Ancient Knights of Malta get their 1st non-aristocratic head
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — A Canadian lawyer who found his vocation caring for AIDS patients in Harlem has been elected the grand master of the Knights of Malta. John Dunlap is the first non-European and first nonaristocratic head of the ancient lay Catholic order that provides humanitarian aid around the world. Dunlap was elected by an absolute majority of 99 voting members of a body known as “the council complete of state.” He will be sworn in on Wednesday. The election brings a hoped-for end to a tumultuous few years during which Francis intervened to remove a previous grand master during a governance crisis. Francis then imposed a new set of constitutional reforms on the order in ways that critics said threatened its sovereignty.