Posters have appeared around Rome accusing Pope Francis of attacking conservative Catholics.<br /><br /> The posters, which were quickly covered up by the authorities, were put up by mystery activists during the night between Friday and Saturday.<br /><br /> They feature a picture of a stern-faced pope and the slogan: “Where’s your mercy?”<br /><br /> A malignant-looking pope peers out of mysterious Rome poster. Someone has it in for him. Can’t think who…... https://t.co/OsGh7HwiTg— Crispian Balmer (@crispiandjb) February 5, 2017<br /><br /> What did the posters say?<br /><br /> The text accused Francis of several interventions targeting conservatives, including what the posters called “the beheading of the Knights of Malta.”<br /><br /> The posters are even more mysterious because sections of the text were written in the working class dialect, Romanesco. <br /><br /> This is spoken only in the Rome area.<br /><br /> City authorities pasted white paper over them, bearing the words “illegal advertising”, as they had been put up without authorisation or the payment of a tax.<br /><br /> Conservative posters criticizing the Pope over #KnightsofMalta scandal appear across Rome https://t.co/YWkqczGhfF pic.twitter.com/h3SidG8bFy— dwnews (@dwnews) February 5, 2017<br /><br /> Who are the Knights of Malta?<br /><br /> The ancient Catholic order of knights is now a worldwide charity. Its former Grand Master handed in his resignation to the pope last week after a two-month, highly-public feud.<br /><br /> Why have the posters appeared now?<br /><br /> They appeared several hours before the Vatican announced the name of the pope’s personal delegate to the troubled order.<br /><br /> Insiders say conservative Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke has been side-lined.<br /><br /> He has been chaplain of the order since 2014. He has been a frequent critic of the Pope.<br /><br /> The Vatican official who will be special delegate to Order of Malta is Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu https://t.co/W8adVfLksQ— Pope news (@Pope_news) February 4, 2017<br /><br /> In a letter released by the Vatican on Saturday, Francis told Archbishop Angelo Becciu that he would be the “exclusive spokesman” for the pope at the Order.<br /><br /> Elections will be held for a new Grand Master in several months.<br /><br /> What has the Vatican said?<br /><br /> The Vatican has made no comment.<br /><br /> However, Father Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit who is close to the Pope, said in a tweet that they were a sign that Francis was doing a good job and therefore irritating a lot of people.<br />
