A dispute between three elderly nuns who fled a retirement home to return to their abandoned convent near Salzburg has intensified with Roman Catholic authorities.
On Friday the sisters turned down a church offer allowing them to stay at Goldenstein Castle “until further notice” because it required them and their carers to stop all social media activity and avoid contact with the media. Christina Wirtenberger, a spokeswoman for the rebel sisters Bernadette, 88; Regina, 86; and Rita, 82, said they refused to sign because the terms would remove the protection of an interested public and leave the promise legally meaningless.
The three were the last nuns living at the Goldenstein convent. Two years ago, after the abbot closed their living quarters, they were moved to a retirement home—a move they say was against their will, which church officials deny. In September they left the care home and returned to the abandoned convent, documenting daily life and building a following on Instagram.
Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey has argued the nuns should be placed back in a Catholic care home because of their ailing health and accused them of breaching vows of obedience.
Under the church’s conditional offer, the sisters would also have had to dismiss any lawyers or legal experts engaged on their behalf. The church said it would provide medical care and spiritual support from a priest, but warned that if their health deteriorated so they could no longer be properly cared for at the convent, they would have to move to a nearby care facility.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
