Originally published at National Catholic Register
The Vatican has suppressed the Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, following a long-running controversy that began with a diocesan investigation into allegations that the prioress had broken her vow of chastity.
Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, announced on Monday that he received a decree of suppression last week from the Holy See. The decree follows the dismissal of the former nuns in October by their superior after a series of disagreements with the local bishop.
The decree, dated Nov. 28, was signed by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla, the secretary of the dicastery.
The dicastery found the community “extinct” and decreed the suppression of the monastery. The decree of suppression cited the “notorious defection from the Catholic faith” that led to the dismissal of the five nuns as well as of the monastery’s only novice, amid the expiration of the vows of the seventh member, “thus, leaving the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity with no members.”
Bishop Olson announced the suppression on Dec. 2, emphasizing that the women at
