Parishioner 'devastated' mass halted at Monastery of The Most Holy Trinity
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas) - Devout Catholic Dorothy Goodman sat outside of the Monastery of The Most Holy Trinity for an hour Wednesday morning, devastated she can't enter.
For months the gate has remained locked and daily mass cancelled after Most Reverend Michael F. Olson, Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth claimed the Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach violated her vow of chastity.
Daily mass was set to resume for nuns Wednesday but there's no guarantee it will happen. The closure still bars parishioners like Dorothy M. Goodman.
"It has turned my life upside down," Goodman said. "I've been coming here since 1992. All of a sudden, I'm not allowed to come here anymore."
Gerlach denies the allegations and many claim it wouldn't even be possible given her poor health.
"She's been sick, not just this week, but for years," Goodman said. "She's been in and out of the hospital."
Clutching their rosaries, Goodman and handful of others held a prayer vigil for the Gerlach and the Carmelite sisters who filed a civil lawsuit for $1 million. The lawsuit accuses Bishop Olson of taking actions of "pure evil" including taking the nuns computers and phones and causing them emotional distress.
"It's upsetting her terribly from what I can see," Stephen Nemeth said.
Stephen Nemeth says he is the Reverend mother's god father. He says Gerlach is distraught by the disturbing allegations and hopes for vindication. Until that day comes, parishioners like goodman, say they will continue to pray for the Reverend mother and hope that soon the gates the monastery will reopen.
"As long as it takes, I will be here," Goodman said.