CV NEWS FEED // Due to a request for dismissal from a group of Texas Carmelite nuns, a court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by the nuns against their bishop over an alleged abuse of power.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas has been embroiled in both civil and Church legal disputes since 2023, when local bishop Michael F. Olson responded to chastity violations committed by the former head of the convent, Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach.
The nuns claimed that Bishop Olson, the head of the Diocese of Fort Worth, abused his power to obtain information, seize monastery property, and defame the monastery. They filed a lawsuit and additionally refused to recognize Bishop Olson’s episcopal authority.
According to local outlet WFAA, a previous lawsuit was dismissed by civil courts in June 2023, as the judge ruled it was not a civil case. Instead, the nuns pursued legal action through the Church’s legal system, but additionally filed a second civil lawsuit against the Diocese.
The nuns requested the dismissal of the second lawsuit on May 21, whereupon the court dismissed the case.
WFAA reported that it received a statement concerning the dismissal from the monastery’s attorney, Matthew Bobo.
“The monastery and the sisters no longer need the Court’s relief sought in the lawsuit and is confident that the protection of its corporate governance and all of its assets are protected from any actions the bishop and Christ the King might try to take going forward,” he said, according to WFAA.
Christ the King refers to the Carmelite Association of Christ the King, to which Pope Francis gave governing authority when the monastery challenged Bishop Olson’s episcopal authority.
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