In the dispute over the occupation of the Goldenstein monastery near Salzburg, the three nuns living there have now also turned to the Vatican.
In a letter dated Tuesday, which is available to the Catholic News Agency (KNA), they ask for the dismissal of their superior, Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey.
The Vatican had appointed Grasl as head of the monastery in Austria - a common procedure when a religious order is too small to manage itself.
The sisters have now written to the responsible dicastery in the Vatican: "Although his appointment was in line with our wishes at the time, this wish later proved to be a mistake."
Grasl has repeatedly and seriously violated canon law, they allege.
Sisters: Provost refuses contact
Among other things, he was not prepared to listen to the sisters about their future.
"He refuses any direct communication with us and communicates exclusively via the media," the letter states. "Instead, he has expelled us from our convent against our will, contrary to his own assurances and in violation of state law, and placed us in a retirement home."
In order to prevent further damage to the church, the sisters are now requesting that Grasl be removed from office and replaced by a new superior.
The fate of the Goldenstein nuns, who are all over 80 years old, has made international headlines in recent months.
At the beginning of September, they returned from the retirement home to their former convent against Grasl's wishes.
The building has belonged to the Archdiocese of Salzburg and Reichersberg Abbey since 2022.
The sisters claim that they were originally promised to stay for life; however, they had to move into a home at the end of 2023 after being hospitalised.
At the end of November, Grasl presented the sisters with an offer that would allow them to remain in the convent "until further notice".
One of the conditions for this was the cessation of their social media activities - they have more than 220,000 followers on Instagram - and a return to a secluded monastic life.
The sisters rejected the agreement. Grasl then turned to the Vatican to get them to put their foot down.