A Texas bishop who accused the Mother Superior of a convent of committing adultery with a priest has gained key backing from the Vatican, after she filed a $1 million lawsuit challenging his authority.
In a decree on Wednesday, the Vatican granted Forth Worth Bishop Michael Olson ‘full governing powers’ over the Discalced Carmelite Nuns, a small religious order that runs a monastery in Arlington.
Last month, the nuns’ leader, Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach, filed a lawsuit accusing Olson of overstepping his authority by storming into the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, ‘interrogating’ the nuns, and confiscating phones and other devices they use to run the convent.
In response, Olson issued a public statement saying his actions were part of an ‘ecclesiastical investigation’ into allegations that Gerlach had ‘committed sins against the Sixth Commandment and violated her vow of chastity with a priest.’
The nuns had contested Olson’s authority over them, saying that as a Catholic religious order they answer directly to Pope Francis — but the new Vatican decree naming Olson as ‘Pontifical Commissary’ deals a blow to that position.
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Vatican BACKS Texas bishop who accused Mother Superior of ‘violating her vow of chastity with a priest’: Pope grants him ‘full governing powers’ over her convent after she challenged his authority in $1M lawsuit
American Buddhist Net 