As soon as the scandal of the Saint Habakkuk Monastery broke out (even before it was made public), the desire of all those involved was for it to end as soon as possible, in a summary manner.
Each one, for their own reasons, wanted to close the case. The monks were ready to apologise and disappear from the face of the earth rather than be exposed and face, in addition to public ridicule, possible disciplinary sanctions.
Bishop Isaias had every reason to immediately close the case that he himself had opened, lest he also be implicated. And the archbishop would have preferred that the issue not be on the ecclesiastical agenda at all.
Hence his statement that he wished for it to be resolved before the holy days of Easter, so as not to cause scandal among the public.
However, the public is not scandalised, but merely amused. And the saying “give a dog a bad name and hang him” does not hold true nowadays, neither for laypeople nor for clerics nor for anyone else.
So, instead of the matter being closed swiftly to prevent exposure of things and situations that would embarrass many, we have reached a point where no one wants to either close or truly open the case.
Even what we have seen, which was absolutely real, has faded: the presence of a former police chief and a party leader during the money count, the huge amount of money found in the monastery, a woman being whipped by a monk, the so-called miracles, the monks’ dialogues, the sale of spiritual and material goods, the installation of cameras that recorded sound and video in the interior and exterior spaces of the monastery, the raid by masked men…
In the end, only the illegal importation of deer and the construction of buildings without the necessary permits may remain as charges. Everything else is being cast into doubt. The parties involved have had ample time to recover from the initial shock and regroup, creating versions for all possible scenarios or remembering exactly how the eight hundred thousand euros ended up in the safe.
Moreover, it has become apparent that they are very good students of human psychology: just as people easily believe that with a magic potion and a donation one can become pregnant, they can also be easily convinced of anything else.
For example, the attendance of eight hundred thousand people, or the role of the throne commissioners, or the installation of cameras that due to a technical error (which may have been God’s will) recorded everything.
For now, there is a deafening silence, and what comes to the public eye, easily goes away.
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