2023-08-21 01:02:39
19 hours ago the video you see at the beginning was published. Previously, the Vatican expert Marco Tosatti published on his blog the declaration of the Carmelite nuns of Arlington, prefixing the significant title “The Courage of Arlington Carmelites and an Unworthy Bishop. Rome, where are you?“, which I report after my introduction.
What happened:
A moment of deep reflection and courage developed at the peaceful Monastery of the Holy Trinity, located in Arlington, Texas. The Reverend Mother Prioress and the Discalced Carmelite Chapter recently issued a statement that has captured the attention of many who care about the Church. This statement, dated August 18, 2023, denounces the extraordinary events involving the Monastery and the Mother Prioress, exposing interference, intimidation and spiritual manipulation that have cast a shadow over this place of prayer and contemplation. Through this statement, the sisters express their firm resolve to preserve their vocation and the integrity of their community in the face of profound and unexpected challenges.
The declaration addresses a number of complex and relevant issues, ranging from the abuse of power to spiritual integrity. It shows how religious life, seemingly far from politics and power, can be influenced by complex and sometimes painful dynamics. This article explores the statement of the Discalced Carmelite nuns, offering an overview of the challenges they are facing and their commitment to preserve their faith, their vocation and their community.
The Foundations of the Declaration:
The declaration expresses the unequivocal commitment of the sisters to defend their vocation and their integrity in the face of the difficulties they are facing. It describes how the Monastery, since its foundation, has maintained cordial relations with the ecclesiastical authorities, but is now facing an unprecedented situation. The nuns say they have been victims of verbal assaults, intimidation, humiliation and spiritual interference by some ecclesiastical authorities, leading to the decision to no longer recognize the authority of the bishop of Fort Worth.
The declaration also addresses issues relating to liturgy and tradition. The nuns announce their desire to celebrate the Sacred Liturgy in the ancient form of the Roman Rite and according to the traditional use of the Discalced Carmelite nuns. This passage reflects their deep connection to tradition and faith.
Statement by the Reverend Mother Prioress and the Chapter
Monastery of the Holy Trinity
Discalced Carmelites
5801 Mt. Carmel Drive
Arlington, Texas 76017
August 18, 2023
Praised be Jesus Christ.
In recent months our Monastery in general and our Mother Prioress in particular have been subjected to unprecedented interference, intimidation, assault, private and public humiliation and spiritual manipulation, a direct result of the attitudes and ambitions of the current Bishop of Fort Worth in the regards our Reverend Mother Prioress, us Nuns and our property. We were caught off guard. Since our foundation our relations with our Bishop have always been cordial and filial. Every Bishop has always had our loving trust. We never imagined that our relationship with the Bishop could be different.
With his private and public behavior, Msgr. Olson has abused our filial obedience; a man who, in the pursuit of unspecified personal ends, did not hesitate to verbally attack and humiliate the nuns who denounced the completely unjustified violation of their rights relating to private property and privacy.
With regard to the slanders that have been spread, the Chapter takes this opportunity to express its total confidence in the moral integrity of its Mother Prioress and in the correctness of her government action.
We are Carmelite Nuns: prayer and penance are the basis of our religious life, not political games and power games. We cannot afford to devote our spiritual or material resources in vain disputations with authorities whose agendas are utterly alien to ours and whose means of influencing the results of our appeals are beyond anything we can match.
Our duty before God is to ensure that this Carmel is a quiet house of prayer where every nun and novice can live out her vocation in peace and integrity, for the salvation of her soul, for the glory of Almighty God and for the the edification of His people.
Therefore, since the salvation of our souls is our first duty before Almighty God; in order to protect the integrity of our life and our monastic vocation from the serious dangers posed by the constant abuses to which we are subjected, we hereby affirm, in good conscience, that we no longer recognize the authority of the present Bishop of Fort Worth or of its officials and we forbid him and his emissaries to access the property of our Monastery or to have any contact or relationship with the Monastery, with the Religious and with the Novices. No one who acts as abusive as the current Bishop of Fort Worth can demand our cooperation or obedience.
For our spiritual and psychological safety, and for the duty of justice, we must make ourselves independent of this Bishop until he repents of the abuse to which he subjected us, apologizes in person to our Community for what he has done and accepts make due public reparation. If that day should never come, let us hope and pray that in due time his successor will be a God-sent instrument for that reparation which, in justice, is now due to us.
In these circumstances we must state clearly that we remain absolutely faithful to the doctrine of the Catholic Church and that the Pope and Bishop of Fort Worth, whoever they are today or may be in the future, will always be the object of our prayers in this Monastery, especially in the Canon of Mass.
We obviously expect verbal positions towards us, and perhaps even sanctions: it is not our intention to break Communion with anyone. We are simply stating that the abuse to which we have been subjected is so grossly unjust and intolerably destructive of the vocation we have pledged to honor before Almighty God, that we cannot in good conscience cooperate. We do not reject any article of the Catholic Faith or Morals. On the contrary, we declare that – in these particular and peculiar circumstances – in conscience before Almighty God we cannot allow this diocesan Bishop to continue further to behave unlawfully towards us.
Furthermore, the Chapter has decided that henceforth, in order to better render to Almighty God the glory due Him, and to enter more deeply into the contemplation of His Sacred Mysteries, the Sacred Liturgy – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Divine Office, the Sacraments, the Sacramentals and other rites – will be celebrated in the ancient form of the Roman Rite and according to the traditional use of the Discalced Carmelite nuns.
We want to clarify that this decision is not a reaction to the abuse against us, although we expect it will provoke even more retaliation from the same people. Rather, it constitutes a positive awareness that has developed in our Community over time: «What previous generations held sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and cannot suddenly be completely forbidden or even considered harmful. It is appropriate for all of us to preserve the riches that have developed in the faith and prayer of the Church and to give them their rightful place”. (Benedict XVI, July 7, 2007)
We believe this is especially true for those whose vocation is the contemplative life, including ourselves, and that this is something good we can and must do for the Church in our times.
The church of our Monastery is and will remain open to all those who, in good faith, wish to pray there or participate in the liturgical rites we celebrate, regardless of any complaints from those who have abused their power against us.
We entrust ourselves completely to the Providence of Almighty God, who is our only Judge and our Consolation in this moment of trial, so that He sends us good priests who will ensure our liturgical and sacramental life and, through the generosity of His faithful people, ensure the material support we need to faithfully continue our vocation in these truly extraordinary circumstances and to train those young women who join us in our beautiful and traditional life of prayer and sacrifice before the Lord.
We apologize to all of our family and friends for any concern that recent events or this statement may have caused them. We have no desire to cause distress or scandal; but if we are to be faithful to our calling, if we are to survive, we have no other choice. We ask for your understanding and prayers, and we assure everyone, even those who disagree, of ours.
May the Carmelite Saints and Martyrs intercede for us all!
Praised be Jesus Christ: now and always!
*****
Bishop Viganò intervened in defense of the nuns. His speech was published on the aforementioned blog of Marco Tosatti ‘The style of the Court‘.
My position in this regard is one of full solidarity with the nuns. However, the situation is very delicate and the solution cannot be schismatic division, while belonging to the Church must be maintained.
I’m not qualified to address these topics but I have a good knowledge of the catechism and this is enough in life. For those wishing to further investigate, I propose the reasons that Prof. Giovanni Zenone lucidly describes in the first part of the following video (before the presentation of the editorial news of Faith and Culture and then, continuing, immediately after):
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