Nun justifies locking three nuns out of their convent and denying them financial means of support.
Nuns want to return to their monastery – why that's no longer possible
In this photo, they are still laughing together with their superior. Today, a conflict separates them. The three elderly Augustinian nuns are publicly fighting to be able to return to their former monastery near Salzburg. Their fellow nun, Beate Brandt, explains why that's not possible.
The three nuns from Salzburg, all over 80 years old, want to return to their former monastery in Goldenstein, which also includes a school. For almost two years, however, they have been living in a church-run retirement home near Hallein. Unjustly, they believe. The Augustinian nuns filed a lawsuit and made their grief public. Sister M. Beate Brandt is an Augustinian nun in Essen and president of the order's federation, to which the three Goldenstein sisters belong. In an interview with katholisch.de, she puts the conflict into context and explains how it all came about.
Question: Sister Beate, do you know the sisters in Salzburg who are now fighting to return to their former monastery?
Sister Beate: I know the three sisters well and used to travel to them often at the Goldenstein Monastery in Elsbethen. Sister M. Bernadette Bangler is 88 years old, Sister Regina M. Rechberger is 86, and Sister M. Rita Hörtenhuber is 81. I have also visited them several times in the retirement home where they have been living for almost two years. I like the three sisters. It's just their current public appearance that's pushing me to my limits.
Question: Can you briefly explain the conflict surrounding their monastery?
Sister Beate: The Goldenstein Convent of the Augustinian Canons has existed in Elsbethen since 1877. The sisters worked there for many decades at their order's school. The last three nuns taught at the school and worked in the after-school care center. For some time, the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the order had been considering how to support the small monastic community. During my last vacation visit there two years ago, I noticed that the sisters were in many ways overwhelmed by managing their daily lives alone. In addition, they had health problems that necessitated hospital treatment. From a medical perspective, recommendations were made that the sisters no longer be allowed to live independently at the Goldenstein Convent. And after intensive discussions two years ago, the superior of the order responsible for them decided to entrust them to the Caritas Kahlsperg nursing home near Hallein, where they continue to live today. It is a church facility run by Franciscan nuns. But the three sisters still disagree with this decision. They are resisting and want to return to their old monastery. They believe they can continue to provide for themselves there. In my opinion, however, that is no longer possible.
Question: The three nuns have even sued the superior of the order in court because of this?
Sister Beate: The sad thing is that he is the superior of their community, without whom they could no longer exist under canon law. Because there were only three of them left, they needed an external superior to avoid being dissolved as a monastery. This task had previously been assumed by another representative of the diocese. A few years ago, the sisters turned to Provost Markus Grasl of the Augustinian Canonry of Reichersberg and asked him to be there for them, to care for them, and to look after them. Since October 2022, Prelate Markus Grasl has been responsible for the monastery as Apostolic Commissioner. This has led to a good relationship between the two monasteries.
Question: What happened next?
Sister Beate: The sisters often traveled to Reichersberg in Upper Austria to attend services and pray with their confreres there. Even their obituaries, the list of deceased nuns, were included in the obituaries of the confreres. The sisters were welcome there and part of the community. At some point, independent living in their monastery was no longer possible for them, and due to the circumstances, they were taken one after the other to the nursing home. The sisters resented the provost so much that they took him to court. With the help of former students, they sought out a lawyer. But they lost the case because their superior was able to prove that his actions were lawful. And now the sisters are trying to make their suffering public through various media. They claim that they were "deported" from their monastery and that their money was stolen. I feel sorry for the provost because he always cared so much for my sisters and now has to deal with such slander. It's very hurtful.
Question: Among other things, the sisters claim that their account was frozen and their savings were taken away...
Sister Beate: It's the case that when members of the order enter the monastery, they take a vow of poverty, among other things, and all their money and possessions belong to the community. A nun has no personal possessions. I don't know anything about the specific financial situation of the three sisters from Goldenstein Monastery. However, I imagine that the costs of their stay in the nursing home can be covered. The superior of the order bears responsibility for these three sisters; they themselves wanted it that way and were grateful for it in the past. They were able to live in their monastery for many years, but at some point, the time comes when they have to accept that it is no longer possible. I know that the decision to entrust them to a nursing home wasn't an easy one for their superior.
Question: The sisters still have the keys to their monastic cells, but the door locks have apparently been changed. Is this a good practice?
Sister Beate: It was obvious that the provost had to take a more stringent approach. If he had "gently" asked the sisters whether they wanted to go to a retirement home, they would have said "no." They were simply resistant to counseling. They hadn't been able to adequately manage cleanliness and tidying up for some time. We observed this for a long time, but at some point it was no longer possible, so we had to intervene. We Augustinian nuns promise "stabilitas loci" when we enter the convent, meaning to stay in this place for our entire lives. The three Goldenstein sisters did that, too. But if their health no longer allows it, then consequences must be drawn for the sisters' well-being. That was necessary here – even if it was harsh. I clearly expressed my displeasure with their behavior to the three sisters in a letter. I cannot tolerate it.
Question: Were sufficient attempts made to resolve the conflict with the sisters peacefully and through dialogue?
Sister Beate: Yes, there were many discussions and meetings with the Archdiocese of Salzburg many years ago, which I also attended initially. However, as president of the religious federation, I do not have the authority to issue directives, meaning I can only advise the sisters, not dictate anything to them. Several attempts were made to accommodate the sisters in a positive way. The Archdiocese of Salzburg also made great efforts to find good solutions. There were negotiations, even plans for renovating the monastery. The goal was to make the monastery age-appropriate early on. There was already a stairlift in the monastery, but since many things no longer met standards, some would have needed replacing. Unfortunately, the sisters ultimately rejected everything. They didn't want to acknowledge their own precarious situation. In my view, everyone involved had made a great effort for the sisters. They are dear to us. But it would have been negligent to leave them to their own devices any longer. Provost Markus Grasl, their superior, wanted to help them. I think he even saved their lives to some extent.
Question: Are you afraid that such a conflict could one day threaten your community in Essen?
Sister Beate: Our community is also shrinking, but the monastery is large. Life in this monastery building is not "set in stone"; we, too, will have to consider how we will shape the future. Many religious orders are familiar with this painful process. But I am not going to court my superior and make this public. I myself became an Augustinian nun at the age of 25, teach at our religious school in Essen, and am very happy to be able to live this way. My purpose in life is not the stone building, but rather the inner values by which I try to live as an Augustinian nun.
Question: What do you wish for the sisters in Hallein?
Sister Beate: I hope they can finally reach where they are today. In the home, they receive good care; they have someone who looks after them day and night. The three sisters can be together and continue their spiritual life, celebrating Holy Mass every day with other nuns. The mass is even streamed into the room, which is good because one of the sisters can't stay up too late. I'd say the three of them were lucky. It turned out well for them. They're making it difficult for themselves. I spoke to one of the sisters on the phone again a few weeks ago. She told me she was homesick for the convent. She misses her garden, her students. I can understand that very well. She longs for her old life back. But now she can enjoy her retirement together with the others. It was important to the three Goldenstein sisters that their life's work, the school, to which they devoted themselves with all their hearts, was preserved and continued. And that is the case. Their community was not dissolved; it still exists. The school continues to operate because the archdiocese has taken over the Catholic middle school. Almost 300 students are taught there. The three sisters have had a beneficial influence there for a long time, and for that I am grateful to them.
Cathcon: The way that the Sisters have been treated would be unacceptable if they were three elderly women outside a religious order. They clearly have mental capacity but others are behaving as if they don't.
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