Benedictine “Monks” Celebrate Interfaith Fraternity Amid War, Silence Christ the King

The article from Vatican News reports on the German-speaking Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem during the 2026 U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel describes how the community, caught in rocket attacks, transformed an air-raid shelter into a place of multi-lingual prayer and “fraternity,” including prayers for “perpetrators.” The monks emphasize interreligious dialogue with Islamic theology students, lament the suffering of migrant workers, and express alienation from those who “cheer” war. The abbey was later ordered closed by police. The piece frames the monks’ response as a humanitarian, interfaith witness, omitting any reference to the Social Kingship of Christ, the duty of Catholic rulers, or the supernatural purpose of suffering. It presents a naturalistic, ecumenical model of “Church” as a neutral humanitarian agency, utterly divorced from the Catholic doctrine of the *Societas Perfecta* and the imperative to preach the Faith to non-Catholics.