Suspended priests serving fractious Carmelite community, Texas diocese reports
July 19, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, has revealed that priests of a disbanded religious order have been serving without authorization as chaplains for a Carmelite community in Arlington that has been engaged in a bitter dispute with the bishop.
The Arlington Carmelites have rejected a Vatican order directive putting their community under the jurisdiction of a national Carmelite Association, saying that it is “in effect a hostile takeover that we cannot in conscience accept.” Bishop Olson says that until the sisters accept her appointment 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.”
The priests who have been serving the Arlington community, 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.
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