DALLAS — A Catholic priest accused of violating his vow of chastity with an Arlington nun, igniting a monthslong feud that rocked the Fort Worth diocese, has retired.
The Raleigh diocese in North Carolina announced the Rev. Philip G. Johnson was granted retirement for medical reasons, effective July 31. Johnson remained in good standing with the church and retains full faculties to act as a priest as his health permits, the diocese said on its website.
In an email, a spokesperson for the Raleigh diocese did not provide any additional information, and The Dallas Morning News was unable to reach the priest. Johnson, who previously served in the Navy, joined the priesthood after he was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer in 2008 at the age of 24.
Belated news of the priest’s retirement comes days after the Arlington nuns were dismissed from religious life by their Vatican-appointed leader. Mother Marie of the Incarnation, who issued the order, said the nuns are considered Catholic lay people, which the nuns called ridiculous and egregiously false.
Little has been said publicly about Johnson, who was visiting the Transalpine Redemptorist religious order in Montana when he connected with the Arlington monastery’s head nun, the Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach.
The feud between the nuns and diocese began in April 2023 when the bishop accused Gerlach of violating her vow of chastity with a priest. The reverend mother and monastery then filed a civil lawsuit against the bishop and diocese, accusing Olson of invading the sisters’ privacy and overstepping his authority.
Since then, the extraordinarily public battle has included back-and-forth statements, civil court hearings and police investigations, drawing widespread attention.
A nearly six-hour court proceeding included explosive testimony from diocese officials, references to “sexting,” and audio of a 40-minute conversation between Olson and the former head nun. As church bells rang in the background, Gerlach admitted to breaking her vow of chastity on two occasions, but at another point in the conversation, she said she only spoke to the priest by phone. She had been hospitalized in November 2022 for seizures and was taking pain medication as a result, her attorney. Gerlach, who is in poor health, uses a wheelchair and feeding tube.
A Texas state judge ruled that civil court did not have jurisdiction to decide the church matter.
Olson attempted to dismiss Gerlach in 2023, but the nuns refused to recognize the bishop’s authority. In August 2023, Olson warned they could face excommunication if they continued to do so. Earlier this year, the Vatican placed the nuns under new authority, an association of Carmelite nuns led by Mother Marie of the Incarnation. But the Arlington nuns said the decree amounted to a hostile takeover, and they have barred both Olson and Mother Marie from the premises.
In September, the nuns reopened the monastery to the public for prayer and daily Mass and transferred ownership of their monastery, set on 72 wooded acres in Arlington, to a new foundation. The women have said for months that Olson started the feud in a bid to acquire the land, which he has repeatedly denied.
The nuns live and work at the Arlington monastery, and before last year had little interaction with the Fort Worth diocese. Some have spent decades at the monastery, including Gerlach, who has lived there for 25 years.
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