The hills are alive with the sound of compromise, as three unlikely rebel nuns have been offered a chance to remain in their former convent inAustria— as long as they give up their Instagram habit.
Sister Bernadette, 88, Sister Regina, 86, and Sister Rita, 82, were the last nuns in residence at the Goldenstein Castle convent near Salzburg, where they had spent decades living until their removal for medical reasons in 2023.
The nuns, who said they had been sent to a Catholic nursing home against their will,captured global attention in Septemberwhen they ran away from care and broke back into their vacant former home with the help of a locksmith, local residents and former students.
"I am so pleased to be home," Sister Ritahad told the BBCat the time. "I was always homesick at the care home. I am so happy and thankful to be back."
Ever since, they have documented daily life at the former convent on Instagram, with videos capturing a few of their favorite things, from candlemaking to boxing lessons.
Church officials accused the nuns of breaking their vow of obedience during a standoff over their future, but on Friday a statement said they would be offered a chance to remain at the former convent "until further notice."
Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey, the nuns' superior, said that while he believed it was best for them to receive "comprehensive care in a nursing home," he would take their wishes on board and allow them to stay at the convent, provided they return to a "structured religious life."
Under Grasl's plan, the nuns would return to a "cloistered monastic life" away from the public eye and the volunteers who have been providing them support, with priests instead called in to help them and a doctor on hand for "necessary medical care."
He cited the Christian principle of mercy with respect to "some of the sisters' actions" in the past few weeks, and said that donations received for them, as well as funds earmarked for the sale of a book about them, should be given to a mission project.
But a post on thenuns' Instagram pagesaid they would not immediately agree to the proposal.
The stipulation that the sisters would be allowed to remain in the convent "until further notice" made the plan "legally worthless," a statement issued on their behalf said.
The trio told Austrian outletKronen Zeitungthat attempts to silence them were "laughable" and said: "We will certainly not accept this agreement."
Their legal representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
The provost's spokesman, Harald Schiffl, told Austria's public broadcasterORFthat a deal would be good for all parties. He said that "what is conveyed on social media is not truly the reality of monastic life."