Francis on the Burke Kerfuffle

After that the issue of the Order of Malta cropped up and we needed a smart American who would know how to get around and I thought of him for that position. I suggested this to him long before the synod. I said to him, “This will take place after the synod because I want you to participate in the synod as dicastery head.” As the chaplain of Malta he wouldn’t have been able to be present. – Pope Francis on Cardinal Burke

Seems reasonable to me.