Pope takes over Knights of Malta after condom dispute
VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican said Wednesday it was taking over the embattled Knights of Malta lay Catholic order in an extraordinary display of papal power after the Knights' grand master publicly defied Pope Francis in a bitter dispute over condoms.
The move marks the intervention of one sovereign state -- the Holy See -- into the governance of another, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, an ancient aristocratic order that runs a vast charity operation around the globe.
