FORT WORTH, Texas (NewsNation) — A small order of nuns is embroiled in a legal battle with a Fort Worth bishop who accused their reverend mother of violating her vow of chastity with another priest.

The Arlington-based Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns filed a lawsuit against Bishop Michael Olson of the Fort Worth Diocese seeking more than $1 million in damages.

According to the lawsuit, Olson entered the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity on April 24 over allegations that Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach had sex with a priest. Olson and other members of the diocese downloaded information from Gerlach’s phone and computer and interrogated her. The incident took place the day after Gerlach had surgery and was still under the effects of pain medication, according to the lawsuit.

Gerlach, who uses a wheelchair and feeding tube, has been a member of the Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns for 25 years.

The nuns live a secluded life in a monastery on 72 acres in Arlington and have been in the community for decades. Gerlach believes Olson “forced himself onto our peaceful community,” and overstepped his power, and has no authority to do this because her order reports directly to the Vatican.

In response to the lawsuit, the diocese posted a statement on its website saying they were notified a nun violated her vows.

“Received a report in April 2023 that the Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes of Jesus Crucified Gerlach, O.C.D., committed sins against the Sixth Commandment and violated her vow of chastity with a priest from outside the Diocese of Fort Worth,” the statement reads.

Olson said an “ecclesiastical investigation” is underway, and the priest’s supervisors have been notified but did not go into further detail.

Last week Olson’s legal team filed a response in court saying the reverend’s mother admitted to these allegations. Which Michael Bobo, the attorney representing the nuns, said is false.

“She hasn’t admitted to anything they’re accusing her of, and to this day, we don’t know what the allegation is, and so that statement is abhorrent for the reasons he did that, and we don’t know why,” Bobo said. “They are people who live in Tarrant County just like me; they are individuals, somebody came and took their stuff, and that is not an ecclesiastical matter.”

The Diocese said it had no further comment when asked about the lawsuit. It also maintains this is a matter of separation of church and state and going forward with this case would violate the First Amendment.

Olson, who leads a diocese of more than one million Catholics across close to 100 parishes, has come under scrutiny before, critics of his leadership style signed a petition to remove him years ago.

Next month, a judge will decide if this case moves forward.