The group of nuns dead set on preventing Katy Perry from moving into their former convent—“for what should be obvious reasons coming from Catholic nuns”—say the sale has been marred by lies and morphine-influenced affidvaits.

The nuns filed suit against the Archdiocese last month over the proposed sale of the sprawling property, situated on a Los Feliz hilltop with “expansive views of downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

The legal battle arises out of competing deals to sell the parcel: the Archdiocese is trying to push an all-cash sale to known-sinner Katy Perry, while the nuns would prefer to see the land go to a chaste developer who would pay $100,000 upfront and $10 million on a promissory note.

The court case is essentially asking a judge to determine which group has the authority to sell the property, but the issues—some faith-based, some legal—run much deeper. The Archdiocese, the nuns say, has repeatedly lied to them and tried to bully them into selling to Perry, who they apparently object to on moral grounds. Via the New York Times:

It is clear that several of the nuns do not trust the promises of care. 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.

According to Mr. Hennigan, the Donohue bequest is invested in the sisters’ behalf. He said the archdiocese had requested, but had not received, an invoice for any money owed for the retreat house upkeep.

And although at least two nuns have expressed support for the Perry deal, the women still fighting the sale say it may have been improperly obtained.

Like Sister Jean-Marie, Sister Marie Victoriano, 88, and Sister Marie Christine Muñoz Lopez, 82, have filed declarations in support of the archbishop. But Sister Rita and Sister Catherine Rose, in a filing prepared by the lawyers from the Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtingher law firm, a Hollywood powerhouse, have questioned the validity of at least the Dunne and Lopez declarations.

Sister Jean-Marie, they noted, expressed opposition to the sale both before and after signing her statement, and Sister Marie Christine, they said, was observed to be “woozy” and under the influence of morphine at about the time church officials asked her for a declaration of support.

Sister Marie Victoriano said in an email on Sunday, “I have great confidence in the archbishop’s decision and have no concern whatsoever.”

The sale, the nuns reportedly said in court papers filed on Friday, would be a breach of their sacred vows “for obvious reasons.”

Guess they’re Taylor fans.


Contact the author at gabrielle@gawker.com.