Thomas Merton/Assassination

On December 10, 1968 American Trappist monk Thomas Merton was assassinated at an International Red Cross retreat center near Bangkok Thailand. Forbidden Bookshelf publisher Mark Crispin Miller has stated Merton's Assassination deserves to be considered one of the great assassinations of the 1960's on par with JFK, RFK, MLK, and Malcolm X. Although no definitive evidence has or is likely to emerge implicating the Central Intelligence Agency, it had the motive and means, and the CIA was actively engaged in the murder's cover-up.

Background

Merton was an accomplished author and anti-war monk. In 1948, his bestselling Autobiography "The Seven Storey Mountain" inspired numerous Second World War veterans having difficulty re-transitioning to civilian life in the declining postwar economy to join a revived monastic movement in the United States. Although this was initially encouraged in the 1950's when religious identities were embraced to counter Soviet official atheism, in the expansion of the Vietnam War, Merton became an inspiration for conscientious objectors. Religious Vocation was a legitimate exemption from the draft. Merton was also an early critic of the official story behind the JFK assassination.

In the post Vatican council reforms, it was feared Merton could catalyze official Catholic opposition to the war. Merton's activities were an obstacle to the CIA's war ambitions in Southeast Asia. Merton was inccorruptable and could reach a large and influential audience

The Assassination

Merton was found in his room at the retreat center. His death was caused by blunt force trauma to the back of the head, and the scene was arranged to appear so that it appeared there was an accident. Thai authorities initially declared Merton to have had heart failure, but an official investigation stated Merton was electrocuted by a faulty Hitachi electric fan. Although the assassin is unlikely to ever be discovered, a Belgian priest, Fr. Francois de Grunne, appears to be an accomplice. After completing the morning session of the conference, Merton and de Grunne were seen walking together back to the cottage where they stayed for a brief respite before returning for the afternoon session. Officially, Francois de Grunne was the last person to see Merton alive and the first to discover his body. Prior to discovering Merton’s body, De Grunne was heard pacing the floor above Father Celestine Say who was trying to rest. Then after discovering Merton’s body, it was noted by others that de Grunne’s behavior was odd and his statements contradictory.

In the ensuing months and decades, CIA-affiliated journalists John Howard Griffin, Penn Jones, and Michael Mott were instrumental in putting out disinformation and preparing the cover-up. Mott's bestselling biography of Merton, especially, is riddled with easily-refutable factual errors and incidents of character assassination. A number of monks and religious authorities at the retreat center were also supportive of the cover-up likely due to threats to withhold funding for their various institutions and orders.

References and Links

http://themartyrdomofthomasmerton.com (a repository of original source documents}

Hugh Turley and David Martin, "The Assassination of Thomas Merton: An Investigation" Hayatsville, MD: McCabe Publishing, 2017. ISBN 978-1548077389.