Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/817563
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 APRIL 2017 17 the Vatican so poor," the anony- mous author stated. "Indeed, the Vatican is constantly in danger of becoming insolvent and is eas- ily manipulated by the German bishops." This would be why the Vatican would have commissioned the investigation into the Order led by people connected with a $118 million bequest to the Order, based in Switzerland. The trus- tee of this cash cow, said to have had dealings with Boeselager and members of the Holy See com- mission, "was being prosecuted and threatened to make unsa- voury revelations about various figures in the Order and the Vati- can if the Order did not withdraw criminal proceedings against her" – wrote the National Catholic Register's Edward Pentin. Boeselager denied the allega- tions. Pentin also wrote that a source close to Boeselager said allegations that the Order was transferring millions from the trust to the Vatican were "crazy". The split between the German faction of the Order, and Fest- ing, could be based squarely on an attempt to 'secularise' it by adding more focus to the hu- manitarian arm and less on its chivalric identity, by changing the constitution so that a Grand Master no longer serves for life, can be impeached if he acts con- trary to the constitution, and should have an age limit. "So instead of having professed knights in charge, knights of a lower rank (oblates and tertiar- ies) would take over and control the meaningful decisions of the order. The German branch cur- rently has no professed knights and so, under the current consti- tution, cannot hold the rank of grand master," Pentin notes. Dan Hitchens, the deputy edi- tor of the Catholic Herald, on the other hand notes that those who value Festing's legacy see in him the emphasis on the spir- itual identity of the order, rein- forced by the professed knights – of whom there are only 60. The other 13,000 are lower members. So while the Germans want to delete the "link" between religious vows and holding of- fice and limit the powers of the Grand Master, critics of the Or- der want the professed knights to stay at the heart of the order's identity – otherwise they would risk seeing a repeat of Malteser International's "taking of liber- News moral crisis, STEFAN PAUL GALEA THE consultation process for the state-employment of local wardens has kicked off with the government having already con- sulted a number of stakeholders, who include the General Work- ers Union (GWU) and the Lo- cal Enforcement System Agency (LESA). Justice Minister Owen Bon- nici would not reveal much on government plans to have local wardens employed by the state, as opposed to being engaged by private contractors. "The consultation is ongoing and we are looking at creating a formula that best fits all parties involved," Bonnici told Malta- Today. He reiterated that the role of local enforcement officers should be that of educating citi- zens. "The recent removal of con- travention quotas has been wel- comed as it has done away with excessive pressure from local wardens," Bonnici said. It was two years ago that the government launched the agen- cy replacing the maligned local enforcement system. LESA, as a regulatory authority, mainly fo- cused on coordinating existing bodies. Flanked by junior minister Ste- fan Buontempo, Bonnici yester- day announced the distribution of €1 million among local coun- cils and the Malta Arts Coun- cil, with the money deriving from contraventions. 60% of the funds will be used for the resur- facing of roads, 30% will be used for regional activities whilst 10% will be used for theatrical pro- grammes within communities. "Whilst fewer traffic contra- ventions were issued, all fines were paid," Bonnici said. State-employment of local wardens enters consultation process ties" on the issue of contraceptives. Minister Owen Bonnici announcing the distribution of money to local councils and the Malta Arts Council