Dispute Over Monastery: Nuns Initiate Legal Action

The nuns accuse the order's leadership of having them sent to a retirement home against their will and deceived, the ORF Salzburg quoted a letter from the lawyer on Friday. The head of the order allegedly had the nuns sign the home contracts in a dark room. The women did not know what they were signing, the lawyer writes. Furthermore, the fact that they had contractually agreed to cover the home costs was not possible due to the vow of poverty, which is why the state had to cover the costs, it continues.

PR Consultant Criticizes Legal Steps by Nuns

The report does not specify what type of legal steps are being taken. At the Reichersberg Abbey, which has been organizationally responsible for the Goldenstein Monastery for three years, nothing is known of a lawyer's letter to date. "We have nothing on record, so Provost Markus Grasl cannot comment on it," said external PR consultant Harald Schiffl to the APA. "We have always said that once the media frenzy has subsided, we will strive for a good solution for all parties involved. And that would have been the case now. But such a step is an unfriendly act and makes a good solution more difficult," said Schiffl.

After hospital stays of two of the nuns at the end of 2023, all three were relocated to a senior residence run by nuns in the neighboring Oberalm. Against their will, as the women now say, or "in consultation," as Grasl emphasizes. "An independent life in the Goldenstein Monastery was no longer possible and justifiable due to the advanced age and precarious health situation of the sisters, as well as the spiritual requirements of the order and the structural condition of the monastery," explained the prelate.

In early September, however, the nuns returned to Goldenstein without permission, which attracted media attention far beyond the borders of Austria. With the help of former students, they have been living there again since then and have repeatedly emphasized that they will not leave Goldenstein again.

(APA/Red)

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