The ultra-right will open an academy in an abbey in Ciociaria. The revolt of the local population

There is much controversy surrounding the award by the Dignitatis Humanae Institute foundation of the concession of the Certosa di Trisulti, an ancient 13th-century monastery in Collepardo (Frosinone), Ciociaria, which will become its headquarters for nineteen years, with annual rent of 100,000 euros per year, from which costs for renovations can be deducted. At issue is the fact that the foundation is close to Steve Bannon (Donald Trump’s controversial chief of political strategy) and advocates ultra-conservative ideals and an extremist view of Catholicism: the institute’s motto is “to defend the Judeo-Christian foundations of Western civilization through the recognition that man is made in the image and likeness of God.” DHI President Benjamin Harnwell’s goal is to open an international training school in the Certosa di Trisulti that will spread the foundation’s ultra-right ideals.

Local people have been protesting the academy’s arrival for months, and a participatory protest was held yesterday, with a march in Collepardo to say “no” to what many see as an “invasion” by the ultraright. “Places,” the Solidarity Communities Network, organizer of the event, explained in a note, “belong to those who walk them. History is of those who remember it day after day. Wealth is of those who guard the meaning of things in order to give it back to others and not to make them prisoners of a totalizing thought.” And specifically, they explain that “the Carthusian monastery, an outpost of Europe, a stage on that path traced by St. Benedict that is now in the hearts of millions of people, is charting a new course and a new springtime in the places it passes through. A path that carries within it the roots of Europe itself. The Carthusian Monastery of Trisulti outpost with a clear idea of what it means to be pro-European and that is to rebuild a social protagonism of Europe itself. Being community and making community, this teaches us a path and we do not forget it.” Hence the march “to preside with our presence over a place. To say forcefully that no one can ever take away our right to erect ourselves as custodians of a symbol, of a history, of its memory of its deep meaning.”

Many doubts have also been expressed by politicians with, at the head, the leftist movements. But also doubtful is the mayor of Collepardo, Mauro Bussiglieri, who told Il Messaggero, “We want the Abbey to remain a religious landmark.” In fact, the DHI foundation, which in the meantime has already established itself in the abbey, has also changed the way of access to the Certosa di Trisulti, restricting the hours and introducing a ticket (which must also correspond for wedding guests: before, moreover, access was free, while now free admission is only for residents of the municipality of Collepardo). Meanwhile, Harnwell, during a public debate held after the march, confirmed his idea: that of making the Charterhouse of Trisulti a base for the defense of Judeo-Christian civilization.

Pictured: the Charterhouse of Trisulti. Ph. Credit.

The ultra-right will open an academy in an abbey in Ciociaria. The revolt of the local population

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