Vatican says Arlington monastery is ‘extinct’ after nuns were dismissed from religious life
The Vatican has issued a declaration stating that the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity no longer exists in the eyes of the church and that it is “extinct.”
The Vatican issued the statement on Thursday, Nov. 28, a month after the nuns were dismissed from religious life because they are in “schism” with the church and refused to be under the authority of the Carmelite Association of Christ the King, which was appointed by the Vatican to oversee the nuns and their daily lives at the monastery.
Bishop Michael Olson of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth posted a letter to the faithful on the diocese’s website and also included the decree from the Vatican and a letter discussing the “suppression of the monastery.”
“The actions of the former nuns have perpetrated a deep wound in the Body of Christ,” Olson wrote. “I ask all of you to join me in praying for healing, reconciliation, and for the conversion of these women who have departed from the vowed religious life and notoriously defected from communion with the Catholic Church by their actions.”
Olson also wrote that it is important for Catholics to remember that the “women” who live at the Arlington monastery are no longer nuns because they were dismissed from religious life.
He stated that that the diocese has never made any claims to the monastery property “nor do we do so now.”
The monastery property is owned by the Friends of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington Inc. The nuns had transferred the property to the foundation earlier this year so the diocese and the Association of Christ the King could not have a claim to it.
Matthew Bobo, an attorney representing the nuns, issued a statement on behalf of the board of directors for the Friends of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington. He said nuns are safe from the efforts of Bishop Olson and will continue their devotion to a life of contemplative prayer.
The nuns have been embroiled in a dispute with the Diocese of Fort Worth and the Vatican for over a year. It began when Olson investigated a report that the nuns’ leader, the Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, broke her chastity vows with a priest from outside the diocese.
The nuns sued Olson over allegations of invasion of privacy and theft of personal property related to his investigation, but a Tarrant County judge threw out the lawsuit, ruling it was a church matter.
In April, the Vatican placed the nuns under the authority of the Association of Christ the King. Mother Marie of the Incarnation, president of the Christ the King Association, was appointed as the major superior of the Carmel but the nuns opposed the orders.
In September, the nuns said they were aligned with the Society of Saint Pius X, a traditionalist society that has been at odds with the Vatican.
“The Society of St Pius X is addressing the latest attempts by Bishop Olson to harass the Nuns and we are confident in that process,” Bobo said.
Bobo also said that the “suppression of the monastery will not have an effect on the monastery since the property is owned by the foundation.”