master presented by Fra’ Matthew Festing, in accordance with article 16 of the Constitution of the Order of Malta. The Sovereign Council accepted his resignation from office. 
Conforming to the Constitution, the Pope has been notified of the resignation of Fra' Matthew Festing, which will be communicated to the 106 Heads of State with whom the Order has diplomatic relations. 
In accordance with Article 17 of the Constitution, the Grand Commander, Fra' Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, has assumed the office of Lieutenant ad interim and will remain the Order of Malta’s head until the election of the successor of the Grand Master. 
The Sovereign Council thanked Fra' Matthew Festing for his great commitment during his nine years in office. Subsequently, the Sovereign Council presided over by the Lieutenant ad interim annulled the decrees establishing the disciplinary procedures against Albrecht Boeselager and the suspension of his membership in the Order. Albrecht Boeselager resumes his office as Grand Chancellor immediately. 
In a letter sent yesterday, 27 January 2017, to Fra’ Ludwig Hoffman von Rumerstein and the members of the Sovereign Council, Pope Francis reaffirmed the special relationship between the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Apostolic See. 
The Pope affirmed that the Lieutenant ad interim assumes responsibility over the Order’s government, in particular regarding relationships with other States. Pope Francis noted precisely that his Special Delegate will be operating on “the spiritual renewal of the Order, specifically of pag. 2 its professed members.” 
The Sovereign Order of Malta ensures its full collaboration with the Special Delegate whom the Holy Father intends to appoint. The Sovereign Order of Malta is most grateful to Pope Francis and the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin for their interest in and care for the Order. The Order appreciates that the Holy Father’s decisions were all carefully taken with regard to and respect for the Order, with a determination to strengthen its sovereignty. 
The Lieutenant ad interim together with the Sovereign Council will soon convoke the Council Complete of State for the election of the successor of the Grand Master, according to Art. 23 of the Constitution.

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(Vatican Radio) Expressing pain and rejection for US President Donald Trumps’ decision to erect a wall on the US/Mexico border, the Catholic Bishops of Mexico have respectfully invited the US administration “to reflect more deeply on the ways in which security, development, activation of employment and other necessary and fair measures can be pursued without causing further damage than those already suffered by the poorest and most vulnerable persons”.

In a statement published by the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), the Bishops point out that for over 20 years they have been working together with their brother Bishops of the southern border of the United States in order to give the best attention “to the faithful who live in the two brother countries”.  

“The first thing that hurts us is that many people who live their relationship of family, faith, work or friendship, will be blocked by this inhuman interference” the statement says.

The Mexican Bishops join their thoughts and feelings to what was expressed by Bishop Joe Vasquez, President of the Committee of Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), who stated:

"I feel discouraged because the President (Donald Trump) has set as a priority the construction of a wall on our border with Mexico, which will make the lives of immigrants unnecessarily endangered. In addition, the construction of such wall destabilizes many communities, full of life and beautifully interconnected, that coexist peacefully along the border. Instead of building walls, at this moment, my fellow bishops and I will continue to act under the example of Pope Francis. We want to build bridges between people, bridges that allow us to break the walls of exclusion and exploitation."

The Mexican Bishops assure their continued support for those who are in transit through our country, towards the United States and call for dialogue and agreements that safeguard dignity and respect for people.

Expressing respect for the right of the United States government to care for its borders and its citizens, they disagree that “a rigorous and intensive application of the law is the way to achieve those objectives; on the contrary, these actions generate alarm and fear among immigrants, disintegrating many families without further consideration”.

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Vatican City, Jan 28, 2017 / 07:23 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday Pope Francis stressed the importance of having a solid guide in the spiritual life since no one – neither laity nor consecrated persons themselves – can stay faithful for long without help.

“All of us consecrated, the young and those not so young, need adequate help for the human, spiritual and vocational moment we are living,” the Pope said Jan. 28. “We will never emphasize this need too much.”

He honed in on the need for adequate preparation of spiritual guides, since it’s “hard to stay faithful walking alone, or walking with the guidance of brothers or sisters who aren’t capable of attentive and patient listening, or who don’t have adequate experience of consecrated life.”

Using the image of Jesus and the disciples of Emmaus as an example, the Pope said there is a need for spiritual guides who are “experts in the ways of God” and are capable of accompanying people through life, pointing them to the Eucharist and Confession in times of hardship or confusion.

“This is the delicate and demanding task of a spiritual guide,” he said, and warned against ways of accompanying that create dependencies, false protections or that are too “childish.”

Instead, “we cannot resign ourselves to walking alone,” and need “a close, frequent and fully adult accompaniment,” he said, adding that having this will help in knowing how to constantly discern the will of God.

Discernment, for both the guide and the person accompanied, requires “a fine spiritual sensitivity” and complete detachment from “prejudice and from personal or group interest,” Francis said, adding that true discernment isn’t choosing “between the good and the bad.”

Above all, it means choosing “between the good and the better, between what is good and that which leads to identification with Christ.”

Pope Francis spoke to participants in the annual plenary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, which this year reflected on the theme of fidelity and those who have abandoned consecrated life.

In his speech, the Pope noted that fidelity is often “put to the test” in today’s social and cultural context, saying we are currently facing “a hemorrhage” that weakens both the Church and consecrated life itself.

The number of people who leave consecrated life is concerning, he said, noting that while some leave after a serious discernment showed that they never had a vocation, others become less faithful as time passes by,  “many times only a few years after their perpetual profession.”

The reasons for this, he said, have to do with the fact that we live in a time “which is a change of era and not only an era of change, in which it becomes difficult to assume serious and definitive commitments.”

