I'm genuinely curious to hear thoughts and information on the situation developing there between the bishop and the group of nuns being accused of religious infraction, and now possible criminal allegations on both sides. Going to link a tiktok, the lady speaking is a former nun that left before final vows, but is still practicing in the eastern tradition. She's also very interesting to listen to, catholic or not. This is just one of several videos on her channel on the subject.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT816MNBN/

Not meant to be a gotcha or a "bash the catholics" thread, yall are the only group of catholics I know that are involved enough in the church to even know what's going on sans the local priest, and while I admire and genuinely like the man, I don't really go have sit down conversations with him!

Eta: I did not see a thread on this, if it exists elsewhere I apologize.

Within seconds she is wrong. While mendicant orders have a General Superior that answers to Rome, they operate with the approval of the local Bishop. Why do I know this? In Austin, our local Lay Dominican chapter worked closely with the Dominican Missionary Preaching Team, that was under the ministry outreach for the Diocese of Austin for many years. With many of the older friars and nuns retiring, they have turned this ministry over to others in the Diocese.

One of the hallmarks of the Dominican Preach Team was the establishment of "Comunidads de Base" (small faith communities) that are necessary for the spiritual formation of many baptized Catholics throughout Central Texas. These were people, usually undocumented immigrants, that were not plugged into their parish. These groups were successful in turning that around and many parish leaders came from these initial seeds.

Large parishes, such as the Diocese of Austin, have a need that is not easily met by the local staff and clergy. Mendicant orders such as the Carmelites, Franciscans, and Dominicans have the resources and personnel to address this aspect of the mission and that is when a Bishop can arrange for these Orders to operate within the Diocese.

She is probably right in that his oversight or control is not absolute within these Orders. They have their own structure and that is where this gets interesting.

24 hour ... 24 week rule in this case. Church moves slow.

She posted an update earlier today, they've now filed theft charges against the bishop that took the equipment. What will the Vatican do if FW pd pursues that?

This kind of answer is why I posted this here, thank you. I really know very little about modern catholic religious orders

Ag_of_08 said:

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She posted an update earlier today, they've now filed theft charges against the bishop that took the equipment. What will the Vatican do if FW pd pursues that?

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Not sure, but it's small potatoes compared to what the Church deals with in countries like China. I'm sure the nuns feel helpless, but my instinct is that they should not have involved the police in this. I do feel for them, and I hope the monastery survives once the dust has settled. Theirs is a beautiful vocation and we're teaching our daughters about it in case they want to pursue discernment.

Ag_of_08 said:

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She posted an update earlier today, they've now filed theft charges against the bishop that took the equipment. What will the Vatican do if FW pd pursues that?

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Diocese operate like independent franchises. That is why some can declare bankruptcy and the neighboring Diocese just keeps trucking on. Same with criminal matters. Rome gets involved when it about moral and theological matters (CDF, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).

I still maintain that the Bishop can revoke their permission to operate in his Diocese. Not sure he can take their cell phones though?

And not far down the road, I just saw this article in WFAA. Not the best reporting I have ever read, but that is how it goes these days.

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/inside-sources-arlington-texas-monastery-perspective-dispute-between-nuns-fort-worth-bishop/287-ee450fba-d85b-47c7-b42c-eec738b522e8

I don't really have any details about this specific case, but I know several people who have had run-ins with this particular Bishop. It seems like he can be very vindictive and power hungry. He doesn't seem to like people who disagree with him in any way. Although, this seems to be his biggest controversy, it's not his first since taking over. I tend to think with this case there is probably some truth on both sides. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the Nun in question did have an affair, and the Bishop is using it as an opportunity for a power grab (I noticed they haven't release the Priest name who she had an affair with, or announced any punishment for him).

Regarding the electronics, if the Church is paying the bills for them, then it's likely he has a right to seize them. If they are being paid for personally, then it's theft.

These guys are some of the best/most thorough reporters on news in the Catholic church, and are extremely balanced in their reporting on this. If you're short on time, the last one will cover the most recent developments.

https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/sex-money-and-cloistered-nuns-the
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/bongs-edibles-and-rival-police-reports
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/bishop-olson-will-not-be-drawn-into

From what I've observed, I think the most likely outcome is that there's more than just the single incident with the abbess that's being looked into (which required the swift and drastic actions) and that Bishop Olsen needs a new PR guy, as they've not handled this well.

The more conspiratorial stuff (that the Bishop is trying to steal the donor list) doesn't really make sense, as these actions have basically rendered that donor list worthless, as any supporter of this Abbey certainly isn't in the mood to support the bishop after all this.