ARLINGTON, Texas — The 67th District Court of Tarrant County has confirmed that the civil case against Bishop Michael Olson and the Diocese of Fort Worth by an Arlington monastery has been dismissed.
The monastery had filed a civil suit against Olson and the Diocese of Fort Worth accusing them of theft and defamation after they claim Olson took the nuns' technology and accused their head nun, Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, of violating her vows of chastity with a priest from outside the diocese.
Olson said on Friday he was grateful for the judge's decision.
"I still continue to hold that it's not a matter for civil court and I think the judge's decision vindicates my decision on that," Olson said.
Olson said the canonical process will continue to go forward and that Gerlach has every right to participate and hopes she does so.
“The presence of a case like this in a civil court complicates the matter and it entangles it unnecessarily; a matter that is a delicate pastoral matter and a delicate spiritual matter,” said Olson.
Before the case ever saw a real legal court, it had run circles in the court of public opinion for several weeks. Over that time, many claims had been made about both sides.
“The most hurtful thing is that somehow I don't care about the sisters and that I did not have their well-being at heart and especially Mother's well-being. I do care for Mother a great deal and I care for all of the sisters as their bishop and as a friend,” Olson said in response to outside opinions.
All that is likely left is the canonical investigation and that will not be in the open and under seal. Gerlach is expected to appeal canonically shortly.
"We are shocked, extremely disappointed and respectfully disagree with Judge Crosby's decision," said Matthew Bobo, the attorney for the Carmelite nuns of the Most Holy Trinity Monastery.
Bobo said he and his clients are looking forward to appealing the decision in court.
"This decision indicates that anyone who goes into a Catholic church in Texas can be required to turn over his mobile device, the church can make a copy of all of its contents, keep them for an indefinite period of time, trounce private citizens' constitutionally-protected civil liberties, and that the Catholic Church may do all of this without any practical justification whatsoever," Bobo said.
"And not only that," he continued, "but that a Catholic Bishop may publicly defame a Catholic to the media multiple times, and Catholic priests may freely manifest Catholics’ alleged sins to the entire world without any repercussion, either from the Vatican or the civil justice system.”
The Arlington Police Department also announced Friday that they have closed an investigation into the dispute, finding no probable cause to file criminal charges against anyone involved.
Police launched their own investigations into the monastery and the bishop in early June following weeks of civil disputes between Olson and the nuns.
Inside sources previously said they were worried Gerlach had been abusing prescribed drugs and is using marijuana, which is illegal in Texas. The diocese released two pictures that they claim appears to show marijuana and other cannabis products inside the monastery.
Those sources also said that the Mother Superior, with the help of a layperson, drove to Colorado multiple times to purchase marijuana, where doing so is legal.
"Show me the proof," Bobo said in the wake of those allegations. "You throw out any story you want to. You can throw out any allegation you want to, just show me the proof."
In audio played in court this week regarding the civil suit, Gerlach herself can allegedly be heard telling Olson that she broke her vow of chastity, that the priest she broke her vow engaged with isn't from the local diocese and that whatever happened that caused her to break her vow happened both in person and in over-the-phone interactions.
"A priest is obliged to live his promises," Olson reportedly said to Gerlach in the recording. "I need to put you on administrative leave."
In the audio, Gerlach reportedly called the incident a "horrible mistake" and apologized for it.
It is unclear if Gerlach knew she was being recorded at the time.
"I was not in my right mind and I would never do anything like this," Gerlach reportedly said in that same recording.
The suit filed by the nuns alleges that Olson took pieces of technology from the nuns without the proper authority. But Olson reportedly told Gerlach, authoritatively, that the state of the whole Carmel was at stake due to her actions.
In his own Tuesday testimony, Olson said he had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the monastery -- something the initial lawsuit disputed -- by virtue of their constitution as well as by canon law 615.
Canon law 615 states "[a]n autonomous monastery which does not have another major superior besides its own moderator and is not associated to another institute of religious in such a way that the superior of the latter possesses true power over such a monastery as determined by the constitutions is entrusted to the special vigilance of the diocesan bishop according to the norm of law. "
According to this, Olson testified, he had authority to do canonical and ecclesiastical investigations -- a belief seemingly reinforced by an alleged papal decree shared with the media by the diocese, which Olson then used to dismiss the reverend mother from her post at the monastery earlier this month.
Michael Anderson, the attorney representing Olson, argued that the civil courts did not have jurisdiction over the case and argued the lawsuit be dismissed because the matter deals with the church and not the state of Texas.
"This thing is bound up in ecclesiastical matters," Anderson said.