Friday, March 20, 2026

Prosecutor: No embezzlement by Goldenstein helper

The Salzburg Public Prosecutor's Office has suspended embezzlement investigations in the vicinity of the three elderly nuns of Goldenstein. 

There were insufficient indications that donations had been used inappropriately, a spokeswoman for the Salzburg prosecutor's office of the Catholic News Agency (KNA) said on Tuesday. 

Previously, witnesses and those involved had been questioned, the spokeswoman continued.

The trigger of the proceedings was a complaint from the environment of the religious women. An acquaintance had accused a helper of irregularities in donations in the amount of around 32,000 euros. 

Specifically, there was a suspicion that funds had not been partially paid into a planned escrow account. 

The accused helper always rejected the accusations. She denied having been in charge of financial affairs and attributed the allegations to internal conflicts in the supporter circle.

Decision not yet final

The prosecutor's decision is not yet final. 

The display maker may request a justification within 14 days and then submit an application for continuation of the proceedings. Only after that does the proceedings be considered definitively completed.

The case of the three squatters from the monastery Goldenstein near Salzburg had attracted international attention in recent months. 

The nuns had returned to their former monastery after a stay in a retirement home against the will of their superior, which now belongs to the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Reichersberg Abbey. 

Whether their whereabouts there is also covered by church law is still open; a decision from the Vatican is expected.

Recently, a legal dispute over previous social media activities and an injunction agreement with the operator of an Instagram channel caused headlines. 

Since a court date in early March, the previously temporarily offline account "nonnen_goldenstein" will now be continued under the new name "church_fluencer".