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A community of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas have permitted two priests to celebrate Mass in their convent despite the priests being suspended on suspicion of abuse.
Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas revealed that the priests have been serving as chaplains to the nuns without authorisation.
The priests, the bishop disclosed, are members of the Society of St John, a religious institute that was suppressed because of abuse complaints. One of the priests visiting the Carmelites has been suspended from ministry since 2012.
Both priests and the Society of St John were listed in a grand jury investigation into abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses.
Bitter dispute
The Carmelite community has been in a bitter public dispute with the bishop since April 2023.
The dispute began when Olson investigated allegations that the prioress, Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, violated her vows.
The situation escalated throughout 2023, with the nuns appealing to the Vatican and filing a lawsuit (since dismissed) against the bishop.
Despite the Carmelite nuns’ protests, Bishop Olson has maintained the allegations against their superior.
The Arlington Carmelites have rejected a Vatican order directive putting their community under the jurisdiction of a national Carmelite Association. They said it is “in effect a hostile takeover that we cannot in conscience accept”.
Bishop Olson says that until the sisters accept the appointment of Mother Marie of the Incarnation as rightful superior “I cannot grant permission or authority to any priest of the Diocese of Fort Worth or any other diocese or religious institute to celebrate the sacraments”.
Initially, the Vatican appointed Bishop Olson as the papal representative overseeing the convent but later transferred management to the president of the Carmelite Association “Christ the King”.
In June, the Vatican dismissed the nuns’ complaints against Olson’s measures, except for the dismissal of the prioress from the order.
The sisters continue to reject the instructions of the Vatican Dicastery for Religious and refuse to recognise the association president’s leadership.
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