Hearing delayed in legal dispute between Fort Worth Bishop and Arlington nuns
ARLINGTON (CBSNewsTexas.com) - A civil court judge delayed the first court hearing Friday in a legal dispute between a Catholic Bishop and an order of Arlington nuns, due to an evidentiary issue he called "crucial" to making a decision.
Judge Don Cosby apologized to the nearly full courtroom in Fort Worth, but said he needs some help to determine if the case can proceed.
The hearing was to decide if the 67th Judicial District Court has jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit from the Dicalced Carmelite Nuns, which attorneys for Bishop Michael Olson and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth have argued is entirely a matter for the church to handle, not the courts.
Michael Anderson, representing Olson, described the issue as relating to evidence his team wanted to bring that would indicate Olson acted appropriately in late April when he began investigating the Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes for violating her vow of chastity with an unnamed priest. Anderson said the legal team for the nuns wanted canonical attorneys who are working on the issue withing the church legal system, to weigh in with an opinion before the evidence was presented.
The hearing is rescheduled for June 27.