Bergolian Purge Claims Traditional Trappist Abbey in Austria

Edit: it looks like the Thomas Merton types in the Monastery got their way at last.

[GloriaTV] The old-rite Trappist abbey of Mariawald, Germany, will be closed down. The Vatican, the Trappist order, and the Diocese of Aachen on whose territory the abbey is located, have announced this in Mariawald.

The monastery was inhabited by the Trappists since 1909. All employees lose their jobs. The monks will be transferred to other monasteries.

During this year, the monastery and all its possessions will be handed over to Aachen diocese. The monastery and church of Mariawald will probably remain closed forever.

In a letter dated November 21, 2008, Benedict XVI granted the abbey the privilege to return to the old usages of the Trappist Order in liturgy and monastic life. This concerned especially a return to the venerable Old Rite. The pope saw this project as a "renewal of the church in the spirit of tradition". Now this renewal is over before it could get off the ground.

France: Judge Wants Murdered Trappists Exhumed

The background of  the murder of Trappists in Algeria  1996 are still unclear today.  The corpses were never found, rather only their decapitated heads.

[Kathnet] The background of the murder of Trappists in Algeria in 1996 and seven murdered Franciscans has a judge wanting to exume their skulls.  According to the story by the newspaper >>Marianne<< [Friday].  Judge Marc Trevidic has made a corresponding inquiry to authorities in Algeria.  A DNA-analysis is required, in order to identify the victims.  The judge has already received the approval of family members in October.

The motives for the murder of the Trappists is still unclear. The corpses were never found, rather only the decapitated heads. A French General testified in 2009 that the Algerian Military accidentally killed the monks by a helicopter attack on an Islamic position. The Algerians disagree however, that the Islamic movement GIA had beheaded the religions after a month of captivity.

The case was treated in  2010 film by French director, Xavier Beauvois in his film "Of Men and Gods".  The work received numerous prizes, among others the film festival in Cannes.

See the German language trailer, here...