“We live immersed in the so-called ‘culture of the fragment,’ of the provisionary, which can lead to living ‘a la carte’ and to being a slave of fashions,” he said, noting that this mentality feeds unhealthy trends such as a heightened sense of consumerism that  ends up “provoking a great existential emptiness.”

In this context, the Pope stressed that it’s important for a person to let themselves be evangelized before committing to evangelize others.

Francis pointed to the many youth who offer solidarity and commit at both a social and religious level, saying “there are marvelous youth and they are not few,” but also cautioned that young people are particularly susceptible to “the logic of worldliness.”

Summarizing the mentality as “the search for success at whatever price, of easy money and easy pleasure,” he noted that the temptation seduces many of today’s youth, and because of this, they need someone to stand beside them and “contaminate them with the joy of the Gospel.”

The Pope then pointed to a third factor he said affects vocational fidelity and which comes from within consecrated life itself: the “counter-witness” of some members of the community.

While there is a lot of holiness inside many communities, there is also sin, he said, noting that particularly challenging situations for consecrated persons are when things become routine, when members get tired and the weight that comes with managing different structures.

Difficulties also arise from internal divisions, the search for power, a worldly mentality in governing institutes and “a service of authority which at times becomes authoritarianism and at other times a ‘laissez-faire.’”

“If consecrated life wants to maintain its prophetic mission in the world,” he said, “it must maintain the freshness and the novelty of the centrality of Jesus, the attractiveness of the spirituality and the strength of the mission, showing the beauty of following Christ and radiating joy and hope.”

Pope Francis also pointed, as he often does, to the importance of fraternal life in the community, which he said is fueled by daily prayer, Mass, the reading of Scripture, fraternal correction, dialogue and mercy toward those who sin.

“All of this accompanies an eloquent and joyful witness of life beside the poor and by a mission that the privileges the existential peripheries,” he said, explaining that to maintain this depends on the quality of vocational pastoral ministry.

“Because when a brother or sister is not supported in their consecrated life inside of the community, they seek it outside, with everything that this brings.”

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Vatican City, Jan 28, 2017 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After Pope Francis asked Knights of Malta Grand Master Matthew Festing to resign earlier this week, the Order has accepted the resignation, named an interim leader and reinstated their former Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager.

According to a Jan. 28 press release from the Order of Malta, their Sovereign Council in an extraordinary meeting held Saturday to vote on Festing’s request to step down from office, “accepted his resignation” and informed Pope Francis of the decision.

They also announced the appointment of Grand Commander Fra' Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein as the new “Lieutenant ad interim” until a new Grand Master is elected.

Along with Festing’s resignation, the decision to annul the decrees establishing “the disciplinary procedures” recently taken against former Grand Chancellor Albrecht Boeselager as well as “the suspension of his membership in the Order” was announced.

With the decision, “Albrecht Boeselager resumes his office as Grand Chancellor immediately,” the statement read.

According to media reports, the decision to reinstate Boeselager, who was dismissed in December after a condom scandal, was requested by the Pope himself when he met with Festing earlier this week to ask for his resignation.

In their statement, the Order of Malta said Pope Francis had written a Jan. 27 letter to Rumerstein and members of the Sovereign Council reaffirming “the special relationship” between the Order and the Apostolic See.

The Pope, it read, also affirmed that Rumerstein will assume the full responsibilities of Grand Master, “in particular regarding relationships with other States,” until a new leader is elected.

In his letter, Pope Francis made a point to emphasize that his special delegate, who has yet to be appointed, will be carrying out his role on “the spiritual renewal of the Order, specifically of its professed members.”

The Order ensured their “full collaboration” with the papal delegate, “whom the Holy Father intends to appoint” in due time.

In addition to announcing the Rumerstein’s nomination and Boeselager’s reinstatement, the Order voiced their gratitude to Pope Francis and to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin “for their interest in and care for the Order.”

“The Order appreciates that the Holy Father’s decisions were all carefully taken with regard to and respect for the Order, with a determination to strengthen its sovereignty,” the statement read.

Now that Rumerstein has officially taken charge of the Order, he will soon convoke “the Council Complete of State” to elect a new Grand Master.

The announcement comes after a Jan. 24 meeting between Pope Francis and Festing, during which the Pope asked the former Grand Master to tenure his resignation, to which Festing said yes.

Festing's agreement to resign follows a conflict between the Order of Malta and the Holy See over Boeselager's dismissal in December 2016.

Among the reported reasons for the dismissal was that under Boeselager’s watch, the Order's charity branch had inadvertently been involved in distributing condoms in Burma to prevent the spread of HIV.

However, a senior official of the Order has said that while the incident was a contributing factor in Boeselager’s resignation, the reasons – while confidential – are much broader.

The Holy See announced Dec. 22, shortly after Boeselager's dismissal, that Pope Francis had formed a group to investigate the matter.

Members of the group include Archbishop Silvestro Tomasi, Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda S.J., Belgian lawyer Mr. Jacques de Liedekerke, Mr. Marc Odendall and Mr. Marwan Sehnaoui.

On Jan. 10 the Knights issued a statement defending their decision, calling Boeselager’s dismissal “an internal act of governance,” making the group established by the Holy See to investigate the decision “legally irrelevant” given the Order’s sovereignty.

The Holy See, in turn, reiterated Jan. 17 its confidence in its investigative group and indicated it was awaiting the group's report “in order to adopt, within its area of competence, the most fitting decisions for the good of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and of the Church.”

The Order of Malta is a chivalric order which was founded in 1099, originally to provide protection and medical care to Holy Land pilgrims. It now performs humanitarian work throughout the world, and its two principle missions are defense of the faith and care for the poor.

It maintains sovereignty, holding diplomatic relations with more than 100 states and United Nations permanent observer status.

Festing had been elected Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta March 11, 2008, however, his resignation cuts short the lifetime appointment.

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