Nuns say they no longer recognize Fort Worth bishop’s authority, ban him from property
The Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington said in a statement Friday that it no longer recognizes the authority of Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson and he is banned from entering the property.
“Our Monastery in general and our Mother Prioress in particular have been subjected to unprecedented interference, intimidation, aggression, private and public humiliation and spiritual manipulation,” the said in the statement, referring to Olson’s report claiming a prioress of the monastery broke her vow of chastity.
The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth said in a statement Friday they it not been notified of the “dangerously rebellious decision by the dismissed prioress and the other nuns.”
“Bishop Olson asks the faithful of the Diocese of Fort Worth and all people of good will to pray for the Carmelites that they will stop their open disobedience,” said the diocese in the statement. “Bishop Olson and the Diocese of Fort Worth stand with Pope Francis and will remain faithful to the canonical process that is currently underway.”
In May, Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach sued Olson and the diocese for $1 million, alleging he defamed her after he began an investigation looking into a report that she broke her vow with a priest.
Olson eventually dismissed Gerlach from the order. She appealed that decision to the Vatican.
The lawsuit was dismissed in June by a Tarrant County judge, ruling the court did not have jurisdiction in a church matter. The diocese had argued its investigation was a church matter.
According to their statement, the nuns said Olson and his officials or representatives are forbidden from entering the monastery or from having any relations with its nuns or novices, but that they “remain faithful” to the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
“We are simply stating that the abuse to which we have been subjected is so gravely unjust and intolerably destructive of the vocation to which we are vowed before Almighty God, that in conscience that abuse cannot be cooperated with,” the monastery said in the statement.
Late last year, Gerlach told the vicar general of the diocese, the Very Rev. Jonathan Wallis, that she had broken her chastity vow with a priest from outside of the diocese. But the nuns consider Wallis a friend, and Gerlach thought she was speaking to him in confidence, Sister Francis Therese has told the Star-Telegram.
Therese said Gerlach was taking medication for seizures and was not in her right mind. That should have been obvious to Wallis, she said.
Wallis testified during a June 27 court hearing that Gerlach told him on three occasions — outside of confession — that she had broken her chastity vows.
Olson said during that hearing he followed procedures in canon law and consulted with the Vatican when he investigated Gerlach.
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Francis Therese described how a priest, known to them as Father Bernard Marie, sent an email to the nuns asking for prayers because of a health condition. The Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, later identified him as the Rev. Philip Johnson.
“What I understand is that this priest texted her [Gerlach] asking for prayers,” Francis Therese said. “Somehow in the course of the text exchange something inappropriate was said. It was never in person.
“When she realized it, she became very distressed. She is a religious, she is a consecrated woman, and she takes her vocation very seriously. She didn’t resolve it in her own mind without counsel. Innocently, she went to Father Wallis.”
She also said Wallis knew of Gerlach’s condition but was not compassionate toward her.
The nuns’ attorney, Matthew Bobo of Fort Worth, said in late July the nuns hope the Vatican will reverse Olson’s actions and that the daily Mass for the laity that Olson removed during his investigation will soon be reinstated.
The diocese has said in a statement that Olson remains the superior of the monastery and Gerlach remains on administrative leave during the appeal.
The status quo for Mass will remain during the canonical appeal, the diocese said. Daily Mass will continue to be provided for the nuns, it said.
This story was originally published August 18, 2023 at 7:02 PM.
