Who has heard of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta?

Question

What do you know about it?

Occupying an office building and its corresponding property in downtown Rome, The Sovereign Military Order of Malta arguably may qualify for status as the smallest sovereign nation in the world. It has its own government, customs, postage and currency, and it maintains diplomatic relations with many nations of the world. It also has permanent observer status with the United Nations.

As an outgrowth of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John during the Crusades, the present Order allegedly now collects vast amounts of money. It is rumoured that much of the money taken in by this Order is acquired through donations from very wealthy Western capitalists, mainly from North America. The family of the late James Dole, of the Dole Pineapple Company is one family that is rumoured to be giving it a lot of money.

Has anyone ever heard of the Order being referred to as "The Bank"? To what purpose is the money being put? Why is it being collected? Do overtones of conspiracy/secrecy exist?

Answer 1

The Sovereign Military Order Of Malta is Not a Country
Some claim that there is a country even smaller than the world's smallest country, Vatican City. They claim that world's actual smallest country is an organization headquartered in Rome called the Sovereign Military Order Of Malta (SMOM for short but also known as the Knights of Malta and also officially the Sovereign Military Hopsitaller Order Of St. John Of Jerusalem, Of Rhodes And Of Malta).
While the Knights of Malta was once an independent country, today it is no more an independent country than any other organization such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Knights of Malta as a religious organization that provides humanitarian and medical assistance worldwide. It has held Permanent Observer status at the United Nations (as does the Red Cross) since 1994 and issues "passports" to its diplomats for diplomatic business but it does not meet the criteria for being an independent country. It lacks territory, a permanent population, police power, and has no economy.

The Knights of Malta was founded in the late 11th century when it established a hospital in Jerusalem to care for ill pilgrims during the First Crusade. The organization expanded and built additional hospitals along the route from Europe to the Holy Land. In addition to their hospitaller duties, the Knights of Malta also waged war against the Muslim "infidels."

Eventually, Jerusalem was recaptured by the Muslims and the Knights of Malta left Jerusalem and spent time in various places, especially the island of Cyprus. In 1309 the SMOM took control of Rhodes (today a Greek island) but had to flee in 1523. They were given Malta in 1530 and built the capital city of Valletta.

Despite the neutrality of the Knights of Malta, Napoleon conquered Malta in 1798 and the SMOM fled once again. Finally, in 1834 the Knights of Malta found a home in Rome, where they still reside.

While the Knights of Malta is recognized as an independent country by the Vatican City (a country that doesn't meet all of the criteria for being an independent country itself) and a handful of other Roman Catholic countries, it does not issue coins or stamps for more than ornamental purposes. Though the Knights of Malta maintains "embassies" in a host of countries (in such places as Russia, Spain, Hungary, and Poland) it does not in others (such as the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, or Japan).

There are fifty national Knights of Malta organizations and thousands of members (called "knights") worldwide. The United States maintains an association as does Canada and the United Kingdom.

Answer 2

An outgrowth of the Knights of Malta. See www.smom.org, among several others.

Answer 3

noo