MERTON-CIA LINK?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404210001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 15, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
v
THE CATHOLIC REVIEW
15 August 1980
Speculation continues on possible assasination
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000404210001-1
of famed Trappist'over Vietnam war opposition
By Stephanie Overman
WASHINGTON (NC) -. A
story about speculation that Fr..
Thomas Merton's death was
-caused by CIA-connected
agents has been called "non-
sense," by Trappist Brother
`Patrick Hart and defended as
"plausible" by its author.
Brother Hart; who was a
'friend- of the famous Trappist,
:priest-author, told the
Louisville (Ky.) Courier
Journal that such speculation is
-"irresponsible journalism.":
Brother Hart lives at the Abbey
U. Gethsemane in Trappist,'
$y., which was Father Mer
ton's home for 27years.
wFather Merton ---was elec
trocuted by a fan Dec. 10, 1968,
while "visiting Bangkok,
Thailand:. _ . _ . . ,
The ,Aug.,*--3 ' issue of the
Courier-Journal quoted Brother
Hart as saying, "No-one here
has ever- felt the CIA had..
anything to do.with his death."
. Joseph Sweat, who wrote the
original: story on the possible.
CIA link, defended the theory
proposed by.some-of Father.
.Merton's friends that an agent'..
? not on orders from ' t he top"
was responsible- for Father:-,
Merton's- death. The idea 'is
"plausible, he said in: 'a:
telephone interview.
He wrote the story for The
Tennesse Register, newspaper
of the Nashville Diocese. It wash.;
carried by National Catholic
News Service May 19.
"He was coming- into a
boiling cauldron," Mr. -Sweat
said of Father Merton's trip to
Southeast Asia at that time.
Father Merton, who was op-
posed to the Vietnam war, "was
unpopular with persons in
power in government at the
time," he added. {
The theory "is a fascinating
piece of speculation by people
who are not kooks, people I had
known for some time and; I.
don't think are irresponsible,".
"Jr. Sweat said. He had agreed
not to use the names of his
sources in his story.
"I personally have. no
theory," Mr. Sweat added, and
"I just wanted to report what
they're saying." He said he
-tried 'to make it clear in his
story that the priest's friends
'were speculating and that a
CIA: connection was never
proved. -:
Mr. Sweat!- quoted one of
Father - Merton's friends: "I
have. reason =to believe some
agent, perhaps an overzealous
native-of the'?area with only
loose. ties to- the CIA,--saw -a
.golden opportunity to help the
cause and tipped the electric
fan over` into Tom's bath
water-." Father Merton's death
was listed as. accidental..-
Brother Hart.said Mr. Sweat
has a numbers of facts wrong.
He said Father Merton was in a
shower rather than. a tub, so
there was no tub for anyone to
tip a fan into.
John Howard Griffin, another
friend of Father Merton, wrote-1
a letter to the Catholic New
Times of Toronto, which ran the
NCNews story. He said there is
no evidence for the speculation
and that there were errors
concerning the tub, where
Father Merton was staying and
whom he was visiting.
Mr. Sweat responded that he
got information from an en-
cylopedia article on Father
Merton's life and death and
newspaper stories from the
time of the death.
The discrepencies in the
details ---are- e- '.'kind of
irrelevant," Mr: Sweat said.
"I'm not sure that necessarily
shatters the assassination
theory."
Dale Peterson, the CIA's-
chief of media relations, told
the :'Courier-Journal; "I can .
assure you that the CIA had-
nothing - to do with Thomas
Merton's dea th.
"That is not something we do
go around killing U.S.citizens.'.It just would not be-
done, period," he added. -
Brother Hart said he was not .
surprised by the rumors.
Father Merton was relatively-
.Young, and in good health, no
one saw him die, the cir-
cumstances were bizarre and
no autopsy was performed.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000404210001-1