Parties seen as cause of Vatican move against Cistercian community in Rome
May 25, 2011
The Cistercian community in Rome that has been suppressed by the Vatican order had a reputation for hosting lavish parties, according to an Agence France Presse report.
The abbey of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme had organized dances, set up an elite group of “Friends of Santa Croce,” and enjoyed visits by celebrities like Madonna, AFP reports. Dance parties—including events in which nuns danced around the altar—incurred the Vatican’s disapproval, the report says. Concerns may also have included the abbey’s informal arrangements with a nearby luxury hotel, where the Cistercians’ guests were accommodated.
The Santa Croce abbey became popular under the leadership of Father Simone Fioraso, who had been a fashion designer in Milan before he became a Cistercian and rose to become abbot of the community in Rome. He was ousted from that post two years ago.
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Further information:
- Pope shuts down famous monastery that liked to party (AFP)
- Vatican suppresses Cistercian abbey in Rome (CWN, 5/23)
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Posted by: hartwood01 -
May. 26, 2011 6:46 PM ET USA
After the fashion designer info, I again stopped to wonder at a community who would elect Fr.Fioraso to be their abbot. He must have fooled a lot of monks, we can only hope.
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Posted by: -
May. 26, 2011 1:41 AM ET USA
Events in which nuns danced around the altar? Such events used to be known by the term 'divine worship' in many places, and in some places probably still are.
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Posted by: Obregon -
May. 25, 2011 10:28 PM ET USA
"The Santa Croce abbey became popular under the leadership of Father Simone Fioraso, who had been a fashion designer in Milan before he became a Cistercian and rose to become abbot of the community in Rome." I presume the good Father continued to act as if he were still a fashion designer. The idea of becoming a priest, is to leave behind a secular way of life in order to embrace a religious way of life, but apparently, that was not the case.
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Posted by: -
May. 25, 2011 10:06 PM ET USA
Notice how, if Fr. Fioraso had been (say) a Mechanical Engineer instead of a fashion designer, this whole story would simply make no sense. Whydat?
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Posted by: Don Vicente -
May. 25, 2011 7:30 PM ET USA
No kidding, this really sounds like the plot of a Fellini film...
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Posted by: hartwood01 -
May. 25, 2011 5:59 PM ET USA
Oh boy, what sickening behavior! No wonder the Catholic Church is hated.
