The archdiocese has filed a lawsuit to prove that the Sisters are not authorised to sell to Hollister, but they’ve come back swinging with some claims of their own. The nuns were part of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and used to live on the property in Los Feliz, but were moved to other locations by the diocese.
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But when they learned Perry was interested in purchasing the property, they oversaw the sale of the convent to a rival buyer, restauranteur Dana Hollister, for $14.5m (£9.2m), despite the fact they are unauthorised to do so.
LOS ANGELES (AP) A judge has asked attorneys for a group of nuns to work with attorneys for the Los Angeles Archdiocese to resolve the terms of a restraining order over the proposed sale of their hilltop convent to Katy Perry.
In an email written to the archdiocese on May 22, Sister Catherine Rose said:
“In selling to Katy Perry, we feel we are being forced to violate our canonical vows to the Catholic Church.”
The performer’s penchant for skimpy stage outfits did not sit well with the owners “for what should be obvious reasons coming from Catholic nuns”, according to the court filings by Sister Catherine Rose and Sister Rita.
Their rejection of Perry’s slightly lower cash offer – under diocesan control – now borders on schism.
The archdiocese argues it has legal authority over the property and that the nuns’ sale was unauthorized.
On June 19 the archbishop sued Miss Hollister to prevent the sale and to remove her from the property.
She added: “They seem obsessed with their misconception of their sovereign, ecclesiastical canonical importance”.
Sister Jean-Marie Dunne, 88, has also accused church officials of “not possessing a modicum of humility” while dealing with the case.
Documents now submitted by the nuns have revealed the full schismatic bitterness of their fallout with the archdiocese over the affair. The five nuns have been living separately since leaving their convent, which was acquired from a benefactor, Daniel J. Sister Rita and Sister Catherine Rose say the archdiocese misappropriated a final bequest of $250,000 from Mr. Donohue, who died in 2014, and has failed in its obligation to maintain the existing retreat house.
“Dana Hollister is going to allow people to walk the grounds”, Callanan said. The convent, after it was already vacated by the retired nuns, is already under the discretion of the Pope and the Los Angeles archdiocese.
Miss Perry is not involved in the legal case and has made no public comment.
But he refused to meet with the sisters to approve the sale, and instead moved ahead with his agreement to sell to Perry, their attorneys said.
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Should Perry get the property, which she’s had her eye on for two or three years, she would turn it into a sort of retreat for herself, her mother and her grandmother.
