Conference with the diplomatic corps this morning on government priorities.

This morning the Grand Chancellor Albrecht Boeselager with the Grand Hospitaller Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel met the accredited diplomatic corps in the Magistral Villa in Rome to illustrate government priorities after the recent events involving the Order of Malta. Boeselager gave an outline of the matters that have led to the resignation of the Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing on 28 January last. “Our attention is now focussed on our extensive diplomatic network with the aim of further developing our medical and humanitarian programmes,” the Grand Chancellor said to a crowded audience of the Order’s accredited ambassadors and diplomats.

He pointed out that the crises throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East are requiring an increasingly strong humanitarian presence and in this context he stressed the Order of Malta’s commitment to extend its outreach in the areas most affected by wars and violence, such as Syria and Iraq.

In his speech, Boeselager reiterated the Order of Malta’s loyalty to Pope Francis and announced that, after the meeting, he would accompany the Lieutenant ad interim Fra’ Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein to the Vatican to meet the new special delegate appointed by the Pope, Monsignor Giovanni Angelo Becciu.