Bishop Olson urges Catholic community to support school choice legislation
March 20, 2023
Bishop Michael Olson in a video joins the Catholic bishops of Texas in supporting school choice legislation now before the Texas Legislature. Please take a moment to watch Bishop Olson’s message about school choice.
Bishop Michael Olson’s Decree dispensing the faithful from abstinence of meat on feast day of Saint Patrick
February 17, 2023
Most Reverend Michael F. Olson, STD, MA, bishop of Fort Worth, has issued a decree to the faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth that dispenses them from the Lenten obligation of abstaining from meat on the feast day of Saint Patrick, which is Friday, March 17, 2023. Please see the complete decree below.
Bishop Michael Olson’s Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade
June 26, 2022
The long-awaited decision in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization has been announced today by the U.S. Supreme Court. This decision overturns the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and effectively closes a shameful period in American history that witnessed the evil and legalized killing of 60 million unborn babies throughout the United States of America.
While the Catholic Church in the United States, the faithful of the Diocese of Fort Worth, other men and women of good will, and I have prayed and worked diligently for…
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Respect Life Services Fact Sheet
Call for Peace and Vigilance at Mass by the Diocese of Fort Worth
May 6, 2022
There have been numerous and public calls recently by abortion activist groups to organize disruptions at Catholic Masses across
the nation in response to the leaked decision from the Supreme Court regarding Roe v. Wade. This type of activity is an attempt to threaten the rightful and peaceful assembly of Christians to worship and disrupt the sanctity of the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
These groups are calling for people to dress in costume, carry signs and record their protests while attempting to enter churches in order to cause disruption and provocation. All of us must remain peaceful, prayerful, and recollected. Each and all of us should be more intentionally aware of our surroundings…
Pastoral Letter Regarding Changes to Current COVID-19 Protocols for the Celebration of Mass
March 4, 2022
“Our current environment is one with two important factors: 1) the ready availability of vaccines which in most cases limit symptoms, and 2) treatment protocols and medicines now exist that minimize likelihood of hospitalization. Thus, beginning this weekend, the wearing of face masks during Mass and at the distribution of Communion is now optional and left to the discretion of the ordinary or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.”
Bishop Michael F. Olson Issues Memorandum to Priests and Parishes Requesting Prayers for Ukraine
February 24, 2022
Please ask your parishioners to pray for peace, an end to war, and for the safety of all people of Ukraine who have been traumatized by the unjust Russian invasion of their homeland.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has asked that “believers in a special way devote themselves intensely to prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine” on this Ash Wednesday. Since Ash Wednesday is a day of prayer, fasting and abstinence, I ask that all Catholics in the Diocese of Fort Worth follow the Holy Father’s admonition and apply these penitential actions for the intentions of peace in Ukraine. …
Bishop Olson’s Pastoral Letter Regarding Continued Safety Protocols and Renewed Vigilance
September 28, 2021
“During the past several months I have received questions from members of the Catholic faithful in the Diocese of Fort Worth both directly and indirectly as communicated to me through our priests, deacons, and school administrators regarding other issues of morality around the vaccine for COVID-19 and the possibility of offering religious exemptions to mandates issued by employers and government offices at the federal, state, and local levels. I have very seriously taken these matters to prayer and to consultation with other bishops, theologians, administrators, medical experts, and my priests and legal counsel.” (Pastoral Letter 9-28-21)
Bishop Olson’s Pastoral Letter Regarding Alteration of Protocols, Guidelines, and Other Liturgical Celebrations
May 20, 2021
“The alteration of protocols included with this letter address the celebration of Mass and other liturgies and other social and ministerial gatherings in our parishes and institutions. They update the protocols for Mass promulgated by the Office of the Vicar General in the memo of April 26, 2021 and the protocols for Gatherings Outside of Mass as promulgated by the Office of the Vicar General in the memo of December 21, 2021. These new protocols will be in effect from May 21, 2021 until further notice.” (Pastoral Letter 5-20-21)
Bishop Michael Olson’s Pastoral Letter Regarding the Moral Permissibility of the Use of the Recently Released Vaccines for COVID-19
December 2, 2020
Today in Austin, Govenor Greg Abbott announced that the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made an initial allotment of over 1.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to the State of Texas for the month of December. The vaccines, which should start to arrive in the Texas the week of December 14, will be distributed to qualifying providers across the state who will administer these immunizations. …
Bishop Michael Olson’s Pastoral Letter Regarding Church Teaching on the Sin of Racism
June 13, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ,
“The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men and women or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion.” These words, written at the Second Vatican Council in the Declaration entitled Nostra Aetate, articulate concisely the teaching of the Church against the sin of racism in conformity with the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. It is the heart and mind of Christ that must always be at the forefront of our discernment and consideration of all matters involving the morality of our relationships with other human beings and the laws and structures that safeguard and govern these relationships. Faith and right reason anchor our discernment in the light of the Truth that proclaims our dignity as human beings created in the image and likeness of God. …