Texas Nuns' Revolt! Carmelites ban bishop from convent after he accused wheelchair-bound Mother Superior of 'sexting'
FORT WORTH, TEXAS: A group of nuns in Texas have mutinied against their bishop and banned him from entering their monastery after he accused their Mother Superior of sexting with a priest.
The Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington said in a statement on Friday, August 18, that Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson subjected them to "unprecedented interference, intimidation, aggression, private and public humiliation, and spiritual manipulation."
They alleged this took place over four months.
In their accusations, they added that Olson shouted at nuns, invaded their privacy and degraded them "in private and in public when they protest that their rights have been ignored."
The nuns alleged, “No one who abuses us as has the current Bishop of Fort Worth, has any right to our cooperation or obedience.”
Thay added that Olson and his representatives were banned from entering their convent, the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity.
When did the dispute between the Nuns and the Bishop start?
The unprecedented conflict allegedly began back in April, when the nuns alleged Olson stormed into their priory, questioned them and confiscated their phones and other devices that they needed to run the convent.
Since then, the nuns have filed a $1M lawsuit against Olson, who publically accused their prioress, Mother Superior Theresa Agnes Gerlach, of using cannabis and "violating her vow of chastity' with a priest," something she firmly denies.
The priest that Olson spoke about is Father Philip G Johnson of the Diocese of Raleigh, a Navy veteran and brain cancer survivor who initially approached Gerlach to ask for prayers from the nuns, according to the Daily Mail.
In his response to the ban, Olson released a statement, stating that Gerlach may have incurred latae sententiae, or automatic ex-communication "by her own schismatic actions."
"The other nuns, depending on their complicity in Mother Teresa Agnes' publicly, scandalous and schismatic actions could possibly have incurred the same latae sententiae excommunication," he said.
"The Arlington Carmel remains closed to public access until such time as the Arlington Carmel publicly disavows itself of these scandalous and schismatic actions of Mother Teresa Agnes," Olson added.
Why did Mother Superior Theresa Agnes Gerlach ban Bishop Michael Olson from her order?
In a recent development, Olson accused Gerlach of "sexting" a priest before expelling her from the Carmelite order, which she had joined not long after graduating from high school 25 years earlier.
The incident has deeply divided the Catholic community in Fort Worth, and supporters of the Carmelite sisters have started a petition calling for Olson's dismissal for abuse of authority.
Gerlach, 43, suffers from severe chronic health conditions that sometimes require her to use a wheelchair.
She also uses a feeding tube and receives round-the-clock care from a fellow nun, her attorney told the Daily Mail.
In an audio clip produced in court, Gerlach appeared to accept that she had fallen in love with a priest through long-distance talks, but she vehemently denied breaking church law by breaking her vow of chastity.
Olson alleged that Johnson, who was identified last week, has refused to assist the Fort Worth Diocese's investigation into the sexting allegations.
Olson expelled Gerlach from the Discalced Carmelite Nuns on June 1, a day after being granted special permission by the Vatican to conduct his probe.
Olson said at the time he had found the nun "guilty of having violated the sixth commandment of the Decalogue and her vow of chastity with a priest from outside the Diocese of Fort Worth."
However, he did not name the priest.
No direct evidence of the sexting has emerged in court. Rather, the diocese has presented testimony and recordings documenting Gerlach's admissions that she had fallen in love with a priest through long-distance communications.