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Mike Gannon's avatar

Presumably the nuns, who would own their land as a civil corporation. It would be highly unusual for the diocese to own it.

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Jen's avatar

The Nuns own itтАж but then Rome made Bishop Olson the Nuns direct superior with authority to manage their assets, if IтАЩm not mistaken.

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Mike Gannon's avatar

Ecclesiastical authority, but that doesn't translate to civil authority. I know of one instance in which the prior of a monastery signed a civil contract that, canonically speaking, he didn't have the power to sign (his provincial should have been the one to approve it). Nevertheless, the community was bound by it, because US civil law is not bound by canon law.

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Jen's avatar

Should be interesting to see what happens then.

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P Rubric's avatar

Unfortunately this is not correct.

As Commissary, the Bishop has no involvement in financial or property assets.

This was also the case before he found someone in Rome to make him Commissary. He was not made Commissary by the Cardinal Prefect, but an Archbishop with a history of closing Monasteries in Europe. In our Church men get to make all the rules and break all the rules. Bishop Hubbard who died today is exhibit #1

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Jen's avatar

The whole Commissary commission looks pretty sketchy, itтАЩs true. But regardless, it happened. And it holds weight because the Church has the authority to do it. The Church is the Body of Christ & sometimes the Body of Christ dying. We have to honor that or Catholicism becomes civil and democratic vs Apostolic.

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Emily's avatar

ItтАЩs a complicated process, but the distribution of assets is covered by Canon law if the monastery were suppressed, and the Vatican could include the diocese in the distribution. These Nuns are not getting good advice. I do think they have been abused; they enjoyed a great deal of autonomy and the respect and spiritual support from laity and the Diocese for many years. They seem to be truly caught off guard, as they say, and reacting under the pressure of this imposed isolation and humiliation.

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