The disabled Texas nun caught having sex with a priest defied a Vatican order to leave the convent – prompting its archbishop to close it to religious followers while threatening to excommunicate the naughty nun and her supporters.
Rev. Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach, 43, was fired from Holy Trinity Convent in Arlington earlier this year after being accused of violating her vow of chastity last year with Father Bernard Marie.
But Gerlach – who allegedly confessed, but only to sexting – refused to go away, with him and the nuns who supported him publicly declaring they were now “free” from Bishop Michael Olson, the head of the investigating Diocese of Fort Worth under Vatican authority.
“The Chapter takes this opportunity to express its full confidence in the personal and moral integrity of the Mother Prioress and in her leadership,” the convent’s Carmelite nuns wrote recently on their website.
“Therefore, as the salvation of our souls is our first duty before Almighty God … we hereby declare that, in conscience, we no longer recognize the authority of, and can have no further connection with, the present Bishop of Fort Worth,” they write
Further, they said they “forbid him or any of his officers or representatives to enter the property of our monastery or have any connection or connection with the monastery or any of its nuns or novices.”
Mother Teresa Agnes is in a wheelchair, according to her attorney.via Jason Allen/CBS
The next day, Olson responded by saying that the convent would be closed to the public until “Arlington Carmel publicly repudiates these scandalous and schismatic actions of Mother Teresa Agnes.”
The wheelchair-bound nun “openly rejects my authority as diocesan bishop and Pontifical Commissioner,” he wrote, the latter referring to her authority as the Pope’s representative in the matter.
“This has hurt me as a friend and as a bishop because this deep wound has severed our unity as the Diocese of Fort Worth,” the bishop wrote in a public statement.
“Therefore, with deep sorrow I must inform the faithful … that Mother Teresa Agnes, therefore, may have brought upon herself (that is by her own schismatic action) excommunication.
The Carmelite Monastery, in Arlington, Texas near Fort Worth, was donated to the nuns by a wealthy local family.WFAA
“Other Bahadisa, depending on their complicity in Mother Teresa Agnes’s public, scandalous and schismatic actions may have done the same thing … removal,” he said.
The nuns responded again in a stunning war of words on Saturday, accusing Olson of waging a “private war against us.”
“[We] reiterate that they do not recognize Bishop Olson’s authority over their Monastery, and they refuse to accept any interference by him as Pontifical Commissioner, a position given to him in contempt of canonical norms and procedures,” they wrote on their website.
They said they “will face calmly and resolutely any unjust canonical restrictions” while answering “God’s authority.”
Matthew Bobo, an attorney for the nuns, told WFAA-TV that they are disappointed the convent has been closed to the public — while also worried about excommunication.
Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson has been given permission by the Vatican to handle the nun’s case. Mr OlsonFW/Twitter
“This is the only life they know,” Bobo said.
However, the bishop “is not welcome on the property,” the lawyer insisted firmly.
“We will take steps to remove it. He sent them a letter and said you have to close the door and you have to get my permission to have anyone come onto the property. That clearly violates Texas law.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
