Nun accused of breaking chastity vow names priest in interview with Fort Worth bishop
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What we know about the The Fort Worth Catholic Diocese’s dispute with a Carmelite nun
Arlington police have begun investigating a dispute between the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese and a reverend mother who says she was wrongly accused of “sexual misconduct” with a priest.
The diocese, meanwhile, told the Star-Telegram it has alerted police of “serious concerns” of marijuana and edibles inside the Arlington monastery of Carmelite nuns. The Fort Worth bishop says the nun admitted to the “transgression” of breaking her chastity vow with a priest during interviews with the vicar general of the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese and another sister from her order over several days in April.
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A nun involved in a lawsuit over the Fort Worth bishop’s investigation into a report that she broke her chastity vow identified the priest as Bernard Marie, from a monastery in Montana.
The Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach named Marie during an interview with Bishop Michael Olson. A recording of the interview was played Tuesday during a hearing in Gerlach’s lawsuit against Olson and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth.
Gerlach is suing Olson and the diocese for $1 million, alleging that he defamed her, invaded her privacy and stole personal electronic devices after he received reports that she and Marie had broken their vows of chastity. She has denied the allegations.
Sister Francis Therese of the monastery is also suing Olson because she alleges the bishop took the devices and “stole” information pertaining to the monastery.
Gerlach told Olson that she met Marie when he contacted the monastery for prayers. She told Olson that the two talked over email and had a video chat.
Marie was briefly at a monastery in Montana with the Transalpine Redemptorists, a chapter of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Catholic group of missionary monks.
While he was at the monastery, he was not officially a member of the Transalpine Redemptorists religious order but was a novice there with the permission of the diocese in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The monastic missionary order, based out of a Scottish island, says it can trace its origins to the seventh century, according to the Papa Stronsay website, named after the congregation’s island.
The earliest record of the group by a contemporary author seems to be from 1045.
The congregation started work on the monastery in 2020, dubbing it the Montana Rosa Mystica, and asking people to send donations for its construction to Most Holy Rosary House in Jordan, Montana, according to the website.
According to the statement, Murray resigned from the order in May and returned to his diocese in North Carolina.
This story was originally published June 27, 2023 at 8:05 PM.
