Tarrant judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Arlington nun accused of breaking chastity vow
A Tarrant County judge dismissed a lawsuit Friday filed by a Carmelite nun who sued Bishop Michael Olson and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth over his investigation into a report that she broke her chastity vow with a priest.
Judge Don Cosby of the 67th District Court ruled that the court did not have jurisdiction in the case. In a hearing on Tuesday, church officials argued that the investigation was a church matter.
“We are grateful for Judge Cosby’s ruling today in dismissing the nuns’ lawsuit,” Olson said in a statement. “The decision vindicates our steadfast belief that this is a private Church matter that does not belong in the courts. This matter will continue to proceed through an established canonical process.”
The lawsuit was filed by the Rev. Mother Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach and Sister Francis Therese of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington.
They sought $1 million, alleging that Olson defamed her, invaded their privacy and stole personal electronic devices after he received reports of Gerlach’s transgressions. Sister Francis Therese alleged the bishop took the devices and “stole” information pertaining to the monastery.
Olson dismissed Gerlach, 43, from the order on June 1, a day after the Vatican gave him the authority to investigate the reports that she had sex with a priest. She has denied the allegation and appealed her dismissal. Gerlach oversaw the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity on 72 wooded acres in Arlington.
Tuesday’s hearing was held to determine whether a secular court has jurisdiction to allow the lawsuit to go forward. Attorneys for the diocese argued that the courts should not entangle themselves in canonical matters, but Matthew Bobo, a Fort Worth attorney representing the nuns, said the issues involve invasion of privacy, defamation and property rights, which are secular matters.
“We are shocked, extremely disappointed and respectfully disagree with Judge Crosby’s decision,” said Bobo in a statement about the dismissal of the lawsuit.
Bobo said the dismissal indicates that, “a Catholic Bishop may publicly defame a Catholic to the media multiple times, and Catholic priests may freely manifest Catholics’ alleged sins to the entire world without any repercussion, either from the Vatican or the civil justice system,” and, “we look forward to an appellate court reversing this decision.”
During the hearing, the vicar general of the diocese, the Very Rev. Jonathan Wallis, testified Gerlach told told him on three occasions — outside of confession — that she had broken her chastity vows. Gerlach shared this information with Wallis when he visited the monastery to celebrate Mass, he said.
In an interview with Olson, Gerlach said she met the priest, later identified as Philip Johnson of the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, when he reached out to the monastery for prayers. At the time, Johnson was at the Transalpine Redemptorist Monastery in Montana. A recording of the interview between Olson and Gerlach was played in court during the hearing on Tuesday.
“Bishop, I need to tell you something,” Gerlach told Olson during the interview. “I don’t know how to explain this, but this did not happen in person. At all. It was all over the phone. So, he did not come down here.”
“That’s something you changed the story on,” Olson said. “We have a hard time with the truth.”
“Bishop, the truth is that he was not down here.”
“Well, we’ll have time for that in the investigation.”
“I promise you, Bishop. At the time, I was having seizures, and I was really in a very difficult position, and I think my brain just got really messed up.”
Gerlach was hospitalized for seizures in November, and was on pain medication as a result, Bobo said during the hearing. Gerlach uses a wheelchair and relies on a feeding tube.
Also on Friday, the diocese said that the Arlington Police Department had closed the criminal case filed against Olson as “unfounded.”
Bobo had contacted police in a letter dated May 31. It alleged that Olson and the diocese illegally seized data from Gerlach’s electronic devices before she was dismissed June 1. Police interviewed the nun June 7, according to Bobo.
This story was originally published June 30, 2023 at 3:28 PM.
