A group of nuns in Arlington, Texas, have been declared "extinct" by the Vatican, following a monthslong battle with the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth over a rumored affair between the head nun and a priest. Per Chron.com, Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson on Monday published a statement from Rome that issued the extinction decree against the Discalced Carmelite Monastery, with the Vatican noting to Olson that "the events of the past year and a half have caused you and the faithful ... hardship and unwarranted public attention." Olson says in his accompanying letter that "the women who continue to occupy the premises in Arlington are no longer nuns ... nor Carmelites despite their continued and public self-identification to the contrary."
- Scandal: The news comes after Olson launched a probe in April 2023 into a supposed online dalliance between the Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, who uses a wheelchair and feeding tube, and North Carolina priest Philip Johnson. Gerlach was accused by OIson of adultery and violating her chastity vows, though Gerlach says all correspondence with the priest was over the phone. Johnson, meanwhile, was granted retirement earlier this year, "in good standing and with full faculties to act as a priest," per CBS News. Gerlach and other nuns filed two complaints against Olson, though both fizzled out.
- More from Olson: The bishop says in his letter that any sacraments or Mass services held at the "former" monastery are now considered "illicit." "The actions of the former nuns have perpetrated a deep wound in the Body of Christ," he writes, noting his "great sadness."
- Pushback: Advocates for the nuns say Olson simply wants to seize control of the nearly $4 million, 72-acre monastery. Fort Worth attorney Matthew Bobo, who's representing the group, says that the Society of St. Pius X, which the nuns joined in September, is "addressing the latest attempts by Bishop Olson to harass the nuns." Bobo adds, per the Dallas Morning News: "The nuns are safe from the efforts of Bishop Olson and continue ... their life of contemplative prayer."
- Olson's camp: A rep for the diocese tells Chron.com that the "diocese never wanted the Arlington land, nor does it want the land now."
This latest development follows the Vatican-appointed leader of the nuns dismissing them in late October from their Catholic order and religious life. The
Catholic News Agency features a timeline of the entire situation. (More
nuns stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
