The head of the Order of Malta has resigned after entering into a public spat with Pope Francis over the ousting of a top official involved in a condom scandal, a spokesman for the lay Catholic order said on Wednesday.
Fra' Matthew Festing met with the Pope on Tuesday and offered his resignation, Order of Malta representative Marianna Balfour told the Associated Press. "I can confirm this," Balfour said in an email, adding a statement would be forthcoming.
Fra' Matthew had refused to cooperate with a papal commission investigating his ousting of the grand chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, over revelations that the order's charity branch had distributed condoms under his watch. Fra' Matthew had cited the Order's status as a sovereign entity in refusing to cooperate.
